December 2008 by Tim Walker

Volume 22 No 4 – December 2008

Scallop marking research Redclaw growers win funds Investor sees Hawkesbury potential Clownfish abound in WA facility Branching into coral propagation Thai integration model for our prawn Innovative saline trout culture The benefits of bio-remediation

P RI NT P O S T A P P ROVED NO 768108–00002

I SSN 0818– 5522

Contents

www.AustasiaAquaculture.com.au

44 Editor-in-chief Dr Tim Walker Regular contributors David O'Sullivan John Mosig Dave Field Subscription/editorial Austasia Aquaculture PO Box 658, Rosny, Tas. 7018 Ph: 03 6245 0064 Fax: 03 6245 0068 Email: AustasiaAquaculture@netspace.net.au

21 RESEARCH

Advertising Megan Farrer Design/typesetting Coalface Production Pty Ltd Prepress & Printing Geon Group

Cover photo A montage of photos taken from stories contained in this issue. Captions and photo credits as per the details inside.

Temperature tolerant trout in Western Australia

Bio-remediation: it’s a massive benefit

F E AT U R E

Copyright © by Austasia Aquaculture. Contents cannot be reproduced without permission. Statements made or opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Turtle Press Pty Ltd (ABN 98 506 165 857). Austasia Aquaculture magazine (ISSN: 0818 552) is published by Turtle Press Pty Ltd (ABN 98 506 165 857) for the promotion of aquaculture in the Australasian and Asian regions – inclusive of farming in marine, freshwater, brackish and hypersaline waters. Reader's contributions are encouraged on the clear understanding they will be subject to editorial control and, if accepted, will appear in both printed and online versions.

Innovative inland saline trout culture in Western Australia

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The current state of Korean aquaculture and the direction of its development – part 1

TECHNOLOGY / SERVICES

Scallop marking research assists Queensland Sea Scallop Ltd

HI 98280 Multiparameter Water Quality Meter with GPS

Redclaw growers win funds, breed a better product

Jeyco 5 x 3 mooring grid deployed in two days

Oyster posts in a plastic vault

Investor sees potential for Hawkesbury Oysters

Clownfish abound in indigenous marine facility

Branching into coral propagation

RESEARCH Changes to the Tasmanian School of Aquaculture

NEWS CPF integration provides model for Aussie prawn industry

Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 1

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Scallop marking research assists Queensland Sea Scallop Ltd

Inconsistent catches of Saucer Scallops in SE Queensland have led to R&D into an enhanced fishery involving the ‘ranching’ of hatchery reared scallops. Some of these seedstock will be specially marked to allow easy identification of stocked and wild produced individuals to gauge the success of the reseeding program. The ranching program is expected to harvest 300 tonnes of shucked scallop meat by the year 2010.

he Saucer Scallop (Amusium balloti) is fished commercially in Central and SE Queensland as well as Western Australia. These scallops live on bare sand, rubble or soft sediment surfaces in between 10 and 75m water depth and are targeted by demersal otter trawlers throughout the year. According to the Australian Fisheries Resources (1993) the scallops occur in discrete beds, up to 15km in length and densities of up to 1 per m2. Scallops are sold whole or shucked through local markets or shipped to markets in South-East Asia (mostly Hong Kong) and USA. The Saucer Scallop has been fished in Queensland since the 1960s. However, the 1996-7 downturn in the WA and QLD scallop fisheries saw the introduction in QLD of a precautionary management approach. Three scallop replenish-

ment areas (SRAs) – which are closed and opened to commercial fishing on a rotational basis – were established in 1997. A consequence of both this precautionary management plan and the 2001 introduction of the East Coast Trawl Plan has been a reduction of fishing effort, the development of pulse fishing and, as a result, an inconsistant supply of scallops to the processors and the marketplace. Before these measures, the scallop fishery supported 900 people in the catching sector and 1200 in in the processing sector for an annual average harvest of 1,200 tonnes of scallop meat (maximum recorded 2,000 tonnes). Today there’s just 270 people out catching the scallops and around 240 processing them; the harvest is 600 tonnes of scallop meat worth around $15 million.

Main pic top: QSS hatchery located at the Port of Bundaberg QLD. Above: QSS Director Clarry McGibbon unloading a QSS harvest at Hervey Bay.

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Management Metrics Key Management Decisions for QSS include: • Selection of Saucer Scallops as the culture species due to its high market appeal and fast growth rates. • Seeding of hatchery produced juveniles (4-5mm) to allow consistent scallop harvests • Selection of Hervey Bay for scallop ranching areas due to the high growth rate of Saucer Scallops there (around 8 months to 90mm) • Use of marker to identify hatchery reared individuals from wild scallops to allow further research on survivability and movement. Milestones to Date • Securing aquaculture licences and only SRA’s within Queensland • Construction and commissioning of the only commercial Saucer Scallop hatchery in Australia (if not the world) • Production of 25 million spat since commissioning hatchery • Seeding approximately 10 million spat since 2005 • Av. stocking density: 10 per square metre of seafloor • Annual harvest: predicted 300 tonnes /year of shucked meat by 2010.

QSS Algae Technician Colin Wedel counting algae cells prior to feeding spat.

(Approximately 5.5 tonnes of whole scallops is shucked to produce 1 tonne of scallop meat which sells for around $25/kg ex-processing factory Pulse fishing and intermittent supply make it so difficult to supply or expand current markets. And industry participants are so frustrated. However there is a way forward. The downturn prompted a three year FRDC-funded research project “Development of a business plan for enhancement / culture of scallops in Australian waters”. And its report 4 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

identified the Saucer Scallop as the most commercially attractive species in Australia suited to enhancement techniques. This species is claimed to be the most palatable and the most valuable of all scallops. The researchers determined that a sea ranching project based on it would be potentially very profitable and ecologically sustainable. It would remove the effects of the pulse fishing, stabilise prices and enhance market share. The FRDC report developed a lot of

industry interest in ranching the Saucer Scallops; this in turn saw twenty industry members found Queensland Sea Scallop Ltd (QSS, a public unlisted company) in 2002. Scallop Ranching According to QSS General Manager Robert Dean, QSS is on the verge of supplying Saucer Scallops from its local aquaculture venture. “Over the past three years QSS has been developing the commercial hatchery, nursery and growout techniques required to support a ranching project,” he says. QSS successfully secured a Federal grant of $487,000 from the Sustainable Regions Programme to support the development of the project. The company’s first hatchery at Port Bundaberg has been operational since April 2005. The Port Authority of Bundaberg could see the future and benefits of aquaculture and to attract QSS to the Bundaberg region they constructed a 4.5 km long seawater supply line (worth $750,000) to provide the QSS hatchery with clean oceanic seawater, an essential factor for raising healthy scallops. QSS has two licensed ‘Aquaculture Sites’ in Hervey Bay covering approximately 72 km2. Under the ideal conditions found in Hervey Bay, Amusium balloti can reach an appropriate harvest size of 90mm just 36 weeks after spawning. Robert says one of the benefits of the QSS project is that the company can hold its product within the aquaculture areas until it has reached the ideal market size. In this way the company will be able to maximise returns from it’s scallop stock. QSS has a production timeline targeting 300 tonnes of meat product by the year 2010, currently the average of the wild fishery in QLD. Regular monitoring, using video and benthic sampling equipment for growth, survival and movements will provide important biological information. Harvesting of the mature scallop will be conducted using tendered licensed trawlers with conventional otter trawling equipment. In 2007, QSS applied and received further grant funding from the Australian

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Government with a $322,483 allocation under the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Structural Adjustment Package. The Community Assistance component of the GBRMP Structural Adjustment Package is administered under the Regional Partnerships program on behalf of the Department of the Environment and Heritage. Member for Hinkler Paul Neville MP says the money will fund capital purchases to help secure the project’s viability. “These new funds will further bolster the enterprise,” Mr Neville says. “The end result will be a new industry to help alleviate the impact of rezoning of the Great Barrier Reef and the creation of new jobs - just what we want for the local region. “Specifically, the money will go towards the purchase of a fast transport boat, a storage and packing shed, holding trays and pumping equipment, various fittings, and the rental of an established live holding tank facility and wharf access. Funding will also be spent on gaining various accreditations for the processing plant, training and company signage.” Marking hatchery scallops About 70 kilometres north-east of Brisbane at the Bribie Island Aquaculture Research Centre (BIARC) a small team including, biologist Dr Tim Lucas, chief investigator Dr Paul Palmer and Technician Dr Sizhong Wang have finished a successful marking project about to undergo commercial trials by QSS in Harvey Bay, some four hours further north. A successful conclusion will ensure that wild-spawned scallops and those originating in the hatchery can be distinguished. In turn that will help determine determine scallop movement and the survivability of the seeded scallop stock. In order to achieve best possible commercial outcomes Tim says industry and government have been working together. The marking project, co-funded by FRDC, QDPI&F and QSS, was collaboration between QDPI&F scientists, mollusc expert Rick Scoones from Western Australia and QSS staff.

From top: QSS Hatchery Manager Tom Barker inspecting spat tanks. Larvae tanks within the QSS hatchery complex. A clean unfouled scallop buried in sand (top) and a badly fouled scallop (bottom) which was unable to bury itself. Photo by Tim Lucas.

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Medicine Authorities (APVMA) for use in aquaculture of fish destined for human consumption. Tim says Calcein, Alizarin and OTC all could be used in the scallops. “Alizarin red S resulted in high mortality of the scallops and was not consistent. Calcein was good, but the marks were not strong enough. OTC was the best because it was bright yellow and could be detected under an ultra violet light and had minimal side effects. We found there were high survival rates and good growth rates with the scallops growing up to 20mm in 8 weeks.

A 40 times magnification of a doublemarked scallop shell as seen under the epifluorescent microscope – the two bands can be clearly seen. The dots along the bottom are the scallop’s eye spots.

“OTC is a consistent, reliable, easy and cheap marking method that works for the species and can be easily identified in the wild (on the fishing vessels).”

Photo by Tim Lucas.

New clean shell growth on a scallop transferred to sand-bed system showing how the stalked ciliate fouling remained only in the originally fouled area of the shell. Photo by Tim Lucas.

Tim says Japan has had enormous success with its local scallop species when the industry started ranching, going from a variable 11,000 tonne harvest in the 1960s to a consistent 400,000 tonne p.a. in the 1990s. He believes that adding the marking technology to the ranching process promises accurate tracking of scallop survival, growth rate and migration, important tools for a successful local industry. Marking finfish and molluscs with chemical dye is not a new science, but 6 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

creating a cheap marker that is easy to administer and long lasting for the scallop fishery is something else entirely. “We needed something that could be used on small animals and millions of them. It had to be non-toxic, long lasting and not taken up by the meat,” Tim explains. After trying several different markers including Calcein and Alizarin, the team came up trumps with Oxytetracycline (OTC) which has been approved by Australian Pesticides and Veterinary

Scallops live at depths around 20 metres with very low levels of light. Happily the indications are that the OTC mark can remain visible for at least 10 months, even with no sand to cover the shell and exposure to light over that period. R&D Tank System Mimicking sea bed conditions found in the wild in a lab environment was an obstacle that had to be overcome by the BIARC team. Two 200-litre flow through tanks were used, each with a 20-25cm deep water layer covering sand on top of mesh screens to simulate a shallow sea-bed. A five tonne tank full of seawater filtered to 20-micron provided a flow through every two days. Equal proportions of five species of microalgae (Isochrysis galbana, Chaetoceros muelleri, Pavlova salina, Pavlova lutheri and Proteomonas sulcata) were added to maintain algal cell levels of 30,000 cells per mL. To ensure high quality algae, Tim says it was produced in a rapid growth indoor system with controlled temperature, sterile fertilised water and artificial fluorescent lighting. Scallop juveniles produced by QSS were transferred to BIARC in a 25L carboy. The juveniles transported well and took about a week to recover. Received at a size of 2-4mm, the scallops were grown to 20mm in two months

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Growth rate and survival of the trial scallops in their sand-based tanks was improved by using heaters to stabilise daily fluctuations in tank water temperature. “Part of improving survival was to add a greater variety of microalgal food. Also the sand seemed to reduce shell fouling,” Tim says. The team also wanted to know what impact sand had on the mark and, over two months, found there was no evidence of abrasion; in fact the marks seemed to maintain brightness in the sand-system. “This makes sense because scallops naturally cover their shell in sand, reducing exposure to light (light exposure fades fluorescence gradually over time).” The future for scallop marking “We have developed the system that will be used by industry,” Tim says. “The future of the marking project was exciting and a world first for scallops. This project is just a beginning with QSS hoping to develop a whole range of barcodes that would provide a scallop’s history, growth rate, movement and survival.” He adds that QSS is also working on the best deployment strategy to enhance growth rate. By Dos O’Sullivan and Emma Rudge For more information on Queensland Sea Scallop contact Robert Dean, Queensland Sea Scallop Ltd, 145 Buss St Burnett Heads, Qld 4670, Tel: 07 4159-4188,

QSS Hatchery Technician Chris Dean checking on broodstock.

