TRENDS:

Asparagopsis

According to FAO, livestock sector is responsible for 18% of the total global
warming effect and cattle enteric methane emissions are considered one of the top contributors worldwide. Methane is a very potent greenhouse gas and its emission levels have been rising annually due to the growing livestock population. 

Struggling to find natural-origin feed additives to reduce ruminant methane emissions, scientists came across a red seaweed genus, Asparagopsis, that has a high potential to mitigate enteric methane production, since it produces high levels of bromoform, a halogenated compound known to inhibit methanogenesis. Published studies have shown that supplementing 0,2% of freeze-dried Asparagopsis to the animal’s diet has proven to reduce methane production in cows up to 98% and simultaneously improving their weight gain by 42% (Kinley et al., 2020).

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Both studied species Asparagopsis armata and Asparagopsis taxiformis are non-indigenous macroalgae particularly abundant in the Azores (NE Atlantic), occurring in all the nine islands of the archipelago from the rocky intertidal up to 40 m deep.

seaExpert is duly licensed to harvest these species, working responsibly to
obtain the minimum impact on the Azorean marine ecosystem while supplying a high quality product. Harvesting is performed manually through scuba diving in a scattered and disseminated way and only within seasons that register the highest abundance and bioavailability rates, allowing the selection of the best specimens and avoiding by-catch.

In the past four years, we have supplied Asparagopsis to eight different
countries, delivering our algae to several research institutes, universities and private companies, in a joint effort to find a viable solution to combat climate change.

PROCESSING

In order to guarantee the quality of our algae, they are carefully cleaned immediately after harvesting to remove any by-catch and return it to the ocean. Afterwards, they are taken to our facilities to be processed through one of the following drying methods.

technics:

FREEZE-DRYED

Frozen biomass processed using the freeze-drying technique, which consists in the extraction of water through sublimation, ensuring biomass preservation and increased shelf life.

SUN DRIED

Drying in the sun is carried out in greenhouses and is the most common method of processing, ensuring a relatively quick and sustainable dehydration, since it uses 100% clean energy.

DRIED IN THE DARK

Using 100% renewable heat energy, drying is carried out in a single continuous cycle, allowing the preservation of all organoleptic properties and sunlight-degradable compounds.

FORMAT:

Once dried in the sun or in the dark, the customer can also choose to receive their biomass in its natural form (whole) or grinded in different granulometries.

Whole

Grinded

For more information
...

Travessa do Farrobim, 15 9900 – 361 Horta, Faial, Azores
PORTUGAL

+351 292 948 409

+351 963 500 687

artur.oliveira@seaexpert azores.com

henrique.ramos@seaexpertazores.com

seaexpert@seaexpert-azores.com