Methane reducing feed additive one of the many uses of WA company SeaStock’s lab cultivated seaweed

A Fremantle algae company is part of the rapidly expanding industry using native red seaweed to slash livestock methane emissions. SeaStock, led by Tom Puddy, produces native asparagopsis for ingredients designed to cut livestock methane, as well as replace synthetic dyes and supply compounds, to global markets. The company recently secured an aquaculture licence to build what it says is WA’s first commercial-scale, land-based seaweed production facility at Oakford. SeaStock’s first major product, AlgaTor, is a bromoform-based feed additive. CSIRO research found that adding asparagopsis taxiformis to cattle feed at just 0.2 per cent of diet can reduce methane generation by more than 90 per cent. “The livestock industry globally produces about 30 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions,” Mr Puddy said. “Methane is 27 times more damaging to the atmosphere than CO2.” Cutting methane also has commercial upside because methane generation uses energy. Suppressing it can improve animal productivity and lower feed costs. “If you’re a beef or dairy producer and you can lower your feeding cost by 10 per cent, that’s a big incentive,” Mr Puddy said. “On top of that, they can claim a carbon credit. We are the only ones in WA to sell this product under the scheme.” SeaStock grows asparagopsis in closed bioreactors rather than offshore seaweed farms, which it says are vulnerable to contamination and weather. Small samples are collected from WA locations including Rottnest Island and the Abrolhos Islands, spores are induced to release in the laboratory, then cultivated repeatedly in bioreactors. Seawater was used primarily in the bioreactors. However, Mr Puddy said a concerted effort was being put into exploring other saltwater options. The Wheatbelt’s abundance of subsurface saltwater was one such option, as well as mine pit saltwater. Mr Puddy said the company had started to supply industrial concentrates to international vendors. “We’ve gained a lot of interest internationally, in Europe, North Asia, Central America and South-East Asia, particularly from major dairies and major beef cattle feedlot operators,” he said. “They’re driven by the governments’ mandates to lower the emissions in their country. “I think the Federal Government will get there eventually and they’ll endorse the methodology for carbon credit generation in the agriculture industry, but until that happens, most of the products that we produce will be exported internationally.”