Fax: 07 4159-5719, email: qld.seascalllop@bigpond.com For more information on the marker contact Dr Tim Lucas, Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Bribie Island Aquaculture Research Centre, PO Box 2066, Woorim QLD 4057, Tel: 07 3400 2019, fax: 07 3408 3535, email: tim.lucas@dpi.qld.gov.au FRDC research project “Development of a business plan for enhancement / culture of scallops in Australian waters” is available from http://bookshop.frdc.com.au/miva/ merchant.mv?page=B/PROD/HD2000-190 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 7

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Redclaw growers win funds, breed a better product A

lthough redclaw (Cherax quadricarinatus) have been farmed since the mid-1980s, production has plateaued out at 100t worth $1.5m at the farm gate. Now, a group of Far Northern Queensland growers have resolved to bust that barrier. Members of the North Queensland Branch of the Queensland Crayfish Farmer’s Association (QCFA), they have successfully lobbied for $130,000 of development funding from the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) to establish a hatchery that will supply growers with millions of common-age, week old hatchlings and develop a breeding program to maximize the genetic potential of this very marketable animal. Project co-ordinator and NQCFA as

well as QCFA President, John Stevenson believes the program will enable them to breed a genotype that will reduce production costs by increasing yields and growth rates. In so doing it will revitalise an industry he feels has “fallen off the radar” down in Brisbane where policy decisions are made.

Main pic above. A berried redclaw female being stripped of eggs. Below: The eggs are stripped directly into the egg cups.

The project is based on Ross and Wendy Martin’s Tolga farm on the Atherton Tablelands where the funds have bankrolled a hatchery and a grading room. The climate controlled hatchery is 5m x 4m and houses the incubator built on the Finnish ‘Heputin’ design. Up to 200,000 crayfish can be hatched per sitting. Bore water is used on the property and the 50m x 20m x 2m deep ponds are aerated by a 1hp paddlewheel aerator. Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 9

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The breeding program There are nine farmers involved in the breeding program which started with 12 redclaw families. One is from a breeding program carried out at the Queensland Department of Primary Industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (DPI) Walkamin Research Station in 2003 and two are from wild stock. The other nine have come from the best stock of the nine participating farmers.

The breeding compartments (oyster purses) are suspended by cable across the pond.

Initially, this best available stock was crossed to provide the first cycle. The eggs were stripped and hatched in the incubator, then returned to the farms for growout. At the end of a nine month growing cycle these animals were harvested and a random 1000 animal sample taken. Data collected from this sample is being used to monitor progress of the program. The best 50 males and the best 120 females from each farm are used in the program as broodstock for subsequent cycles. Selection is based on growth rates and the cycle is to be repeated on a yearly basis. Males from each family are crossed over the females of a different family on a rotation basis. Each cycle sees the establishment of a new family line. Scientists from James Cook University Townville (JCU) involved in the program have predicted a 100% increase in growth rate from the program in eight cycles

The oyster purses have proven to be cheap and efficient breeding boxes.

The eggs from one female. Looks can be deceiving. There were actually over 600 eggs on the tail of this female.

The breeding is done by stocking one male with three females in an oyster purse. These purses are commercially available and have saved a lot of time making breeding compartments. All that was needed was the addition of some hides and weighting of the purses so they would be stable. The stocked purses are hung from cables in the breeding ponds and can be winched to the surface for monitoring. Once the water temperatures get up to 24Â°C the crayfish breed naturally. When the thermometer approaches this mark the purses are constantly monitored to ensure the eggs are caught for stripping and incubating. As the females berry up they are taken to the hatchery and, using tweezers, the eggs are stripped off the pleopods into small perforated cups. The cups are

10 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

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The incubator will hold 500 egg cups and produce up to 200,000 S3Js per sitting.

One of the holding tanks at the farm. From left to right – Peter and Shelley Beldan from Mackay and NQCFA President John Stevenson.

A 95g male redclaw in breeding condition.

A typical harvest from a pond stocked with S3Js after eight months.

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placed in racks in the incubator at a water temperature between 25°C and 26°C. The racks are gently rocked and the water circulated through the 300L tray the egg cups sit in. Water is exchanged at the rate of 1.5% a day to remove any build up of ammonia.

The incubator. Note the return water storage which also acts as a bio-filter tray at the hatchery.

A flow trap in action. Note the hides lining the ponds. Flow trapping has replaced manual trapping in the Queensland’s redclaw industry.

They were problems with fungi, saprolegnia and chytrid, the latter particularly insidious as it was invisible to the naked eye, burrowing into the eggs and attacking the embryo. Now ozone is generated and mixed with the water to destroy fungi and/or bacteria that may invade the system. Any excess ozone is drawn off and expelled into the atmosphere. The balance maintains DO levels in the hatchery at 10mg/L, a saturation level of 130%. Given the extremely high metabolic rate of the developing crayfish in the eggs, these DO levels ensure an adequate supply of oxygen through the eggs’ osmotic shell. The incubator holds 500 baskets with each used to hold the eggs from just one female. The best yield achieved so far is 750 eggs from a 130g female but the normal yield is between 300-400 eggs per female.

John is checking the settings at the hatchery.

The eggs hatch in around four weeks with the embryonic-like crayfish moulting in the first 24 hours. It is now a fully fledged crayfish but still fragile. Within a week it moults again and by this stage is a fully developed redclaw. Dubbed S3J, (Stage 3 Juvenile) John says it would take a piece out of you if it could! At this stage it is 0.02g and ready to go out to the growers for stocking. Packed 10,000 to a plastic bag with water and oxygen, the juveniles are transported to the farms. The count is made by averaging the weight of known number of juveniles and using that as the bench mark of the batch. To make record keeping easier and constant, the new family created by the cross is returned to the farm that provided the females in the cross. The microclimate varies over the geographic spread of the project from the coastal plains to the Tablelands - up to 1000m above sea level - to one grower at Proa Station out towards Julia Creek in west-

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ern Queensland. Returning the animals to the dams’ home environment ensures that any local evolutionary benefits that may have developed over the years are given every chance to express themselves. After 12 months these animals are harvested and the process is repeated. The largest 200 are sent to the hatchery for the next year’s breeding cycle and the balance marketed through the usual channels. A second hatchery operates within the project at nearby Atherton so should a disaster befall one hatchery the other will be holding the same family lines. Learning curve John says they have been on a steep learning curve. “The berried females don’t all come in from the breeding ponds at the same stage, so we have looked at ways of holding the eggs back by refrigeration to achieve a unified S3J stage. There have been so many things like that that we have had to deal with. Getting the ozone delivery just right was another one,” he says. “It’s very labour intensive when we are in the hatchery stage. Dead eggs have to be removed on a daily basis. By constant surveillance we have been able to get hatch rates of over 90%.” Something else John has noticed since they have been breeding juveniles in the hatchery has been the shift in emphasis. “Now that we’ve been to so much trouble to breed these little crays we’ve become fussy. Fussy how we handle them, fussy how we transport them. And now we have a starting point, we’re able to look at other ways to improve production, such as feed and stocking rates,” he says Husbandry methods Currently the farming methods employed vary widely. For instance, Ross says that the pond temperatures on the Tablelands range from 15-30°C. Down at Townsville on the coast they rarely fall below 20oC and can climb into the mid to high 30s. Despite these variations, most serious growers in North Queensland are able to average

3t/ha from their ponds over the year. Feed is another area at which the group intend to improve productivity. Current diets range from low protein (20%) locally manufactured rations to soaked grains to barramundi pellets (45%). They feel that the introduction of uniform stocking rates with juvenile redclaw will lead to a starting point from which current feeding practices can be monitored and improvements measured. From a common starting point new diets can be developed and evaluated. Flow traps are now used universally, a labour saving welcomed industry-wide. The group believe the breeding program will lead to a similar economic benefits. Selection criteria Meticulous records are kept of each redclaw used in the breeding program. One parameter under examination is the tail weight in proportion to the body weight. Conscious of selecting for overall body size alone, a vernier is used to measure the width and depth of the tail and the length from head to tail. John says they would also like to be able to select crayfish for colour; not so much for their display appearance, but a shell colour that would cook up to the deep red consumers associate with crayfish. Production runs The standard redclaw pond is 50m x 20m x 2m deep. Typically, when pond temperatures get up into the low 20s, these 0.1ha ponds are stocked with 150kg of adult crayfish of mixed sex graded to a 20g tolerance - for example 30g to 50g or 80g to 100g. The stocking can be done almost all year round as

From top: The perforated egg cups sitting in the incubator. John working the winch that lowers and raises the breeding compartments

the North Queensland winter is short and mild although the date will vary from region to region. The redclaw will be harvested seven to nine months later. Ponds are aerated at night and fed 5kg of food every second day. In some cases hay is used to stimulate zooplankton growth. The ponds are lined with ample habitat for cover. One farmer has invested in an injection moulding machine and supplies purpose-made habitat to industry. Most are bird netted and all are fenced to keep out water and bush rats plus eels on the coastal watershed. John has an interesting story to tell about rat fencing. The literature says to Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 13

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build the fence around the ponds 60cm high. He felt that it wasn’t high enough so he set up a series of hurdles behind which he left some redclaw as bait. It wasn’t until the hurdles were a meter high that the rats were excluded. He says the whole experiment hadn’t cost more than $200, but it saved the industry thousands. The initial stockers will breed up and the grower harvests them along with the crop. The yields include the original stockers, which in likelihood have at least doubled in weight since the original stocking. Under the hatchery breeding program, 10,000 S3Js are stocked per pond (10/ m2). A few weeks on the season are gained by having control of the breeding through the hatchery. John says this early start alone is worth the effort and expense of running the program. Attrition in the growout ponds has been estimated at 50%. Average weights have been in the vicinity of 40g after 8 months, giving a nett yield of 200kg/ pond or 3t/ha/yr. These results are from the first cycle before any selection for faster growth has been made. Working on an average harvest of 400 S3Js per female, this represents a yield of 200 redclaw per female. John says they’d be lucky to get 20 redclaw back per female under the old stocking method.

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14 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

The 50% attrition over the growing period does not seem to be dependant on the stocking density. John has stocked S3Js at 20/m2 – double the normal rate – and still recovered 50% of the stock. As an example of the sort of information that will benefit the sector from having a common starting point, John points out that one of the participating farms has achieved a survival rate of 85%. “Everyone is looking hard at their methods!”. The North Queensland Branch of the Association has 15 active member farms with a production base of 35ha. Ross is the Secretary and Ursula Valverdes is the Treasurer. Drs. Dean Jerry and Leigh Owens, both from James Cook JCU’s Townsville campus are helping the group with their genetics program and health issues respectively. John says

their input has been invaluable, as has the help from the grant. “The confidence in the industry shown by receiving the grant from RIRDC has lifted everyone’s spirits. We’re doing the best we possibly can so what comes out of the project is meaningful,” he says. “We’re a tight knit group and help each other where ever we can. We used to have twice the number of members but it’s working well now with fewer people who are all serious farmers. Production hasn’t dropped so we must be doing something right”. Markets The customary lament from the freshwater crayfish sector around the country is that they can’t produce enough to satisfy the market. The North Queensland redclaw sector is no different. However, John says the prices are another matter. “We have to grow bigger animals. The perception is that redclaw are small. We have to market them at the size the Western Australians sell their marron. We’re getting $17/kg to $20/kg delivered for 50g to 100g crayfish to local customers. We should be able to double the size and get double the value into our product”, he says. The future Once the protocols are established for the hatchery, and presuming the expected economic advantages of stocking with common age juveniles from selected parental stock is proven, John and his colleagues expect to ramp up the hatchery production and begin expanding their production base. The subsequent cost reduction together with the availability of a uniform animal will underwrite a marketing campaign based on a quality product and a reliable supply. Given further research programs already on the drawing board and a new lease of life, redclaw farming in North Queensland looks set to establish itself as one of the region’s major aquaculture producers. By John Mosig John Stevenson can be contacted by phone on (07) 4772 2036, or by email on jhstevo@bigpond.com

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Investor sees potential for Hawkesbury Oysters It would be a big call to be the first person to invest in an industry that just three years beforehand had been devastated by mass mortalities. However, Steve Jones believed that growers who opted to see it through and the subsequent Government funded cleanup of the Hawkesbury River provided an opportunity for investment and lifestyle change.

teve Jones used to be an agricultural consultant who now eats, drinks and sleeps oysters. Living next door to an oyster farmer, he witnessed first hand the collapse of the oyster industry in the Hawkesbury River in 2004 following QX diseaseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wipeout of virtually all the Sydney Rock Oyster crop (SRO, Saccostrea commercialis). Seeing the determination and commitment of the

few remaining oyster farmers plus the possibilities offered by selectively-bred oysters, Steve did his homework and soon decided he would like to participate in the resurrection of oyster growing on the Hawkesbury River. So, in 2006 he purchased a farm with 28ha of growout and harvest leases; the 12 leases are well spread out over the

From top: Baskets of young Broken Bay Pacific Oysters being made ready to return to the river. Broken Bay Oyster logo represents high quality oysters from sustainable aquaculture practices on the Hawkesbury River. Premium Broken Bay oysters- what a treat!

Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 15

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Management Metrics Key Management Decisions for Mattamatta Oyster include: • Production of both Sydney Rock and Pacific Oysters. • Exploitation of leases purely for growout. • Use of hatchery reared, selectively bred oysters for consistent and faster product. • Use of triploid pacific oysters as a strategy following QX disease (SRO). • Use of a grading system that defines what makes a good oyster – it can be repeated and supplied consistently • Selling direct into nearby Sydney. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) include: • Culture System utilised: socks, trays and baskets on floating longlines and intertidal racks • Growth rate (from stocking to market): >24 months for SRO, 12 to 18 months for PO. • High survival rate of spat – estimated currently at least 80% from first stocking to sale size.

quickly in the river. By watching inputs and investing in new infrastructure, I believed there was an opportunity to successfully grow Pacific Oysters after the failure of Sydney Rocks. The principles are much like raising fat lambs; you need to provide husbandry for the oysters until they are ready for sale – moving and grading them as often as necessary. “Also the Hawkesbury River has an ancient history as a key oyster growing river; it is the ‘home’ of oyster exploitation and a premium growing area. Oysters were very important for Aboriginal culture and the shells of the many middens provided much of the lime that helped build Sydney Town. The clean waters, large tides and warmer water ensures loads of feed and fast growth.” Although Sydney Rock Oysters obviously grew well in the Hawkesbury River and there are QX resistant Sydney Rock strains available, Steve noted the triploid Pacific grew well there. “And they taste very similar to the Sydney Rocks as they feed on the same organisms,” he says. “Of course the SRO is a state icon and still has a lot of demand. Here in the Hawkesbury there are six million people on our doorstep that could want fresh oysters. We are only 50km from the GPO, and an hour drive from the fish markets (Pyrmont). This means no long distance shipping.”

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various oyster growing regions in the river and are part of Steve’s risk mitigation process. Being the first investor following the QX losses, people thought the move into oysters was either far sighted or not well thought out. “I came at the investment in a structured way,” he says. “I developed a detailed business plan that looked good financially and I ensured I had a good capital base. I examined both the Tasmanian 16 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

farming methods as well as the South Australian investment in more mechanised farming methods in Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas). “Although we grow a Pacific Oyster in the Hawkesbury, the type we grow is unable to reproduce (triploid) and therefore doesn’t compete with the long term recovery of the Sydney Rock Oyster. In the Hawkesbury the Pacific Oyster is bought in as spat and grows

While researching the investment, Steve saw how people were waking up to how a clean river was a great resource. The ‘icing on the cake’ was the development by the NSW DPI of a stakeholder best practice document for oyster production (OASIS). “I spoke to oyster growers, shire councils and other stakeholders and believe future farming risks are reduced given the oyster industry’s standing as a recognised stakeholder in river and estuary futures. With any development likely to impact on oyster production the proponent needs to consult with all stakeholders including the oyster growers.” Whilst acknowledging the oyster industry in NSW has a long – and, at times, environmentally chequered – history, he reckons changes are now rapid and evi-

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dent. “Take for example the joint industry and Government program to clean up the Hawkesbury River leases of the old wood and tar infrastructure plus the tonnes of dead Sydney Rock Oysters from QX (see Vol 22.1 March 2008 and next issue of AAM). “It is a big advantage to have the non productive areas cleaned up and being part of an industry that truly cares about the river resources for all stakeholders. Of equal importance was that the funding provided employment for the experienced oyster growers over four lean years since QX allowing some to return back to the River with their work teams.” Nevertheless, the 28 oyster growers on the Hawkesbury River in early 2004 are now down to 12 businesses, with the number of workers falling from 60 to the low 20s. Steve says that reduction provies opportunities for new entrants. “There are still significant areas of viable oyster lease which can be revamped and we would welcome responsible new investors.” The remaining oyster growers have formed the Broken Bay Oyster Association. Together they’ve developed new and appropriate oyster culture systems with supporting infrastructure, such as automatic grading machines, and ensure their produce is responsibly marketed. “With the adoption of best practice, it is interesting to note that industry and government are not fighting each other; everyone wants to keep the river clean,” Steve continues. “The Hawkesbury River has a large catchment with a huge water flow, but there is also increasing pressure with population development in the upper Hawkesbury. Stormwater run off and over 30 sewage plants on the river system all present risks at certain times to the farmers. “Therefore oyster growers and government use the NSW SQAP (Shellfish Quality Assurance Program) which demands monthly tests for water quality and meat contamination. The program ensures automatic harvesting closures after significant rainfall or other events guaranteeing clean safe oysters for consumers. Everyone is now working together for

the end result of clean water and safe oysters. For example the Hornsby Council is looking to impress on river users and boaters not to dump rubbish and effluent in the River and the National Parks Service is erecting toilets for boaters near some oyster harvest areas of the estuary.”

18-30 months to get to the best market size and condition.” Like all members of Broken Bay Oyster Association, Steve has left behind the tar, cement and timber of yesteryear. He aims to have his entire culture infrastructure made from sustainable materials, including recycled plastics. “We use specially made mesh socks (1mm or 3mm mesh) which are placed inside 6mm mesh SEPA baskets. These float on rope lines for 2-6 months undergoing a number of gradings and sortings until the spat are large enough (>20mmmm) for trays.

Total focus on growout Steve made an early decision to buy high quality spat from nurseries and employ experienced staff to develop the work practices for the new triploid Pacific Oysters. “We aim to manage as many oysters as possible efficiently without compromising quality. We are still learning and where possible the aim is to mechanise various parts of the operation. We want to get the oysters into condition (fat) as soon as possible and it is a good thing the oysters feed themselves.

“The floating lines can be up to 500 meters long and move up and down with the tide, ensuring the oysters feed as long as possible when they are smaller. The young seed in particular are handled every 1 to 2 weeks for cleaning, grading and resocking.”

“We start with hatchery produced Pacific Oyster spat from Tasmania at around 2mm and sell them at 70-120mm as soon as possible (12 to 18 months growout period). We also have some QX resistant Sydney Rock Oysters, grown from spat from the NSW north coast, which take

When the oysters are around 30 to 40mm, they are moved to the 20mm mesh growout trays on intertidal racks in the harvest areas on the river. The plastic trays have different mesh sizes (8mm to 20mm), Steve uses Aquatrays (2m x 1.2m) which are tied down to TM

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intertidal plastic pipe racks, exposing the oysters at low tide. The oysters on these trays spend the first month or so under predator-proof mesh to prevent fish eating them. Oysters will spend a total of 4-8 months on these trays prior to harvesting and are raked and/or graded into similar sizes every 2-3 months. Given hours of exposure to hot, damaging sun during the summer months, two of Steve’s most important harvest areas are overhead irrigated with salt water sprays to keep the oysters cool. “The constant handling gives a better shaped oyster than those grown attached to sticks or those left in the trays without disturbance. The intertidal culture also assists in producing a larger and better exercised adductor muscle (because the oyster is exposed to the air on low tides twice a day and shuts itself up) improving shelf life over subtidally grown oysters. The Hawkesbury River also seems to produce a hard, robust and well-shaped shell, possibly harder than other regions.” Other risks to oysters include storms, mud worm, seaweed and algae growth

18 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

and overcatch or fouling. Many lease areas have wave protection boards around their perimeter to reduce the effect of storm generated waves washing oysters from the trays. Mud worm is managed through handling and washing the oysters regularly while on the racks. Overcatch – the settling of barnacles, muscles and wild oysters on the shell of the cultivated oysters – results in unsightly shapes and competition for food. Steve (from his agricultural background) is well aware of the high costs to farmers from the need to manage pest weeds and insects in crops and he likens this to the oyster farmer’s need to overcome fouling problems. “The fouling due to over catch can mean big costs to manage,” he says. “I am always looking at ways to reduce these costs through adapting equipment or better practices.” Two other new investors have now entered the Hawkesbury River and Steve and the other growers welcome more. “There has been a change in how people do business here now. Before it was common for each business to farm and do business independently.

“However, with the recovery, farmers are seeing big advantages and opportunities to collaborate where it makes sense, like sharing the cost and usage of high tech equipment such as automatic oyster washers and graders. Other options could include automating other activities like irrigation pumps out on the leases that turn on when the oysters have been out of the water for too long. Government is very supportive of small businesses that work together and there are grants to support the development of such ideas.” Improved Marketing Needed Steve has strong views on oyster marketing. “As a newcomer to the industry, I thought it was important to understand how the oysters got to the consumer. I am on the NSW Farmers Oyster Committee and am president of Broken Bay Oyster Association. My experience as a consultant in agriculture involved marketing, product development and production systems; it was my observation that generally oyster growers in NSW are price takers, not

FA R M P R O F I L E

price makers. The oyster price doesn’t change much even when oysters are in short supply. “ Oysters are also often used as ‘loss leaders’ (sold at a cheap price to encourage sales of other products) by processors and retailers to bring in customers and boost the sales of other seafood. For the SRO this has meant price doesn’t necessarily reflect quality.” “On top of that, the oyster industry has no obvious effective history or practice of promotion of oysters, particularly in NSW. The SRO has no specified grading system, unlike the Pacific Oyster which is presented to market in a much more consistent and reliable way via a grading system which defines size and condition. “We need to promote the healthy nutrients, fats and energy packed into every oyster – the oyster really is nature’s little nutrition parcel. The market needs a lot more information from us. For example a study undertaken by Nick Ruello in 2005 found that many younger people didn’t even know there were two differ-

ent oyster species (Sydney Rocks and Pacifics) sold in Australia. In NSW the species are often presented in retail outlets and restaurants side by side with little explanation or reason for size, price and quality differences.” One challenge to continuity of supply is that whilst the high food levels and warm waters in the estuary give excellent growth and fattening for our oysters, the estuary has yet to produce marketable condition oysters 12 months of the year. “But we feel it is only a matter of developing the correct management techniques and adopting them,” Steve opinions. Broken Bay Oysters are sold as large, standard and buffet grades generally via various processors. Whilst still limited in number, they have been sold in most areas of Australia. “As a group, Broken Bay Oyster growers have elected to adopt some key tenets, the principal two being that a Broken Bay Oyster will only be sold when it is in prime condition and that it will be produced with the most sustainable management techniques available.”

And it seems to be working. “ We have already won awards for quality, and receive consistent praise for the delicacy of the flavour, particularly versus other Pacific Oysters. Our oysters are consistently described as being more like a Sydney Rock experience. To me, it is important that an oyster lover that purchases a Broken Bay Oyster enjoys the experience and returns to try again.” Steve is confident of a great future on the River. “I have invested significantly in what I see as a great opportunity, so it isn’t a hobby but a business. However there can be no better ‘office’ than on the River on a nice day. I firmly believe that oyster farming on the Hawkesbury is at the cusp of re-emerging as a premium NSW oyster region.” By Dos O’Sullivan. For more information contact Steven Jones, Mattamatta Oysters, 19 Bridge Street, Brooklyn NSW 2083. Mobile: 0405 382 717, Email: smjones@aglign.com.au

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Clownfish abound in indigenous marine facility This pair are guarding their clutch of about 300 eggs. The largest, most dominant fish of the pair is often the female.

The most popular of all marine ornamentals sold, this fish was made even more famous by the “Finding Nemo” movie, produced by Disney Studios.

Premnas biaculeatus occur around coral reefs in the marine waters of the East Indian and West Pacific oceans.

All clownfish, including this pair of Amphiprion percula, will choose an area for spawning that can be protected and will clean the area as part of courtship behaviour.

Over the past six years the Broome-based Manbana Aquaculture Centre has matured to become a key source of captive bred marine ornamental fish in Australia and the business is now exporting into Asia.

he trade in marine ornamental fish began with fish being transported from Sri Lanka in the 1930s and became global in the 1970s with the advent of cheaper, more frequent air freight capabilities as well as an increase in demand.

An estimate of the true global market is difficult to determine as the countries involved in the industry range widely in the accuracy of the data collection methods; some countries keep no data at all. However, it is estimated that at least 20 to 25 million fish are traded legally each year, with only 2% of these being bred in captivity. More than 1,400 different species are sought by the 1.5 to 2 million private marine aquaria keepers worldwide as well as

public aquaria and zoos. Of this number, about 70% of the fish are from six key families, being the Angelfish (Pomacanthidae), Butterflyfish (Chaetadonidae), Wrasses (Labridae), Surgeonfish (Acanthuridae), Gobies (Gobiidae), and the Anemone and Damselfish (Pomacentridae). The Anemone fish are popularly termed as ‘Clownfish’ and it is these that the Manbana Aquaculture Centre have identified as being their first target group to breed and supply to the Australian and international marine ornamental trade. Established by the Kimberley Aquaculture Aboriginal Corporation in 2002, Manbana’s charter is to establish a commercial aquaculture enterprise to provide employment and training in marine ornamental aquaculture for indigenous people in the area. Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 21

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Management Metrics Key Management Decisions for Manbana Aquaculture Centre include: • Increase in types and species of Clownfish produced • Further expansion of different species offered for sale • Further development of export trade to expand sales. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) include: • Culture system utilised: bare bottomed, glass or fibreglass tanks and recirculating systems • Growth rate (from stocking to market): <5 months (3-4cm) • Survival rate: 90% from first stocking to sale size • Av. stocking density: 10/L per grow out unit; up to 300/130L for larval stage • Annual harvest: At present targeting 52,000 tails

Production Facilities The centre is situated on the Broome Tropical Aquaculture Park managed by the West Australian Department of Fisheries (DoF). DoF is responsible for providing seawater to the park’s service site, which is filtered to 60 microns before being pumped to Manbana’s storage facilities – consisting of one 10 tonne header tank and three 20 tonne underground storage tanks. There are also storage tanks available for emergency use, such as when the area is under cyclone alert.

The facility consists of three 40m x 10m plastic covered tunnels together with larval rearing room, live feeds laboratory, dry laboratory and offices. The marine ornamental facility currently fills half of one tunnel and all larval and laboratory rooms whilst a commercial pearl hatchery leases the remainder of the facility.

