Seaweed has long been used by people for food and now there are plans afoot to farm the ocean crop off the Queensland coast.
Researchers from the University of the Sunshine Coast will spend the next six months collecting and testing native species to see which ones can be mass produced.
If successful, seaweed could be farmed off Brisbane's Moreton Bay and used to make goods such as cosmetics and farming products.
Associate Professor of Aquaculture Nicholas Paul is leading the project from a laboratory on Bribie Island.
"Seaweed is a big business around the world," the seaweed scientist told AAP on Tuesday.
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"Tens of millions of tonnes is produced in Indonesia, Korea and China."
But none is grown commercially in Australian waters.
Red seaweed, which is sold for more than $100 per kilogram, has many health benefits and is common off the Queensland coast.
Dr Paul said the research team was aiming to find out if local seaweed production was viable and if it could be mass produced in land- and ocean-based facilities.
"What I'm hoping with the whole process is we can prove it here and get the systems in place so we can take it into the tropics," he said, referring to places like the Pacific and north Queensland.
"It can be a real game changer if you can invent a new simple system that's scalable."
If the local seaweed is deemed good enough for production, the team will also try to plant crops in Moreton Bay.
Dr Paul said it was a great place for a trial because hundreds of oyster leases were already in place.
"We can actually use that area to grow a pretty big business," he said.
About half of the seaweed farmed in Asia is used as food and the rest in cosmetics, acne creams, anti-dandruff shampoo and farming products.
