Utrecht, Netherlands – At VIV Europe 2026, aviNews International had the pleasure to sit down with Bob van der Rijt, the sales director at Ocean Harvest Technology who highlighted how seaweed-based nutrition is gaining attention as a natural tool to support poultry performance. As poultry producers continue to face challenges related to efficiency, health, and sustainability, Ocean Harvest Technology believes seaweed can play an increasingly important role in supporting modern production systems. The company is increasingly focused on poultry, where intestinal health remains a critical factor for productivity and profitability.
For Ocean Harvest Technology, the value of seaweed lies not in a single species, but in combining the benefits of multiple marine resources.
According to van der Rijt, many products on the market rely primarily on one type of brown seaweed. Ocean Harvest Technology has taken a broader approach by combining brown, green, and red seaweeds into its OceanFeed Poultry solution.
“We are using the full potential of three different seaweeds,” he explained. “We are not extracting anything; we really use the full potential of the seaweed.”
This strategy allows the company to leverage a wider range of naturally occurring bioactive compounds and polysaccharides while maintaining a 100% seaweed-based product.
The company’s focus is centered on intestinal health, which van der Rijt considers the foundation for productivity in both broilers and layers.
“What we try to achieve with OceanFeed is stabilizing the gut as a good foundation so all the other additives can perform better,” he said.
By supporting gut integrity, villi development, and nutrient absorption, Ocean Harvest Technology aims to help birds better cope with common production challenges such as heat stress and intestinal disturbances.
The benefits ultimately translate into improved production efficiency. In layers, the company has observed improvements in egg production, shell quality, and the number of sellable eggs.
“The return on investment comes from more eggs to be sold,” van der Rijt noted.
For broiler producers, maintaining a stable gut environment helps birds maximize their growth potential during a relatively short production cycle. According to van der Rijt, improvements in feed conversion, body weight, and overall flock performance are among the key benefits observed.
While seaweed has been used in agriculture for decades, Ocean Harvest Technology believes the industry is only beginning to understand its full potential.
Van der Rijt emphasized that collaboration across the industry will be essential to further develop seaweed-based solutions and expand their adoption in animal nutrition.
“We deeply believe in the potential of seaweed,” he said. “We all need to work together to bring this 100% natural and 100% sustainable product into agriculture.”
As producers continue searching for tools that support both performance and sustainability, Ocean Harvest Technology sees seaweed becoming an increasingly valuable component of future poultry nutrition strategies.
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