The water is further filtered to 40 microns before being used in the hatchery and is filtered down further to 25 microns in the recirculating systems. The farm can also make use of saline

Recirculating systems are widely utilised in this facility. There are two broodstock systems (consisting of 45 x 120L glass tanks), two grow-out systems each using 450L glass tanks (one has six

After the bag has been filled with oxygen, it is fastened with a band and is ready to be placed in the order box.

The clownfish are being packed in water that has been prepared for the transit time, with oxygen being piped into the bag.

22 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

bore water that can be switched on at any time and has access to fresh water for cleaning purposes and for reducing salinity readings in the various systems.

tanks and the second has 11 tanks) and a larval static system with ten 130L fibreglass tanks. Water is cycled using Onga 435 pumps while two blowers supply extra aeration to the systems. Mechanical filtration is carried out by bag filters; biological filtration is via biofilters filled with Bioballs®. UV sterilisers ae fitted to all systems. Water quality parameters are measured daily using digital read out monitors and adjustments are made accordingly. The broodstock, juvenile and grow-out systems are given a 10% water change per day while the larval system is given a 50% water change per day. For the Clownfish, seawater parameters are required – a pH of 7.5 to 8.0, a temperature of 27°C, salinity at 33-35 ppt and a dissolved oxygen of 6ppm. Effluent water is filtered, chlorinated and stored in three 20 tonne underground storage tanks where settlement and chlorine dissipation occurs followed by pumping to the DoF service site for further solids settlement and later disposal. This water has to be monitored regularly to comply with licence requirements. Species & breeding While Manbana is allowed to catch a limited amount of broodstock from the wild, most have been sourced from the aquarium trade throughout Australia. Technical Manager Karen Salkills who sources the broodstock explains: The fish, when packed in their bags, are placed in a polystyrene box that is lined with plastic as per airline regulations.

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“Sometimes we keep our own stock to grow up and breed but it is important that we keep sourcing different genetic lines for diversity. And the captive bred fish are much easier to settle and breed than the wild caught fish.” Concentrating on Clownfish at present, the farm is breeding many popular species including the False Orange and White Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris), the False Black and White Clownfish (A. ocellaris var), the true New Guinea Clownfish (A. percula), Australian Tomato Clownfish (A. rubrocinctus) and the Gold Striped Maroon Clownfish (Premnas biaculeatus). Manbana has sourced too many other marine species that they wish to produce including the Orchid Dottyback (Pseudochromis fridmani), Banggai Cardinal Fish (Pterapogon kauderni), Caribbean Royal Gramma (Gramma loreto) and Brazilian Royal Gramma (G. brazilienthis), the Tropical Seahorse (Hippocampus kuda) and Randall’s Goby (Amblyelotris randalii). All Clownfish are known as ‘demersal’ spawners as they require a substrate on which to spawn as well as parental care for cleaning and protection of the eggs. Terracotta pots are used in the breeding tanks to give the fish a ‘cave’ to nest the eggs. The Clownfish are usually about a year old when they first breed, at which time the largest two fish of a colony will develop into male and female pairing and will spawn. If anything

happens to one of the pair, the next largest fish will mature to spawn with the remaining fish. The pair will exhibit nesting behaviour and will often prepare and clean a site before spawning. The goal is to have the parents spawn twice a month. To that end they are exposed to a constant temperature, light intensity and daylength plus fed a special diet for peak condition. Consisting of a specialised mash of prawns, mussels, whitebait, squid, mulies (whitebait) and Spirulina, the diet is fed 2-3 times a day, with weekend staff rosters ensuring feeding and maintenance routines are kept constant. Between 150 and 1,000 eggs are laid per batch and, although it varies between species, these usually eight days to hatch out as larvae. The parents are kept with the developing eggs until the night they are due to hatch. A static green water system is used for larval rearing. Just one batch is placed into each tank; the different species are never mixed to reduce the need for further sorting later on. At this stage the larvae have a 90% survival rate. Algae in the water both protect the larvae from the intensity of the light and feed the rotifers on which the larvae, in turn, feed. Artemia nauplii are also feed to the larger larvae. Within a week the larvae metamorphose, develop their colours and patterns and start to look like a small

These black and white false clownfish are between 2 and 3 months of age and are fully weaned onto the commercial pellet diet.

Clownfish. Some species, such as the Gold Stripe Maroon Clownfish, will not finish developing their full colour characteristics and banding patterns until they are about five months old. At about 2-3 weeks, while still feeding on the larger live foods, the Clownfish are transferred into the juvenile system for weaning onto a commercially produced pellet of 4-6 microns in size. This food is stored cold to maximise its nutritional integrity. The farm has found that the optimum growth rate for the juveniles is achieved by feeding an artificial diet that has a protein/carbohydrate/ fat ratio of 60:20:20. Juveniles are fed three times a day, seven days a week. . When a month old and around 1cm in length, the juveniles are graded by hand and are transferred to the grow-out system. “We have found that when we place fish of the same size into the grow-out system and continue the grading, they grow up more evenly as a batch,” explains Jacynta Fong, Manbana’s Business Manager. “If larger juveniles are left in the tanks, these tend to dominate making it harder for the smaller fish to feed.” The stocking rate for this system can be up to ten fish per litre, although lower densities are often used to boost the growth rate. “We do not often experience problems with disease but when they are observed they are diagnosed in the dry lab and treated immediately.” Clownfish take 3-4 months to reach the These sub adults are in full colour at 4 months of age and are ready to be sold.

Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 23

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most popular selling size of 3-4 cm. At this time they are fully weaned onto the pellets allowing them to be fed on any commercially prepared diet and, after grading, can be sold. Some fish are kept and grown on for future broodstock although great care is taken to ensure that siblings are not paired together.

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Marketing After grading the fish are packed by hand into plastic bags filled with water

from the culture systems. This way the water quality parameters remain constant, reducing stress. Oxygen is used to fill the bag, and it is then placed into a polystyrene box lined with a large plastic bag (to prevent leaking should one of the fish bags rupture). Although shipment mortalities are rare, stocking densities can be lowered for extended travelling times. Most fish are sold interstate. However,

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24 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

“We intend to start sending our fish to Thailand in March as well,” said Jacynta, “We view the export market as a valuable tool in increasing our production and sales.” Jacynta believes that while the farm could not possibly meet all of the overseas demand due to its volume and expected growth, it is a commitment worth taking on. “Our current target is 1,000 fish per week; to produce more than this we have to expand our facilities. We also expect our other broodstock species to start reproducing, so that the range of fish we can offer for sale will expand.” The cultured Manbana Clownfish should attract plenty of overseas interest as more and more hobbyists and public aquaria look for fish that are sustainably produced.

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whilst the domestic market provides better prices there is a limited volume of demand. So Manbana sought assistance from Austrade and Indigenous Business Australia to develop an export trade; their fish now go to Hong Kong and Singapore.

At the moment, all of the four staff at the centre are capable of working in all areas of the farm and such multi-tasking will continue over the planned two year expansion period. As Manbana is situated on the adjacent site to the Broome TAFE College, which offers aquaculture courses to the Kimberley community, the availability of training in all facets of farm management is not a limiting factor for the business. With continued success in producing high quality fish for the ever-expanding aquarium trade, Manbana Aquaculture Centre is sure to be one of Australia’s leading ornamental hatcheries well into the future. By Louise Willis with Dos O’Sullivan For more information contact Karen Salkills, Hatchery Manager, Manbana Aquaculture Centre, PO Box 3494, Broome, WA 6725. Tel: +61 (08) 8919-23844, Fax: +61 (08) 8919-23944, Email: info@manbana.com.au

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Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 25

FA R M P R O F I L E

Branching into coral propagation Since establishing an aquarium maintenance business in 1999, Greg Hammond has been in frequent contact with hobbyists propagating and growing their own coral. But sustainable supply of coral to the marine ornamental market is propblematical so Greg’s interest soon morphed into a gradual commercialisation of captive propagated coral for aquarium enthusiasts.

ydney-based Coral Farm began as a small scale R&D project in 2003 using small glass tanks (1,200 x 600 x 200mm) in Greg Hammond’s retail aquarium maintenance business Effortless Aquaria. However, the realisation that his current premises could never provide enough room led to an old glasshouse available for rent just 5-10 minutes drive away. Thus Coral Farm was formed as a separate wholesale business.

“We currently have 100m2 at our disposal and share the premises with a business that grows pond plants. And we are racing each other to develop as quickly as possible; we are both determined to have all of the building for our own use,” Greg muses. 26 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

In 2006, he was granted the first coral propagation permit from the New South Wales Fisheries Department and, since then, has been working to expand the amount of mother colonies the farm can use, as well as experimenting with different techniques for cutting and ongrowing coral. Land and facilities The glasshouse building currently contains nine 1,000L plastic tubs that are used to hold the mother colonies of coral as well as providing a grow-out area. These tanks are set up with a protein skimmer (to remove unwanted proteins from the water) and a separate deep sand bed held in a plastic con-

tainer that fits the bottom of the tub. The sand container also holds live rock that works in a similar way to a biological filter on other aquaria; the rock’s bacteria and flora process unwanted metabolites from the water. Water movement is also important to effectively distribute food around the tank. So Greg has installed streamstyled, low energy usage water pumps to help move the water around. “We used to use a specific brand but, lately to help with cost effectiveness, we have tried some new brands (such as Tunze Stream and Sunsun) that are much cheaper to buy and replace as well as being cheaper to run.”

FA R M P R O F I L E

Main pic (left): Duncanopsammia auxifuga, also known as ‘tree coral’ is a large growing, true coral that is very hardy and popular with aquarists.

Sea water is collected by Greg or is delivered by a water company to the door and stored in five 1,000L and one 5,000L plastic rainwater tank until needed. As there is no fixed piping system, the sea water is pumped from the storage tanks to the coral tanks using a small pool pump and a 40mm hose. A generator is kept on site in case of power failure. Greg is also looking at incorporating an alarm system that will send out an automatic alert if there is a power failure. RO filtered tap water is used for cleaning purposes and to help refill tanks that have evaporated. “Each of the tubs is given a water change as required, which probably works out to about once a month,” Greg says, “We are trying to make it as low maintenance as possible.” A complete cleanout is only done if there has been an algal problem in the tank. This job is made much simpler by having the sand in its separate container that can be easily lifted out. Lighting is also important in coral farm-

Below: The glass house roof is protected from the intensity of the midday sun by shade cloth which can be removed during cooler times. Chicken wire over the glasshouses protects them from hail storms.

ing, as the symbiotic algae (Zooxanthellae) inside the coral use photosynthesis to help supplement the coral’s food intake. But, according to Greg, the delivering of the proper lighting is made too complex by some people and the array of different globes and wattages advertised by some in the industry are often unnecessary. “Corals do favour the shorter wavelengths of light, being the blue end of the light spectrum, but light can be very species – and sometimes, even individual – specific. This is why some people find they have to move their corals around in their tank a bit before they look ‘happy’. Corals grown in shallow areas use more of the spectrum than those grown in deeper water. “By using broad spectrum light you can actually get a better show of colours such as red and pink that you don’t always see under the blue light.” Natural lighting inside the glasshouse actually provides more than enough

Below: Acropora sp.(the staghorn coral) and Caulastrea sp. (a true coral) are growing in the background of this photo while fragments of Xenia sp. (a soft coral) are growing in the foreground.

light throughout the entire light spectrum for the coral to utilise. At times, particularly in the middle of a summer’s day, the light intensity is so great that photo-inhibition takes place and the algal cells shuts down food production, altering the coral’s growth rate. To remedy this, Greg places shadecloth over the tanks in the glasshouse at the appropriate times of the day, whilst still trying to make the most of the morning and afternoon daylight. “It’s not easy,” he laments, “but we are trying to find a middle ground where all of the species are happy.” Operations As Greg is not allowed to harvest parent stock from the wild, he relies on corals he’s collected over the years plus those bought from other collectors and Quennsland’s wild harvest. Consequently, the list of species he can grow is restricted; however the farm currently houses over 18 species of ‘soft’ and Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 27

FA R M P R O F I L E

Management Metrics Key Management Decisions for the Coral Farm include: • Promote ecological sustainability within the marine ornamental industry. • Examine and utilise cost effective propagation techniques for coral • Determine cost effective species for coral farming. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) include: • Culture System utilised: intensive tanks within glasshouse • Growth rate (from stocking to market): <3-4 months species dependent • Survival rate: 100% from first stocking to sale size • Av. stocking density: up to 150 colonies per culture unit (1,000L tubs) • Water use: approximately 50,000L per annum • Power use: approximately 2500kW per quarter(more in winter than in summer)

‘hard’ corals. ‘Soft’ corals lack the hard calcium exoskeleton that houses the polyp, a feature that gives hard corals their structure. Sarcophyton sp., Lobophyton sp. and Xenia sp. are some of the most popular soft corals of the aquarium trade – and the farm’s top sellers – as they are the easiest to keep and also the easiest to propagate. Capnella sp., Cespitularia sp. and Anthelia sp. are other soft corals farmed onsite. Acropora spp., Pocillopora spp. and Hydnophora spp. are three of the ‘hard’ corals propagated. Corals can reproduce asexually through fragmentation (the propagation technique used widely in the coral trade) or

This photo shows the positioning of the protein skimmers and circulation pumps used to create water movement in the tubs.

