A Project Update from Josh Goldman and Video Tour
Since launching Greener Grazing in 2018, we have been on a journey of discovery with the singular goal of making commercial ocean farming of Asparagopsis taxiformis (“AT”) a reality.
Knowing that this would not be easy, we began by establishing the world’s first seedbank for the species—collecting samples from a broad range of geographies to characterize the biological and chemical attributes while ensuring that our findings would not be limited to any single geography or narrow set of genotypes.
Our scientific teams in Portugal and Vietnam have been laser-focused and have completed over 230 experiments to tease out–for the first time—the factors that support robust growth of our broodstock, induction of spores formation and release, productivity, survival and attachment of spores, nursery and ocean operations, as well as numerous other scientific and practical considerations.
Our team, under the leadership of Dr. Leonardo Mata, have achieved many important breakthroughs which have enabled us to demonstrate the feasibility of each step in the production chain and to begin to scale up the process from broodstock through to ocean planting and harvest.
However, like any journey into uncharted waters there has been much to discover and more than a few surprises along the way. Today, we are working hard to improve and stabilize key aspects of the process before commencing commercialization.
As these issues have come into focus, we are expanding our scientific and technical teams to bring new perspectives and support expanded research to resolve these challenges.
Hatchery and Nursery Tour
Greener Grazing remains the leading global organization focused on mastering AT's life cycle to support ocean-based farming. In this video, we're giving you a look inside our land-based operations to give you a sense for this part of the process.
AT Farming Collaborations
Our long-term goal is to support the establishment of AT farms through partnerships with local farmers and by developing regional hatcheries, nurseries, and post-harvest processing facilities to give farmers the tools and infrastructure needed for success.
If you are interested in working with Greener Grazing to farm AT in your region, we appreciate your patience. While you’re waiting, there are some basic things to consider.
As with any aquaculture, site selection with the right environmental conditions is of paramount importance for success. In general, the growth and bioactive compounds in seaweed depends on a range of factors, such as:
water motion (without too much wave action and current exposure)
temperature (23-29 °C)
nutrient availability
enough depth (10m) to allow adjustment of light conditions
low incidence of predation and fouling
Environments with these conditions will be favored to support extended season, or ideally year-round seeding, cultivation, and harvest. There is still a lot to learn about farming AT, as well as ever growing enthusiasm. In the coming month, we will be making several big announcements so please stay tuned!
Josh Goldman
Founder/CEO, Australis Aquaculture
Project Leader, Greener Grazing