The Australian Seaweed Company are the harvesters and producers of a range of premium Australian seaweed products. Our founders Mike Houghton and Ric De Vries have lived and breathed the Victorian coastline all their working lives. Over the span of their careers they have owned and operated licences in a variety of fisheries including Port Phillip and Western Port, central zone abalone and mussel farming at Portarlington, on the Bellarine Peninsula. 

Our seaweed harvesting journey began in 1999 with the first discovery of an introduced Japanese seaweed “Wakame” in Port Phillip. Soon after, Mike applied for and was successful in attaining a permit to commercially harvest Wakame from Victorian coastal waters. This was the catalyst to our passion for sea vegetables. Being the first commercial seaweed harvesters in Victoria forced us to become pioneers. Harvesting was the easy part, but developing products, processing and marketing within a new industry in Australia has been a challenge. We are proud that we have been fully self-funded and independent throughout. In recent years the team has expanded to include Mike's daughters, Louise and Loretta and Ric’s son Liam. All are now endorsed as divers on the companies harvesting permit and utilise their diverse skills to advertise and market our products through our online store.

Quality is paramount to us and after extensive consultation with both the Victorian Health Department and local councils, we have developed an independently audited food safety plan that allows for the harvest, processing and packaging of our seaweed products. This is in addition to regular tests carried out through accredited third party organisations in accordance with the Australia and New Zealand Food Standards Code.

We are constantly developing as we add new seaweed species and products to our range. We’re passionate about bridging the gap between our customers and the accessibility of seaweeds in Australia, whilst educating on their numerous health and environmental benefits. We’re committed to sustainable and regenerative harvesting practices that protect our ocean environment.

Mike and Ric's careers began as mussel farmers, owning and operating sea farms located on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula. Moving forward our goal for The Australian Seaweed Company is to pioneer regenerative seaweed farming in Australia at our already established sea farms. This is no easy feat as the industry in Australia is in its infancy stage. We are currently in discussions of trial phases to develop sustainable aquaculture farming practices for native Australian seaweeds (ie. Asparagopsis) for commercial viability.