28 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

sexually with a parent or ‘mother’ colony being male or female or both. While most people are familiar with the spawning events that take place on the Great Barrier Reef, it is thought that such incidents are not possible in captivity. However, corals have been known to spawn in tank situations, although the conduciveness of this to farming is not yet clear. “Quite frankly, it could be more of a nuisance than anything else, because at the moment spawning is hit and miss. It will probably be more widely used in the future, and will only be applicable to the bigger operations.” All propagation takes place under water

as it is important that the cut surface is not subjected to air. Greg prefers to keep the coral fragments in the same water as the parent colonies; it reduces any stress that may be caused by changes in water quality parameters. Although species dependent, stress on the mother colony is minimised if no more than 5-10% is taken at any one time. After being cut, the small coral fragment is placed onto a flat base to which it attaches itself and continues the growing process. Healing the cut takes one month for both the fragment and parent colony, allowing for transfer to another growout tub if necessary. The fragments have much higher survival if they are as large as possible; this also shortens the time taken to reach market size to about three months. Greg currently stocks 30-40 parent colonies and 50-100 fragments in each tub. The original colony can have further fragments cut from it after 2-3 months. Greg makes up his own food for the corals – a mixture of fresh seafood, zooplankton and phytoplankton mixed up into a ‘thick soup’ and frozen in ice cube trays. The cubes are placed into the water and, as they thaw and break apart, the movement of the water distributes the food around the tub. Cur-

Sacrophyton sp. (a leather coral) and Sinularia sp. are shown here growing using a plastic container as the base to which they are attached.

FA R M P R O F I L E

rently, the corals are fed 2-3 times a week with the protein skimmers taking out any excessive nutrients in the water. “Ideally we would be feeding less food but more often to keep the level of food available to the corals more constant. When we obtain or grow on more parent colonies and have the higher stocking rates we will probably have to do this. However any excessive feeding at the moment just makes more work for the skimmers ... or more water changes.” Sales and transport When ready for sale the coral is simply removed from the water and placed into a plastic bag filled with enough seawater to cover the polyps, although the coral will usually retract them upon being exposed to the air. They are sold to local retailers in polystyrene boxes that are delivered by Greg. Given delivery is local the limits on transit times have not been fully tested. But as the business grows Greg is not anticipating problems – unless there are great temperature variations – given that most corals sold in Australia are shipped from North Queensland.

hours per week evenly divided between maintenance and propagation. Greg reckons it will require a full time position to cope with workload as the market expands and more time is spent in propagating. However, the corals themselves are quite maintenance free, giving him the time to experiment with different techniques and trying out new species. He is currently in contact with a co-op of coral farmers in the U.S. which is allowing for a great exchange of ideas, experience and knowledge. The farm is also concentrating on expanding the amount of parent colonies for the more popular species, so that supply can be increased. As the dependence on wild sources may need to be reduced in the future Greg believes that the cultivation of farmed coral will be a great asset to the ornamental industry and is looking forward to be involved for a long time to come. By Louise Willis

Two people currently share the farm’s work load, each working about ten

For more information contact Greg Hammond, the Coral Farm. PO Box 9 Spit Junction NSW 2100. Tel: 1300-139-133, Mob: 0425 252-285, email: info@thecoralfarm.com.au

Sinularia sp. is a soft coral that is widely distributed over most habitats from very turbid to clean water and over a wide temperature range. They show a great variety of form, shape and colour throughout the genus

The plastic tubs are raised from the ground for easier access while propagating the coral and conducting maintenance work.

Coral Anatomy Corals, along with sea anemones, belong to Class Anthozoa and can be found in ocean waters less than 100 metres deep, at temperatures ranging from 20-33°C. They are made up of a single individual or a colony of polyps, which are a hollow cylinder of tissue with feeding/ defensive tentacles on top. All shallow water species contain symbiotic algae, called Zooxanthellae, in the clear outer membrane of the polyp, that carry out photosynthesis. Nutrients from this process leak out of the algal cell into the coral, and can be responsible for as much as 90% of its daily uptake of food. The algae also gives the coral its colour, while the structure of the coral gives the algae protection and access to light. When reproducing sexually the male and female gametes are released into the water in a synchronised spawning which will often occur throughout the entire reef, achieve fertilisation and then develop into planulae that settle onto a substrate and develop into polyps.

Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 29

NEWS

All CPF hatcheries and growout farms have Code of Conduct Certification by Department of Fisheries.

CPF integration provides model for Aussie prawn industry Most people in Australia’s prawn industry will have heard of Thailand’s CPF (Charoen Pokphand Foods). CPF’s formulated aquatic feeds are imported for use on some of our prawn farms and a number of Aussie farmers have travelled to Thailand on study and technology transfer tours. As part of a recent Trade Mission, AAM’s Dos O’Sullivan was shown some of the company’s excellent hatcheries, farms, processing facilities and farm production systems. It was obvious that their integrated approach was a good model for how the Aussie industry can develop over the next decade – as the Tassie Salmon industry has done!

he Charoen Pokphand Food Public Company Ltd (CPF) is a multi-national diversified agroindustry and food company listed on the stock exchange of Thailand. CPF’s mission is to create a global food franchise – as exemplified in its slogan “Kitchen of the World”.

Paddle-wheel aerators ensure that optimal growing conditions are maintained for the shrimp.

Typical intensive shrimp growout pond range in size from 0.4 up to 1.2ha in surface area.

Prior to 2002, CPF’s aquaculture division (C.P. Aquaculture) was primarily driven by feed sales. But with the introduction of the white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) from the Americas, CPF recognized the time was correct to implement an integrated business approach similar to the one that it was using in its chicken business. The company recognized it could capture small profits from many links along the shrimp production chain – feed, seed, growout, processing, value adding and even marketing. From 2001-2006 non-feed revenues grew 68%, well in advance of the feed sales growth of 8%. Before 2002 Thailand cultured Black Tiger Prawns (P. monodon) almost exclusively. But with production issues plaguing the country’s Black Tiger industry, CPF moved to introduce domesticated, SPF (specific pathogen free) P. vannamei in 2002. In 2003 white shrimp represented just 20% of the 240,000 tonnes of Thailand’s cultured shrimp harvest; by 2006 that proportion had grown to over 90% (of 480,000 tonnes) and in 2007 it accounted for 95% (of 530,000t). CPF exports 90% of all the shrimp it produces on its farms with major markets being Japan, the European Union, the United States, Korea and Australia. For C.P. Aquaculture, integration meant establishing a genetics and breeding program for white shrimp and expansion of hatchery capacity to produce several billion high-quality, disease-free post larvae per month. It also meant increasing farm

30 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

NEWS

area whilst upgrading them too to ensure environmentally sound, biosecure, and efficient production. Then there was the expansion of processing and cold storage capacity to handle up to 180 tonnes of shrimp daily, with extra emphasis placed on value-added products. All the while, the company’s status as the world’s leading producer of shrimp feed remained a focus. An impressive QA system continues to ensure only contaminate- and disease-free ingredients are used in the manufacture of shrimp rations. All feed mills owned and operated by CPF are ISO 9002 certified and all use formulas that provide complete and balanced shrimp nutrition. The mission statement for all CPF farms and hatcheries says it all: “The company is committed to produce quality shrimp that is disease and drug residual free to satisfy customers needs and to continuously improve shrimp farming that is environmentally friendly and sustainable.” All CPF farms and hatcheries have received the Code of Conduct certificate from the Thai Department of Fisheries (DoF), the highest level of certification possible by the Thai DOF and achievable by only select Thai farms. SPF Shrimp Hatcheries CPF operates eight flagship hatcheries that produce – along with smaller satellite hatcheries – over 22 billion SPF/SPR white shrimp post larvae in 2007, 45% of all post larvae stocked in Thailand. Post larvae sales from CPF hatcheries are expected to increase 10-25% in 2008. Each flagship hatchery is characterized by: • Maturation units for the production of nauplii • Nursery units for the production of post larvae from the nauplii • Water Treatment and Storage Units for the supply of clean disease free water to the operating units • Algae units for the production of clean, nutritious algae to the nursery units • Laboratory Units which monitor broodstock and post larvae for viral infections, bacterial infections in lar-

1. Fresh head-on shell-on shrimp harvested from one of CPF’s 2,000ha of ponds.

2. One of the many value-added products form CPF is the shrimp burger. 3. One of the many value-added products form CPF is the easy to heat and serve shrimp wonton soup. 4. Delicious ebi panko or Japanese-style breaded shrimp are sold around the world.

vae and other essential quality control points. The Laboratory units also track all inputs and outputs. The hatchery at Trad was visited by Australia’s recent Trade Delegation is typical of CPF flagship hatcheries and is certified by ISO 9001, Thai Labour Service 8001: 2003 and ISO 14001: 2004 (environmental internal audit) as well as the Thai Department of Fisheries COC (code of conduct). The Trad Hatchery pumps its water from the Gulf of Thailand. Water passes first through a settling pond, then through passive sand filtration into a second reservoir where it undergoes chlorination. This water is ozonated before storage in a final reservoir for use by the hatchery. The treatment ensures all pathogens are killed before entering the hatchery facility.

A typical CPF maturation unit holds 1,400 broodstock supplied by the CPF broodstock program. Broodstock must be a minimum of seven months of age and 40 gram size before being shipped to the maturation units. CPF has had 100% domesticated broodstock for more than five generations; these are certified to be specific pathogen-free (SPF) for all the main viruses (YHV, GAV, WSSV, TSV, MBV, HPV, IHHNV, and Lymphoid Virus). All CPF white shrimp broodstock are also SPR (specific pathogen resistant) for the TSV virus. But that’s not all, these broodstock are also selectively bred for high growth – stocked in growout raceways at 120/m2 and at 29°C, they take an average of 85 days to reach market size of 25 grams. This represents a 45% increase in growth rate since 2005. Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 31

NEWS

Management Metrics Key Management Decisions for CPF include: • Total vertical integration for shrimp operations (including feed manufacture) • 100% traceability on all inputs and products • Green technology (no antibiotics) and biosecure farming systems • SPF/SPR broodstock, PLs and prawn in growout (use probiotics) • Certified to international standards in hygiene, sanitation, QA and other requirements • Serve delicious, nutritious and safe shrimp products for the enjoyment of the world’s consumers.

Nurseries are always stocked within three days so as to increase survival rates. An average tank size for a nursery tank would be 5-10 tonnes of water. Great importance is put on the cleaning of nursery rooms and tanks between culture cycles. A combination of detergents, chlorine and permanganate is used in cleaning rooms and tanks. A typical nursery cycle that runs from nauplii-V to PL10 will take 22 days; there will then will be an 8 day cleanup period before restocking.

Broodstock are grown in specially developed biosecure raceway farms that use no water exchange. Every three months broodstock are sampled from each farm and tested for each virus by both PCR and histological examination. All broodstock farms are backed up by duplicate facilities in case a viral contamination was to occur.

The zoea stage is fed the diatom Chaetoceros. CPF has learned that clean algae culture is one of the keys for routine success in growing healthy post larvae. After the zoea metamorphoses to mysis stage in 4-5 days a combination of CPF’s own larval feed called TNT and live Artemia nauplii are fed. Again it is important to make sure the Artemia nauplii are well washed and cleaned before adding to the nursery tank. The mysis stage lasts 4-5 days before becoming a PL1. A combination of TNT and Artemia nauplii continue to be fed to the post larvae which are classified according to age. At 10 days of age (PL10) gill development is satisfactory for successfully transferring the post larvae to wide range of pond conditions.

Females ready to spawn are collected nightly and placed into mass spawning tanks. On average 12-15% of all females will spawn on any night. Hatch rates are generally better than 60% of eggs spawned with total nauplii per spawn ranging from 120-190,000. Nauplii are collected and washed before counting and stocking into nursery tanks.

The temperatures of nursery tanks are maintained at 28-31°C, the temperature range that produces the most consistent survival and quality of post larvae shrimp from the nursery. Water exchange is used to maintain a healthy culture environment. Probiotics are sometimes added in order to further improve the culture environment.

1. More than 22 billion Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) and Specific Pathogen Resistant (SPR) shrimp fries were stocked on CPF farms in 2007. 2. Healthy live shrimp sampled from a growout pond.

