The Australian seaweed industry is poised for rapid development to capitalise upon its projected worth of $275 million outlined in the Australian Seaweed Industry Blueprint (Kelly, 2020). However, Australia’s current lack of commercial seaweed aquaculture means that the industry captures less than 1% of the $17 billion global market. The major R&D barrier to the development of Australia’s seaweed industry is the optimisation of breeding and propagation techniques for native Australian seaweed species, including Asparagopsis and kelps.

Many of the new and smaller Asparagopsis growers are still in the early phases of scale-up and are often searching for quick and affordable solutions for a hatchery to maintain broodstock and supply seed for their farms. Set-up of a hatchery requires specialised knowledge of water treatment systems, drainage, clean culture management, and specialised equipment such as fume hoods, laminar flow stations, autoclaves and microscopes. There are also controlled temperature spaces, where stocks should be kept axenic and isolated, and conditions can be altered for experimentation. Without access to prior knowledge of designs, and cultivation expertise, many growers struggle to understand the requirements of a laboratory.

As the developing Australian seaweed industry is widely scattered geographically, a portable hatchery will mean that it can be readily relocated to optimal locations to suit industry’s R&D or commercial needs. This will provide an opportunity for new players to reduce initial set up costs by using the portable hatchery as a 'stepping stone' as well as providing an opportunity to prove the concept before investing further.