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Marine Bioproducts
Cooperative Research Centre

Where blue ecologies meet green technologies

Australia’s marine territory is vast, pristine and protected. It also harbours the next generation of environmentally responsible resources and products – think bioplastics made from kelp, complementary medicines made from seaweed, beauty products extracted from fish roe…

We are Marine Bioproducts, Australia’s largest R&D hub dedicated to producing new and sustainable products from our marine environment.

Our eyes are on the future. Our hearts are with the planet.

What we do

Marine Bioproducts is a not-for-profit Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) bringing together more than 70 partners from academia and industry.

We are driving Australia’s transition to the ‘third generation’ of marine production (first generation is fishing, second generation is aquaculture). We do this by funding research and the development of new products.

Thanks to a federal government grant of $59 million and co-funding from our partners, we have more than $270 million to invest over 10 years. These funds support collaborative work in four key spaces:

  • Establishing pathways from biomarine discovery to markets in health, nutrition, agriculture, aquaculture and biomaterials
  • Creating and expanding sustainable marine bioresource production facilities
  • The integration of marine science and biotechnology with industries in Australia and overseas
  • Creating industry-ready graduates focused on taking discoveries out of the lab and into the economy

Our aim is to make Australia a global player in marine biotech, an industry that is forecast to be worth more than US$700 billion by 2035.

How we operate

Born out of a proposal led by Flinders University, Marine Bioproducts started operation in 2019. We received our first funding tranche from the Commonwealth Government in 2021.

Our partners are as diverse as the biota of the seas. They range from teams of university researchers to ‘people with an idea’; from international industry giants to local start-ups; from seasoned manufacturers to artisan producers.

We have a full-time management team and a Board of Directors that meets regularly. We also have five senior academics who oversee research.

Our headquarters are centrally located in the inner city suburb of Kent Town, South Australia.

Our global focus

Our headquarters and most of our partners are based in Australia, however as the planet faces ever bigger challenges we believe humanity is stronger when it pulls together. So wherever you live, we invite you to explore the exciting new frontier where blue ecologies meet green technologies.

Check out Just One Drop, where we showcase our partners’ stories. It’s a chance to catch up on what our brightest minds are doing and where our bold visions are heading.

And of course, if you’d like to dive into our pool of talent, we look forward to hearing from you!

Stories from Marine Bioproducts’ partners, changing our planet one drop at a time…

“Penetrate the heart of just one drop of water, and you will be flooded by a hundred oceans.”

MAHMUD SHABISTARI

So you want an MBCRC-sponsored scholarship?

Imogen Morison secured a $10,000 AgriFutures Horizon scholarship and an internship with Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm through Marine Bioproducts CRC (MBCRC). She talks to Just One Drop about the process and says ‘not being sure’ about what you want to do with your degree shouldn’t stop anyone from applying … | Read more…

Shiraz vines turbocharged by bluefin tuna? Only in South Australia…

Lukina Lukin has already gone where few would fear to tread – taking on her late husband’s tuna farm on the wild shores of Port Lincoln. Now she’s pushing at new boundaries, trialling a seaweed fertiliser project that could reinvent finfish farming for the better … | Read more…

Sargassum: the monster in our midst?

A tide of sargassum seaweed is landing on beaches around the Gulf of Mexico, threatening livelihoods and creating a sulphurous stink. But does ‘the golden tide’ have a silver lining?

“The Stinky Seaweed Blob Approaching Florida Is Absolutely Humongous”

This April 4 headline from tech-news website Gizmodo is a ripper, invoking a 1950s alien attack on the sunny shores of the Orange State. Nonetheless, curious readers who click on the screamer will not be disappointed – indeed, they’ll encounter something even more ‘humungous’, ‘stinky’ and blob-like than they may be anticipating… | Read more…

Kelp: a golden dawn?

In 2015, Jo Lane bought a seaweed ‘cottage industry’ on a whim. Now she’s charting a course to establish Australia’s first commercial kelp farm – but it’s not all plain sailing | Read more…

CRC Partner: Sea Health Products, NSW

From little things…

Karl Lawton is on the point of a breakthrough in the leading-edge science of microalgae bioreactors. Not bad for a bloke who only completed Year 12… | Read more…

CRC Partner: Byron Bioreactor Technologies, NSW