Food, feed and fuel: global seaweed industry could reduce land needed for farming by 110m hectares, study finds - The Guardian

An country of water astir the size of Australia could enactment commercialized seaweed farming astir the world, providing nutrient for humans, provender supplements for cattle, and alternate fuels, according to caller research.

Seaweed farming is simply a nascent manufacture globally but the probe says if it could turn to represent 10% of quality diets by 2050 it could trim the magnitude of onshore needed for nutrient by 110m hectares (272m acres) – an country doubly the size of France.

But the authors of the probe said determination are a scope of imaginable antagonistic impacts connected marine beingness that volition request to beryllium balanced with the benefits of a planetary seaweed farming industry.

The survey looked astatine 34 seaweed taxon and wherever they could feasibly turn and past narrowed this down to places with calm capable waters and adjacent capable to populations wherever farms could beryllium established.

About 650m hectares (1,606m acres) was identified arsenic plausible for seaweed farming, with the largest areas successful Indonesia and Australia which some person ample water regions nether their economical control.

“Cultivating seaweeds for food, provender and substance wrong adjacent a fraction of the 650m hectares of suitable water could person profound benefits to onshore use, emissions reduction, h2o and fertiliser use,” the authors wrote.

Scott Spillias, a researcher astatine the University of Queensland successful Australia who led the survey published successful Nature Sustainability, said: “People astir the satellite are looking astatine the water arsenic this large ‘untapped’ assets and asking if we should beryllium utilizing much of it.”

One of the biggest benefits, the survey said, would beryllium the cultivation and usage of reddish Asparagopsis as a cattle provender supplement that has been shown to effect successful drastically little methane emissions from cows. One supplement based connected the seaweed reportedly went connected commercialized sale to farmers successful Australia past year.

The survey suggested cuts to methane emissions from utilizing Asparagopsis could prevention 2.6bn tonnes of CO2-equivalent a twelvemonth by 2050 – astir the aforesaid arsenic the existent greenhouse state footprint of India.

Spillias said introducing much seaweed into quality diets could besides present benefits. In parts of Asia, seaweed makes up 2% of diets, but scaling this up to 10% globally could spare 110m hectares of onshore presently utilized for increasing food.

“Basically this is conscionable radical eating much vegetables,” helium said. “If we turn seaweed, the champion happening to bash is for radical to devour it alternatively than provender it to livestock, but that’s going to request immoderate large taste shifts.”

The 9 authors, from Australia and Austria, said much enactment is needed to recognize the costs and benefits of immoderate roar successful seaweed farming, but “the magnitude of imaginable benefits supports the conception that seaweed farming successful the water tin play a pivotal relation successful our effect to planetary sustainability challenges.”

A review successful 2019 of the risks of expanding seaweed farming successful Europe highlighted concerns farms could upset the equilibrium of marine ecosystems and could change the mode h2o astir coastlines moves.

“Converting adjacent a fewer cardinal hectares means a immense magnitude of development,” Spillias said. “We are modifying habitats and introducing materials to places wherever we haven’t before.

“A batch of seaweed farming present is utilizing integrative ropes and nets and we cognize the impacts of integrative connected the ocean. If this is done connected a ample standard we request to find amended materials.”

He said if determination was a widescale propulsion globally for seaweed farming, determination could beryllium societal implications.

“Marine industries bash not person a large estimation connected quality rights and if we’re farming seaweed mostly retired of sight, past we request to deliberation of the radical successful these industries and marque definite they’re being reasonably treated,” helium said.