Those behind a plan to build Australia's first commercial ocean seaweed farm off the NSW south coast say it would create a "brand new industry" and feed a growing appetite for the product.
Auskelp have submitted a proposal to build a 200-hectare lease at Disaster Bay, south of Eden, which would grow kelp for food, cattle feed, and the pharmaceutical industry.
Kelp are large brown algae seaweeds which grow naturally in the colder waters off the coastline.
High in protein, it can be cooked like other greens or used in supplements.
The leases will harvest two main species found in southern NSW, golden kelp (Ecklonia radiata) and Durvillaea, commonly known as southern bull kelp.
Auskelp CEO Christopher Ride said the development would tap into a massive market for both human consumption and agriculture.
"It's never been done in New South Wales waters before. In fact, has never been done in an ocean farming setting in Australia at all," Mr Ride said.
He said the $8 million project would create up to 60 jobs in the Bega Valley Shire.
The company has received an aquaculture permit from the Department of Primary Industries for the ocean lease but the project is contingent on seeking approval from the Department of Planning and Environment as a State Significant Development.
"We've got at least 12 months to go before we can start to put test beds in Disaster Bay for production expected to be in the beginning of 2025," Mr Ride said.
Emerging industry with big plans
Agrifutures published an Australian Seaweed Industry Blueprint which estimated the industry could be worth $1.5 billion by 2040, employing 9,000 people.
But lead author Jo Kelly, from the Australian Seafood Institute, highlighted the industry was currently "small, fragmented, and disparate".
The report estimated in 2020 the gross value profit of the entire Australian industry was less than $3 million and the workforce less than 40 full-time equivalents.
AusKelp's Christopher Ride said the industry was held back by regulations and risks of investing in an emerging market.
"I think the reason it hasn't been done before is because we've got quite a lot of regulation to overcome, and rightly so to protect our ocean environments," Mr Ride said.
"There's a high level of risk associated with going through the regulatory process, which takes many years to then really work out whether this is viable at scale."
It is estimated seaweed populations have reduced by 40 per cent across the world over more than two decades.
The company predicts a 200-hectare seaweed array could sequester 3,600 tonnes of carbon every year.