32 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

Antibiotics are not permitted in a CPF hatchery operation. Antibiotic use is not necessary when only healthy nauplii are stocked into clean rooms and tanks, fed clean food sources and water exchanged so as to maintain a healthy environment. On average CPF hatcheries operate with a 60% survival rate from nauplii-V to PL10. Post larvae that are ready for shipment to farms undergo a final quality and health check. The quality check includes a check of gill development and stress resistance to a salinity shock. For the salinity stress test post larvae are dropped from the tank salinity of around 30 ppt to 5 ppt and evaluated for movement after one hour; PLs that are not upright are considered weak. For post larvae to pass the test a score of at least 95% strong shrimp is required. Health checks include PCR testing for known viruses and a microbiological check for Vibrio. Only PLs that pass the quality control stage are shipped to CP farms and CP post larvae customers. Biosecurity at the hatchery is strictly enforced. with an impressive list of measures including car disinfection with a disinfectant spray and potassium permanganate tire wash; separation of areas with fences and foot baths; fencing, screens and mesh to exclude domestic animals, birds and insects; insect and rodent traps, disinfection tanks for equipment; special footwear for staff; different colour uniforms for staff working in different areas and disinfection of transport equipment with an iodine solution. The biosecurity also extends to visitors who are provided with visitor badges and must wear hair nets, blue plastic gowns and white gumboots. Disinfection chambers for footwear and hands are located between production units using disinfectants such as potassium permanganate and chlorine. 2,000ha of farm ponds CPF shrimp are produced on farms located in each of the three major shrimp growing regions (Eastern, Central,

NEWS

During the Trade Mission a visit was made to the Rayong 3 farm, a typical CPF shrimp farm of 90 hectares that has been operating for 20 years. The farm is located in an estuarine area, approximately five kilometres from the Gulf of Thailand. The farm has a total production pond area of 35 hectares and includes 17ha of reservoir, 13ha ponds for primary water treatment and ten hectares of ponds for waste sedimentation from effluent pond water (where suspended solids are collected and later removed to 5ha sludge pond). Water can either be discharged from the settling pond to the estuary or pumped back into the farm’s reservoir system for reuse. The ratio of production to pond to non-production treatment areas is less than 1:1. Water is pumped into the reservoir where suspended solids can be settled. The water is then passed to treatment ponds where the water is treated with chlorine (>30ppm active) in order to kill pathogen carriers and viruses. The growout process is operated to ensure 100% traceability of PLs, food and inlet water through to finished product with coordination from the DoF. Certification includes GAP, CoC and ISO9001:2001 (SGS). Significant effort is also spent on improving the welfare of staff and workers and the facilities they work with. Numerous signs celebrating the successes of this farms and others aim to build a sense of team involvement. On the day of AAM’s visit the OH&S sign (more than 2m high and 3m long) showed that there hadn’t been an injury to staff member for 843 days! Company uniforms are proudly worn by workers and management. As with the hatcheries, biosecurity is paramount; identified disease pathways include birds, insects, land based animals, crabs, water, stock, personnel, feed and equipment. All equipment

and vehicles coming into the farm go through a 100ppm potassium permanganate car bath and spray. Personnel and their equipment are also sanitized; visitors are not allowed in the farming areas. Fences keep domesticated animals and land-based predators out of the ponds whilst strings all over the ponds and canals keep birds away. For operational purposes the production cycle can be divided into six stages: 1. Pond preparation – after a crop is harvested the pond is totally drained and all sludge removed to the sludge pond. Any damage to the 0.5mm thick HDPL liners is repaired and paddle wheel aerators and other equipment is checked over and repaired when required. The pond is then left to dry in the sun. The change over period between crops in 30-45 days depending on the weather. 2. Water preparation - this starts in the reservoir where water is pumped through a PVC pipe covered with a 200 micron filter bag to keep viral carriers, predatory fish, and competitors out of the ponds. 3. Pond stocking – only SPF PLs are used stocked at 85/m3. 4. Feeding – Shrimp are fed according to the CPF feed program which includes feeding three sizes of crumble from day 1 to day 40 and then switching to grower pellets for the duration of the typical 110-day growout period. Feeds are broadcast five times per day starting at 7:00 am and finishing at 8:00 pm. Feed rates are standardised during the first 40 days on the number of PLs stocked; thereafter feed trays are monitored to adjust the feed rate. 5. Management focuses on monitoring water quality for such parameters as pH, salinity, TAN, alkalinity, and transparency. When required pond adjustments are made to correct water quality problems that may arise. 6. Harvesting – the market size is 65 count (15.5 grams) and larger. Pond water is drained into a harvest sump and the shrimp collected with a fish pump. After dewatering they are

1. CPF’s state-of-the-art shrimp Genetic Improvement Centre for Broodstock. 2. Inside one of CPF’s flagship shrimp hatcheries. 3. Plastic fences and red strings over the pond are used to ward off predators and birds.

transported in 50kg plastic totes on ice to the processing plant. With CPF operating three processing plants within Thailand, CPF farms are generally within an hour’s drive away. Shrimp are either packed in ice so that temperatures are never above 4°C or are packed in a way that allows them to arrive alive at the plant for very fresh product. With 2.5 crops per year for each pond, annual production from Rayong 3 Shrimp Farm is slightly over 1,000 tonnes well above its former Black Tiger harvest of 250 tonnes. Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 33

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NEWS

Three regional processing plants Next to the Rayong 3 farm is the CPF Rayong Aquaculture Processing Plant, one of the company’s three modern, efficient seafood processing plants. Again the theme is on food safety, product freshness, and traceability of all shrimp products produced by the plant. This plant processes 13,000 tons of shrimp from the Rayong area.

As is customary in CPF, all sanitation and quality control systems, processes and products are certified to international quality standards. The Rayong plant has been certified as follows: • ISO 9001:2000, accredited by SGS • IFS version 5, accredited by SGS • BRC issue 4 Gold Food Standard, accredited by SGS • Good Manufacturing Practices, accredited by DoF • HACCP, accredited by DoF • ISO/IEC 17025: 2005 – international laboratory accreditation by Bureau of Laboratory Quality Standards • OHSAS 18001:1999 – international OH&S standard, accredited by TUV Nord • ISO 14001:2004 – international environmental standard, accredited by TUV Nord.

1. CPF’s US $4M Seafood Technical Hub for Innovation & Technology Development was commissioned in 2007. 2. One part of the technologically advanced food safety laboratory operated by CPF to ensure their shrimp are high quality and free of contaminants. 3. Environmentally controlled shrimp broodstock growout facility.

CPF is well known for its investment in R&D. In processing the company has developed a state-of-art seafood technical hub (commissioned in 2007). At a cost of approximately US$4 million, this 3,000m2 facility is packed with equipment, laboratories and personnel for innovation and technology development. A primary focus of research is on the enhancement of the quality and safety of their food products.

An impressive range of testing and analysis is undertaken at all stages of the production cycle to provide certification of quality and food safety “from farm to table”. This includes testing the raw materials (shrimp), and all water and ice used in the plant to ensure the inputs are clean and safe. Inspections are customized for a particular country’s requirements. Antibiotic analysis includes the main products used in the past (none are currently used on either CPF or contract farms): • Oxytetracycline • Oxolinic Acid • Chloramphenicol • Nitrofurans Group • Malachite Green & Leuco-Malachite Green. The microbiological lab is capable of the following analyses: • Total bacteria plate count • Coliform Bacteria counts • E. coli • Staphylococcus aureus • Salmonella spp. • Vibrio parahaemolyticus • Vibrio cholerae • Listeria monocytogenes • Enterobacteriacaea • Clostridium perfringens. A huge range of shrimp products are produced (Table 1). Contract manufacturing includes a product for KFC in Thailand and the Middle East known as “Zinger fish fillet”. The product is made from a fish called the ‘Morakot’ (Pangasius spp) a sister species to the Vietnamese Basa. The recipe for the special KFC Zinger batter is a trade secret; the product is surprisingly fresh and tangy in taste.

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36 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

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The plant’s processing areas are divided into separate production rooms with strict procedures in place controlling access between them. These begin with a hand wash with disinfectant, followed by the putting on of clean gumboots, white coats, hair net and a face mask before walking through a footbath and performing another hand wash with disinfectant. Finally a roller is used to remove loose particles from the protective clothing. All of this must be repeated if the worker has to leave the room, for example for a toilet or a meal break. HACCP focuses on the length of cooking time (<5 minutes), cooking temperature and maintenance of the cool chain. Take the process for head-on cooked shrimps. This has a number of steps, each with its own supervisor and work team: • Live shrimp are delivered to the site on ice, details on the movement document are kept for traceability • Shrimps are washed in aerated saline brine tank (<2°C) • Sorting table (sorted for size, physical condition, colour) • Cooking station • Cooling brine (<10°C) • Sorting (colour, defects, appearance) and weighing into plastic trays • Freezer (-18°C) • Freshwater glaze • Metal detector • Packing and labelling (checks on product numbers for trace back) • Storage before transport to clients. During this process samples are regularly taken for antibiotic and Malachite Green residue analysis as well as microbiological testing. CPF management says that the ultimate aim is to produce a shrimp with a fresh taste and with good texture. A sensory panel checks and rechecks the product, particularly in light of the principle that customers “eat with their eyes”. Again all products are fully traceable in case a problem is detected. The traceable chain is coordinated by DOF which collects data on: • Hatchery (broodstock, treatments, QA) • Farm name, pond (treatments, QA) • Raw material code (feeds) • Production code, product name plus

Table 1: CPF’s shrimp (shrimp) product range from its Rayong plant. Raw

Cooked

Processed

Head-on shell-on

Shrimp wonton (whole shrimp)

Headless shell-on

Round breaded

Peeled de-veined tail-on

Breaded butterfly

Peeled de-veined tail-less

Shrimp torpedo

Butterfly

Sushi ebi

Filo wrapped

Skewered

Skewered marinated

Nobashi

Shrimp spring roll

invoice through transport/shipment to delivery to end customer.

Thus with any problem product can quickly be traced back to individual ponds on a give farm and individual tanks within a given hatchery. Excellent reputation Addressing the Trade Mission, Dr. Chingchai Lohawatanakul, Chairman of the Executives Board of CPF said he was proud of the company’s targeted R&D that has led to CPF’s excellent reputation for intensive food production. The company has made many advances in high technology production and processing systems, molecular genetics and selective breeding, health management and disease control. Dr Chingchai has great faith in the ability of high quality science to address accusations made by environmentalist against shrimp farming activities. He readily acknowledges that that CPF’s shrimp farming of today is a far cry from that practiced by industry pioneers 20 years ago. A concrete example is the mangrove rehabilitation work undertaken in the mid to late 1990s that led to a 50% increase in mangrove areas. He reckons that solid scientifically-supported facts would show the environmental sustainability of CPF’s production. The trade mission participants couldn’t help but come away from these visits impressed with the work being undertaken to ensure that CPF is able to serve delicious, nutritious and safe shrimp products for the enjoyment of the world’s consumers.

1. Some of the technological equipment used for chemical analysis of the shrimp, feeds and other farm inputs. 2. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is used routinely for antibiotics analyses of all shrimp batches before harvest.

By Dos O’Sullivan For more information contact Siriphan, Charoen Pokphand Food, Mobile: 0818 476 449, siriphan@csloxinfo.com Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Ltd, 6th Floor, St. Louis Square, 35-57 Soi Chand 18/7, Toongwatdon, Sathorn, Bangkok, 10120, Thailand Email: pornphayao@cpf.co.th Thanks to Sawanit Phongprapai, Office of Agricultural Affairs, Royal Thai Embassy, Canberra, for organising the trip. Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 37

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Aquaculture enterprise in the East Kimberley

ropical Forestry Services, a publicly listed Sandalwood company, is seeking expressions of interest in the lease of the Fish Farm Facility located at the Kingston Rest property, 70 kms south-west of Kununurra. The 25 hectare site includes 63 gravity-drained ponds under netting, a large concrete floor shed and pump station.

For further details please contact Nick McCabe Telephone : 08 9168 7891 Email : Kingstonrest.tfs@bigpond.com

38 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

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RESEARCH

Cages with the effluent pipes extending from the air lifts into the neighbouring nutrient trench. Photo by Tony Bart.

Innovative inland saline trout culture in Western Australia Trials are underway for trout and marine fish culture in effluent saline water used to grow salt-tolerant fodder crops for sheep and cattle. Temperature-tolerant rainbow trout could allow year-round production despite water temperatures in excess of 24°C.

ver the past three years a trial has been underway on a cereal/sheep property near Goomalling (2 hours east of Perth) that may totally change the way wheat belt farmers view their saltaffected land. The aim of the pilot work by Aqua Farms Research and Development (AFRD) is to test if marine fish – such as Mulloway (Argyrosomus hololepidotus), snapper (Pagrus auratus), black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri) and salttolerant rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) – can be commercially produced in intensive cage systems placed

in on-farm, saltwater trenches. The marine fish fingerlings come from the Aquaculture Development Unit, Challenger TAFE (Fremantle), whilst the trout are purchased from the Pemberton Fish Hatchery run by the Fisheries Department. Salination is a major problem in the west; estimates suggest that each day an area 19 times the Subiaco football oval are lost to increasing salt levels. According to advisor Tony Bart, there is a large amount of salty ground water close to

the surface at the Goomalling property. “Up on the hills the salinity is low, around 2 ppt, whilst down on the flats it can be as high as 100ppt. AFRD have dug several trenches, each holding about a million litres, into the water table where the salinity is two thirds to full strength sea water (20 – 35 ppt). There is quite a lot of water movement through the ground so even with losses to evaporation, the salinity remains relatively constant in the trenches.” As the 3m deep trenches run northsouth the water is not always in full Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 39

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Management Metrics Key Management Decisions for AFRD include: • Use of inexpensive and readily available materials • Low energy consumption and low power costs • Different fish species for summer and winter crops. • Aquaponics to treat effluent water for reuse • Zero runoff from the trenches as the water is recycled • Salt tolerant plants provide a second income fodder crop. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) include: • Culture System utilised: 4m3 floating plastic cages • Growth rate (from stocking to market): <6 months (Xg to 500g) • Survival rate: 10% from first stocking to sale size • Av. stocking density: 20kg/m3 or per culture unit (range is 15kg to 20kg/m3) • Annual harvest: 500kg of Rainbow Trout (2008-09) plus fodder crops

Two air lifts on the side of the bag lift oxygenated water into it to achieve 3-4 changes per hour. Another airlift, down two metres, is used to lift the wastes up to the surface and then into a nutrient trench which runs parallel with the growout trench. “The key is to get the oxygen into the water and the wastes out of the cage,” explains Tony. “That way you can hold fish at a high stocking density yet use minimal power to move the water. The air is moved by a 1 kilowatt spa blower and this services up to 10 bags.” The airlift is a very efficient way of moving water; very little power is needed to run the system. “We have located the trenches at the end of a single phase power line to run the spa blower. There is a 20KVA backup diesel generator for power blackouts.” The trial system has four cages, each with a volume around 4m3. Each cage can produce up to 25kg of fish within six months, a level of production that can be easy handled by one person. “The fish are stocked at around 30g/10cm and take six months to get to market size (greater than 500 grams). So two crops per year will be possible.”

