University of the Sunshine Coast
Scientists at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia have found they can quadruple the immune response of farmed fish by adding powdered seaweed to their diet.
The findings from a study, led by PhD candidate Valentin Thépot and supervised by Professor Nick Paul, Dr Alexandra Campbell and Dr Michael Rimmer from the USC Seaweed Research Group, were this week published in the scientific journal Fish and Shellfish Immunology.
The study found that a small amount of a pink seaweed called Asparagopsis, when added to the diet of rabbitfish, resulted in a four-fold improvement on their innate immune response. The same seaweed has been found to reduce methane emissions in cows.