Can Hawaiʻi-grown seaweed quell climate change? Maui marine group presenters think so

Can climate change be quelled with Hawai’i grown seaweed? 

Symbrosia, a Hawaiʻi-based startup company, thinks it can be; the group is striving to solve climate change by reducing livestock methane emissions with Hawaiʻi-grown seaweed.

Facilitated by Maui Nui Marine Resource Council, a free Zoom presentation will feature Daisy Stock and Kylie Tuitavuki of Symbrosia at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, a news release said.

Admission is free, but preregistration is required by clicking here.

Tuitavuki in the release said that Symbrosia has been developing a breakthrough seaweed supplement that, when sprinkled into animal feed, increases growth rates and reduces the methane emissions from cows by more than 90%.

The company said that if enough cows, sheep and goats start snacking on the methane-vanquishing seaweed, it will prevent gigatons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere and will bring the entire animal agriculture industry one big step closer to being carbon neutral.

Livestock methane pollution accounts for 6% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, the release said.

Called Asparagopsis taxiformis, the seaweed can be a sustainable feed material of the future for the world’s farmers and farm animals, according to Symbrosia.

Symbrosia’s pilot facility is in Kailua-Kona on Hawai’i Island. The company said the team is scaling up sustainable production there.

“We are collecting, cultivating and partnering with ranchers and farmers throughout the Hawaiian Islands, to support local food systems and the local economy while also fighting against climate change,” said Stock, Symbrosia R&D manager.

The presentation is part of Maui Unit’s “Know Your Ocean Speaker Series,” which is supported by the County of Maui Office of Climate Change, Resiliency and Sustainability.