The AFRD cage system with automatic feeders and the floating walkway in between the 4 cages. Photo by Tony Bart.

sunlight. A data logger reveals minimum wintertime water temperatures range of 10°C in winter ranging up to 26°C in summer. Tony says that the AFRD system is a simple and easy-to-operate approach to inland saline aquaponics (a mixture of aquaculture and hydroponics). “There is nothing new in our system. However, many ideas have been combined together to take advantage of what is on a farmer’s property. The cages can be built using PVC pipes and shadecloth and other readily accessible materials. Other recy40 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

cled materials such as pallets and empty plastic herbicide drums can be used to construct the jetties and walkways.” The system is basically a cage within a bag. The cage is two metres square and a metre deep. The bags are made of plastic but underneath there is an inverted pyramid to catch the uneaten feed and solid wastes from the fish. HDPE pipes make up the framework for the bags and the cages. AFRD have developed special plastic welding techniques to construct the system including the bags and cage frames.

The original idea was to grow rainbow trout in the winter and one or more of the other marine fish species as the summer crop. “We are currently growing just Rainbow Trout as the winter crop,” Tony explains. “Past harvests have resulted in fish around 500-600g, however, this summer we will be trying to grow them through another six month to 1.5-2kg, a preferred size for the market. There is a belief that the WA Trout have a higher temperature tolerance than trout found in the eastern states and we will keep dissolved oxygen levels up to give them every chance to grow.” As the fish are held in the cages there are no losses to predation or escapes. No disease problems have been encountered to date, although has been a dissolved oxygen problem resulting in a mortality of 25% of one batch (a 10% mortality is budgeted for each production cycle).

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The fish are rested-harvested using AQUI-S, a food grade anaesthetic. The fish are netted into an ice slurry – where they quickly die – cleaned, reiced and packed into polystyrene boxes for transport to a fish processor in South Fremantle. A farm gate price of $8/kg for the whole rainbow trout has been achieved. Salt tolerant crops The aquaponics system means the farmer is not only growing marine fish but also growing fodder for their stock. “The key to get this system to work involves lifting water to take the solid waste (fish faeces and uneaten feed) and the dissolved wastes (ammonia) out into a nutrient trench that runs parallel to the trench where the fish are growing,” Tony explains. “Salt-tolerant plants are used to strip out the excess nutrients (mainly nitrogen and phosphate) in this trench before the water gravity flows back into the fish trench. The plants are cropped regularly and fed to sheep and cattle.”

Trench without cages showing the high saline water table. Photo by Tony Bart.

The nutrient trench has been initially planted out with a salt sedge (Juncus krausii), a perennial, but other annual species will be trialled such as Tall Wheat Grass (Thinopyrum ponticum) and Puccinellia (Puccinellia ciliate). Tony is also hopeful that a new species being trialled by University of WA, a legume called Lotus tenuis that is highly palatable to stock, will also be tested at Goomalling. “Farmers can readily buy seedlings of these species and in just one hour can plant over 500 of them in the trenches. With the sedges it takes around 3-6 months to reach harvest size; with the other species the harvest time is about six months.” The plants are cut with a slasher and the fodder is then racked up and bundled into small bales.

Nutrient trench planted with the salt sedge Juncus krausii. Photo by Tony Bart.

Nutrient trench in foreground and fish trench behind. Photo by Tony Bart.

To date the nutrient trenches have worked OK although the optimal plant density is yet to be determined.Tony says that more planting and a higher biomass means that the nutrient stripping will be increased. “For phosphorus, the effluent levels of 8-10mg/L have been reduced to 5-6mg/L. We believe Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 41

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we can get that down lower. The nitrate levels have been reduced by a third but with more plants it is expected that the nitrate levels will be dramatically reduced.”

End of Nutrient Trench showing the rows of salt tolerant plants as well as the stand pipe through which water can be recycled back to the growout ponds. Photo by Tony Bart.

Another four to six cages will be added before the end of the year. Thus each trench is potentially capable of producing a tonne of fish every six months with the added benefit that important fodder crops are produced even in drought conditions “Besides being a great example of farm diversification the objectives of AFRD are to also produce a system that is farmer friendly,” Tony continues. “Farmers are flat out at shearing time, planting and harvesting times and don’t have time to look after fish. So the system at Goomalling has automatic feeders requiring the farmer to fill up the feeders just once a week. The water quality is monitored by electronic probes so that if there is a power failure and the oxygen levels fall below a critical point then the diesel generator kicks in and starts up a back up blower to aerate the water in the fish cages. “The air and water temperature are also being monitored and these can be checked from the farmer’s home via a relay system connected to his telephone line and home computer.

Digging the trenches. Photo by Tony Bart.

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42 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

“The other advantage is AFRD has designed a system that has low infrastructure costs as a result of using recycled or waste building materials (such as. PVC pipes, plastic drums, shadecloth and wooden planks.). This reduces the initial costs and ensures that the overall operation is profitable for the farmer.” “The beauty of this system is that it is virtually drought proof with two separate but linked crops – fish and fodder.” By Dos O’Sullivan For more information on the AFRD cage system contact Tony Bart on mobile 0430 514-069 or email tonyabalone@primusonline.com.au

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A beautiful example of the Brown Trout broodstock maintained at Pemberton Freshwater Research Centre. Photo courtesy of Fisheries WA.

Temperature tolerant trout in Western Australia Trout have been introduced into selected WA waterways for well over one hundred years. The warmer summer water temperatures are thought to have resulted in a strain with higher temperature tolerances than those populations in the eastern states. Research is underway to determine if selective breeding can increase this trait.

hilst winter water temperatures in the W.A. rivers are well within those preferred by both Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) and Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), summer water temperatures often exceed 24°C, placing selective pressure on the populations. Natural breeding is currently occurring in Brown Trout in the Warren River system, 44 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

whilst there is at least one long term breeding population of Rainbows in the Serpentine River. This Serpentine River population is not accessible to fishermen due to the Water Corporation’s policy of protecting Perth’s Metropolitan water supply in the Serpentine Dam catchment by not allowing public access.

Current status of industry and potential for expansion in WA Currently there are around 13 farms producing 12-20 tonnes a year; farm gate prices are around $13/kg. In 2005/06, while trout production decreased 22%, the value of the industry increased by 15%. This increase in value can be largely attributed to a 45%

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increase in the price/kg obtained by farmers as a function of supply struggling to meet demand. The majority of trout farms are currently confined to the lower south-west of the state by summer water temperatures and limited by the need for a large throughput volume of water. However, according to Dr Craig Lawrence, Principal Research Scientist (Department of Fisheries), significant potential exists to expand trout production by the utilisation of irrigation dam water in transit to agricultural farms on the south-west coastal plain. “This strategy of integrating trout aquaculture with existing irrigation agriculture may have considerable benefits,” he explains. “Firstly, existing farmers in the region may achieve direct cost savings by reducing fertiliser rates if, after leaving the irrigation dams, the low nutrient water is first used for trout farming; the higher nutrient water leaving the trout farms can then be used to irrigate crops and pasture.

Top: Hatchery Manager Tony Church (left) and Terry Cabassi (right) stripping trout at the Department of Fisheries Pemberton Freshwater Research Centre in Western Australia. Photo courtesy of Fisheries WA.

Above: Trout pond used at spawning time. Photo courtesy of Fisheries WA.

Right: Exterior of the Pemberton Freshwater Research Centre. Photo courtesy of Fisheries WA.

Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 45

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ensures that a water exchange of one pond per hour (18m3) per hour is maintained. In summer a 1kw Davey pump recirculates water within each pond through an additional spray bar which empties into a second spray bar ensures that dissolved oxygen levels are maintained. Cooling towers are used in summer to keep the temperatures down. “These won’t work that well if humidity is high but, when conditions are good, they can reduce the water temperatures by up to 2°C,” says Tony. “Even so we can get 2-3 days a year with temperatures over 26.5°C. The Trout will keep feeding up to 24°C.”

Rainbow Trout hatchlings in the stainless flow-through troughs. Photo courtesy of Fisheries WA.

Australia. Located on the Lefroy Brook in Pemberton, it consists of two neighbouring sites – the original PFRC hatchery and the Dr Noel Morrissy Research Ponds located on Thomson’s Flat.

Trout ponds at the Pemberton Freshwater Research Centre. Photo courtesy of Fisheries WA.

“Secondly, the dual use of water may reduce the unit cost of production for both agriculture and aquaculture. Furthermore, with the major irrigation dams increasing in salinity, rainbow trout is a prime salt tolerant species suitable for the temperature regimes found in the south-west coastal plain irrigation district.” Pemberton Freshwater Research Centre The Pemberton Freshwater Research Centre (PFRC) is the largest freshwater hatchery and research facility in Western

The PFRC hatchery site contains 10 earthen ponds, 22 concrete ponds, trout hatching and larval rearing troughs, a 48-tank trout nutrition facility and a training centre. The nearby Dr Noel Morrissy Research Ponds feature 25 earthen ponds (ranging in size from 150m2 breeding ponds to 1,000m2 commercial grow-scale ponds), 28 tanks and a post-harvest handling facility. This site on Thomson’s Flat also includes an area that is leased to the Pemberton Aquaculture Producers (PAP) for marron processing and marketing. According to Hatchery Manager Tony Church, up to 3,000 1kg rainbow trout, 500 2kg and 500 1kg brown trout are maintained as breeding stock each year. These are kept in 7.5m diameter ponds which are up to 75cm deep in the middle (50cm deep on sides). A pressured but gravity flow through a spray bars

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46 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

ly ent nd epe ured y d In as or me borat a la y b

Bio Filtration

Fertilisation is through hand stripping and the eggs are incubated in American Heath-Vertical Incubation Trays. There are two banks, each with 15 trays which can hold 4L of eggs. Sponge filters are used to clean the flow-through water which gravity feeds from a supply dam. A drip of formaldehyde is used three times a week to overcome fungal development on the dead eggs. “After being put through a Van Gaalen egg sorter the eyed eggs are placed on stainless screen mesh trays stainless steel screens in the rectangular troughs (4.2m long, 40cm wide with 15cm water depth). At about three months the fry are 40-50mm in length and can weigh up to 2-3g. These are harvested between September and October and packed in double plastic bags for transport. “In the cooler times we pack 1,000 fry per bag (10L of water) whilst towards the end of October when temperatures are higher and the fish are larger we might only pack 500 fry per bag. The bags are placed on a covered utility for transport to the stocking areas; these might be up to three hours away with the last bags released being five hours from initial loading.”

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RESEARCH

Key Trout Research at PFRC Since 2007 the Department of Fisheries has undertaken trout research in two main areas – sterile triploid trout production and broodstock selection and selective breeding. Triploids are valuable for stocking as they cannot reproduce and continue to grow after reaching sexual maturity. The PFRC hatchery has produced triploids for many years using temperature shock to retain the first polar body of fertilised eggs. However, temperature shocking is known to have considerable variability in triploidy rates. To address this in 2006 PFRC obtained the first hydrostatic pressure chamber for manipulating chromosome numbers to produce triploids and tetraploids in Western Australia.

preliminary investigations Craig into brown trout sperm motility in 2006. This strategy led to a 100% increase in the number of brown trout produced in 2006/07.

benefit for Western Australia through export sales of eyed ova that can tolerate the warmer water temperatures being recorded on commercial farms internationally.”

Another modification has been in the selection of broodstock. Historically, that selection at PFRC had been random. However, trout production at the PFRC has two key client groups with different objectives – recreational fishers and aquaculturists. Now broodstock selection strategies are implemented to produce trout with traits that specifically meet the needs of both client groups.

Other R&D includes aquaculture feeds development as well as native fish and crayfish conservation, biodiversity research, breeding critically endangered and rare native species for restocking water bodies and marron aquaculture.

Protocols for the production of triploids and tetraploids using hydrostatic pressure were developed and juveniles were produced. The tetraploid progeny have been tagged and placed into ponds with diploid siblings. They are being reared at PFRC to sexual maturity and will be spawned in 2008/09.

Craig says that the genetic line of rainbow trout at the PFRC is unique. “It has already been shown to have superior temperature tolerance compared with most domesticated lines elsewhere. Discussions with trout farmers and fishers have already established that broodstock selection to further increase upper temperature tolerance and growth of the trout stock at PFRC would be desirable, particularly if combined with triploid production to produce sterile progeny.

In terms of hatchery protocols, an assessment of sperm quality prior to egg fertilisation has been added following

“With climate change resulting in major losses on trout farms overseas, this breeding strategy could have a major

By Dos O’Sullivan For more information contact Dr Craig Lawrence (08 9203 0221, email clawrence@fish.wa.gov.au) or Tony Church (08 9776-1044 or email tony.church@fish.wa.gov.au). Tagging Rainbow Trout with visible implant vialpha tags. Photo courtesy of Fisheries WA.

