Licences for Narungga Nation Aboriginal Corporation to set up seaweed farms at Point Pearce, South Australia
Narungga Nation’s traditional waters in Gulf St Vincent off Port Pearce, Yorke Peninsula, had the perfect climate to grow cold and warm water varieties of the seaweed.
Narungga Nation Aboriginal Corporation on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula in 2021 was granted production leases and licences to produce commercial seaweed.
Two licences allowed a commercial seaweed farm to be set up over 10 hectares within the east Point Pearce intertidal aquaculture zone and 30 hectares within the west zone.
Narungga Nation Aboriginal Corporation was working with CH4 Global, a company focused on farming marine seaweeds for commercial purposes to reduce greenhouse emissions in the livestock industry. CH4 Global in 2021announced a world-first agreement to supply enough asparagopsis seaweed supplement for up to 10,000 head of cattle to an agriculture hub near the South Australian city of Port Pirie.
Cattle were a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions with every one of the 1.5 billion cows on the planet producing about 100kg of methane a year. Australian researchers have found red seaweed could reduce methane produced by cow and sheep methane by up to 90% when mixed with stock feed. This led the South Australian Government to give $1.5 million over two years to support setting up a commercial seaweed industry in the state.
Steve Meller, a founder and chief executive of CH4 Global, said, as a believer in circular and regenerative economic principles, the company was “extremely excited” to be working with and partnering Narungga Nation Aboriginal Corporation "to generate maximum sustainable benefit for its people – jobs, training and a leadership role in climate mitigation is what CH4 is all about."
The first farm at Point Pearce would produce two species of red algae: the warm water species asparagopsis taxiformis and a cool water species asparagopsis armata. This ensured high growth rates throughout the year. It took about 45-60 days for a seaweed seedling from the hatchery to grow into a matured plant ready for harvest and processing.
Narungga Nation Aboriginal Corporation chief executive officer Klynton Wanganeen said the algae was native to the Narungga Nation’s traditional waters in Gulf St Vincent that had the perfect climate to grow cold and warm water varieties of the seaweed. “We’re in the process of planning and putting in the infrastructure for two one-hectare leases, so that we can start growing with a view to working out the optimal depth for the warm water species.”
