By Sarah Smit @ nit.com.au. Images supplied.
The Narungga Nation’s traditional lands in South Australia are set to become a world-leading aquaculture farm for a seaweed that can reduce cattle’s methane output by up to 99 per cent.
The seaweed in question is a red algae called Asparagopsis taxiformis and it’s cool water relative Asparagopsis armata.
Research conducted by the CSIRO in collaboration with James Cook University and Meat and Livestock Australia found that small amounts of the algae added to cattle feed reduced the methane in cow burps by up to 99 per cent.
A huge reduction in emissions of a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide, the algae has economic benefits for farmers too.
Reducing the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted by cattle actually makes them more productive. The energy that would otherwise be taken up in the methane can be used by the cattle to produce meat or milk.
After identifying the potential uses for Asparagopsis, CSIRO licensed the use of the algae as a feed supplement and founded a company called FutureFeed to manage the commercial aspects of the discovery.
CH4 Global, an initiative working to cut methane emissions, has now partnered with the Narungga Nation Aboriginal Corporation to build what they believe is the first commercial scale supply of the seaweed in the world.
The collaboration is a good fit: CH4 Global’s South Australian subsidiary has the licence and technical know-how, and the algae is native to the Narungga Nation’s traditional waters in the Yorke Peninsula, which have the perfect climate to grow both cold and warm water varieties of the seaweed.
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