JEYCO AQUACULTURE SYSTEMS SOLUTIONS

Jeyco have been catapulted into the Aquaculture market over the last three years off the back of our Stingray Mooring Anchor.

Fusion Marine – suppliers of cage solutions

Jeyco have now been involved in the supply of equipment to Aquaculture operators that has seen us provide solutions in Mexico, Spain, Italy, Malaysia, Scotland, Japan, New Zealand and domestically to Fin Fish Farmers working with Tuna, Kingfish, Salmon, Sea Bass, Barramundi etc

What we have focused on is reducing the thinking on size and weight being the only way to looking at more efficient equipment offers that allow the operators to reduce boat and install times. An example is we recently supplied a Salmon farmer in the south of Tasmania, Huon Aquaculture, two grid systems of 30 cages and using 160 meter circumference cages. In the past they had used up to 1500kg anchors and some slump weights as well. Our system used Stingray Anchors of 375kg and 250kg, this cut their install time down by half.

We have been working to provide engineered Grid Systems to ensure that there is a responsibility on us to our client and to the insurers. In house we have the capability to provide detailed analysis that will show the loads on a single cage as well as a total system in the worst case scenario in storms and in high energy sites.

Given that we do full engineering and design around the known site conditions we are then matching equipment to a load requirement. We have worked with two manufacturers of ropes to produce higher strength Poly Olefin ropes that are less in size, again providing efficiency with out diluting the need for holding powers.

We work with a number of partners to allow us to bring to the table a turnkey solution if required, some of these partners include:-

If we are supplying a total grid we supply these pre made with a complete Vendor Data Book and drawings on assembly with an install methodology, this way there is no splicing or fabricating needed at site only putting the system together as the grid is installed.

We are also working with a large engineering firm to provide rock substrate securing methods where the bottom does not allow use of our Stingray.

Australian Marine and Offshore Group – specialize in deep sea and high energy mooring analysis, they are well respected in the Offshore Oil and Gas Sector.

Universal Nets – a supplier of netting and system solutions for over 20 years to the Aquaculture Markets.

Aquaculture Engineering Group – specialise in Feed Barge Systems.

We also have access to a Marine Scientist that has a lot of experience in determining site suitability for the various species. Our strength is in working with local partners and providing turn key solutions by involving people that are experts in particular parts of the fish farm process.

Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 47

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Fast growing duckweed, sometimes regarded as a nuisance in irrigation and aquaculture systems, has proved to be hard working nutrient stripper from barramundi ponds at Walkamin.

Bio-remediation: it’s a massive benefit S

ustainable aquaculture is a hot topic in the aquaculture industry. The imposing threats associated with climate change on food production are much discussed. And the need to increase the efficiency of production from water based farms while at the same time reducing the power requirement has become increasingly urgent. Scientists at the Queensland Department of Primary Industry (DPI) at the Walkamin Research Station are looking at using water plants in a bioremediation system as an economic way of achieving this outcome.

The project is designed to evaluate the economic and environmental benefits of nutrient-stripping using plants in partitioned ponds. Partitioned ponds promote water conservation by recycling water between a treatment pond (where plants or bacteria promote retention of suspended solids, nutrients and assimilate toxins such as ammonia) and a production pond (fish pond). By re-cycling the fish 48 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

pond water through an aquatic flora pond the stocking density of the fish pond can be increased and a further financial benefit is derived from the plant pond. Evizel Seymour has been leading the Walkamin team since early 2007. To date the results look most promising. Walkamin, on the Atherton Tablelands, is an ideal site for the project as it is situated alongside the Tinaroo Falls Dam irrigation channel and the topography of the land lends itself admirably to the project. Water is taken from the irrigation channel (responsible for supplying water to the highly productive horticulture industry of the Atherton Tablelands) and can be gravity fed to all 42 ponds on the site. The 24 experimental aquaculture ponds (each 0.02ha with a 1.5m depth) have been built on tiers allowing the water to gravitate from one tier to the next. The fish are grown in the lower tier and the water is pumped to the upper tiers where

the plant bio-remediation ponds are situated. The water is stripped of the fish waste while filtering through the plants; then it is recycled back into the fish ponds. Another part of the control is that the plants ‘smother’ the water, blocking out sunlight and preventing an algal bloom. The plant ponds The aquatic plant ponds are baffled (divided by shade cloth material) so as to slow the flow of water by directing it through a series of compartments in the plant ponds. This allows organic solids to settle and increases the contact time with the plants that then strip the nutrients from the water. A third of the water is exchanged daily giving a three-day turnover for the plants to extract nutrients from the water before the ‘filtered’ water is returned to the fish pond. Selecting the right plants for the ponds has been critical to the success of the project. Lotus and duckweed are being trialled at Walkamin Research Station.

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A blooming lotus. (courtesy of Walkamin Aquaculture)

Lotus The aquatic Lotus plant was chosen as the primary plant in the trials because of its nutrient stripping qualities and commercial versatility. The lotus species chosen to establish some basic data was the tropical strain of Nelumbo nucifera. Indigenous to the region, it traps sediments in its fibrous root system, shades the water (reducing evaporation), produces high grade flowers and pods. Although it may not produce the large rhizomes (thick, edible root) of those used commercially, it will provide enough information to establish a working model for bio-remediation. In addition to removing nutrients from the water – such as nitrates and phosphates – the plant’s rhizomes strip nutrients from the substrate. By flushing organic solids from the fish production ponds biological oxygen demand (BOD) is transferred to the bio-remedial ponds thus freeing up oxygen for fish metabolism. Every part of the lotus has a commer-

Lotus blossom showing the petals, stamen and seed pod.

cial/economic value. While the market is small in Australia, in the absence of product it has not been fully explored. Tropical Queensland is a huge tourist area, many of whom hail from the Asian regions where the lotus is part of the culture and the cuisine. The flowers and dried pods make exotic displays and the seeds can be ground for flour. The young leaves can be eaten while the older leaves used to steam wrapped food such as rice and fish. The rhizomes are used for food; they can be frozen, dried or sold fresh. The tap

roots can be dried and ground for their starch. In fact, they were part of the aboriginal diet before white settlement. Evizel pointed out that the lotus has the remarkable ability to regulate the temperature of its flowers. This benefits the insect pollinators. At night they are trapped inside the plant which keeps them warm. In the morning when the flowers open, the insects are warmed and ready for work, giving them the advantage to the first pollens. “It is truly an incredible plant,” she says. Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 49

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An over wintering dry bio-remedial fish pond. Compare the vegetable cover sustained by the nutrients in the substrate with the next photo.

An over wintering stand alone fish pond. Note the lush growth sustained by the build up of nutrients that haven’t been taken up by the bio-remedial system.

Two species of duckweed thrive in the same pond (Spirodela spp. – darker green and Lemna spp. – lighter green).

50 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

Establishing the lotus plant ponds Establishing the lotuses turned out to be almost a project on in its own accord. “We now have a practical understanding of the best times to plant the lotuses, and how to go about it,” Evizel continues. We came across it quite by accident. We’d been germinating the hard cased seeds but establishment was slow. One plant survived a winter in the ponds and when water temperature increased the plant just took off. In two months the whole pond was covered. We expect they will do better in their second season. It appears the rhizomes store energy when the pond water recedes and the cold weather sets in. Transplanting the runners is also another great way to get a pond going with lotuses.” Duckweed Trials are also underway using another aquatic plant, duckweed (Spirodela spp). Duckweed is especially adept at removal of high concentration of phosphates and nitrogen, particularly ammonia. Duckweed can double its biomass every two days given sufficient nutrition is available for uptake and, being able to grow all year round, will strip nutrients during the winter when the lotus plants are dormant. This entails harvesting the duckweed on a regular basis. However, it also removes a huge amount of nutrient from the system, nutrient that can be utilized elsewhere. Evizel comments “that although this trial only commenced in May, it is showing outstanding results already”. The nutritional profile duckweed has been totally undervalued. It contains up to 45% crude protein by dry weight, with higher concentrations of essential amino acids than most plants. Duckweed meal (dry form) also has low fibre content but high levels of vitamin A and pigment, particularly beta-carotene and xanthophyll. This makes it an especially nutritious food source for cultured animals such as fish, ducks, chickens, pigs and ruminants. Soya bean meal has traditionally been used for protein substitutes with satisfactory results. As duckweed produces more protein per square metre that soybeans it has the potential to replace soy meal in a variety of products.

FA R M P R O F I L E

A lotus bio-remediation pond working at full tilt. The pads cover the pond and reduce evaporation. (courtesy of Walkamin Aquaculture)

Summary of the plant ponds Lotus spikes (stems) will grow 2m to reach sunlight, thus allowing a good flow of water through the ponds and give a balanced exchange. Duckweed grows on the surface allowing a similar healthy water flow through these quasi settlement ponds. To take full advantage of the financial benefits the plant ponds would have to be managed for harvest. Actually this would add to their bio-remedial benefits aspect by the removal of nutrients from the system, thus becoming a double benefit. The fish ponds Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) is the finfish species used in the trials. Widely grown in the region its established external production parameters can be used for comparison as well as the control data collected from the replicated ponds at Walkamin. In the lotus trial, food conversion was 1.1:1 to 1.2:1, matching industry standards, as has growth. Yields have ranged from 28t/ha to 38t/ha over 24 months

Evizel with a lotus pod. Lotus in background in winter dormant stage..

with size ranges from 3kg to 6kg. The average yield has been 33t/ha. Water temperatures on the Tablelands range from 18째C to 35째C. Barramundi feed at water temperatures above 20째C and preferably in the high 20s to mid 30s with an upper tolerance level in the high 30s.

The fish ponds are on 24 hour mechanical aeration and have emergency aerators on the surface for the hotter days. There is no aeration in the plant ponds. In the duckweed trial, the control fish ponds emulate industry practice. Water is exchanged at the rate of 10% when ammonia reach levels that compromise Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 51

RESEARCH

bioremediation systems are kept within the tolerance limits for fish; ammonia, nitrite and nitrate all less than 1 mg/L and total suspended solids <20 mg/L, while the fish ponds fluctuate greatly; ammonia, nitrite and nitrate have been greater that 3mg/L and total suspended solids reached level of 71 mg/L.

Looking across one of the tiers of ponds at Walkamin. The fences are to prevent contamination of the experiments by redclaw crayfish.

fish health and growth (2mg/L) and evaporation is replaced when the pond level falls below optimum.

Fertilization is not always uniform. The larger seed on the left has been fertilized. The others haven’t.

All experiments are in triplicate and measured against three control ponds growing fish at commercial rates under commercial conditions. The fish from the trials are marketed through the industry partners involved in the project so as not to impact unfairly on the markets. Water sampling Sampling procedures and handling techniques in water sampling are an important part of the water testing regimen. Water quality parameters of temperature, dissolve oxygen (D.O.), pH, conductivity/total dissolved solids and turbidity are measured twice daily. Data is recorded using a standard multiparameter meter.

One of the bio-remedial system barramundi ponds under aeration. Compare the clarity of the water with that in the next photo.

This stand alone fish pond has been operated under an identical aquaculture management regime as the one shown in the previous picture. Note the amount of algae in the pond.

52 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

The chemical parameters are tested each fortnight using a spectrophotometer and include: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, total phosphates, total nitrogen, alkalinity, calcium hardness and total hardness. Total suspended solids are also measured. The project data, once collated, will establish a starting point from which other trials can emanate. For example: whether the cost effectiveness would be enhanced by increasing or decreasing the flow rate? Or what are the optimum stocking densities and nutrient inputs? Early observations in the duckweed trial show that the nutrient level in the

Evaluation The most important evaluation is that provided by the consumer: the people who support the industry financially. So the research station wouldn’t be seen as a competitor, the marketing of the barramundi was tendered out to industry. The debate over farmed freshwater versus wild caught estuarine barramundi is ongoing, with the farmed product coming out unfavourably. In this case, industry monitored the product through its restaurant customers. Fish from both the control ponds and the bio-remedial ponds had firm white flesh, but the fish from the bioremedial ponds had a slight pearly pink glow to the flesh and no pond taste whatsoever, comparing with the best of the wild caught fish. Evizel put this down to the absence of algae in the ponds, especially the blue green variety that tends to build up in aquaculture situations. She reckons the difference in the bioremedial trials and the control to be incredible. “We had a farm walk with some of the local growers recently and they all commented on the clarity of the water in the trial ponds. It was especially apparent when the trial fish ponds were compared with the control fish ponds.” The extremes of pH and DO values associated with the high algal loads found in intensive aquaculture ponds were also transferred to the plant ponds. This meant the management of diurnal and nocturnal swings were transmitted to where they could be managed biologically utilizing the natural photosynthesis. When she first encountered the extremes, Evizel spent hours calibrating and cross checking readings from ponds outside the project ponds to assure herself that the readings she was getting on her instruments from the trial ponds were accurate.

RESEARCH

For instance, her early morning DO readings from the plant ponds were as low as 1mg/L. By noon they were off the clock at >30mg/L. Biology also confirmed her suspicions with tadpoles exhibiting air embolisms the day after high DO readings. In the absence of a regular supply with which to test the commercial value of the plants, no data is available. Nor was it a relative element in this stage of the project. However, anecdotal evidence suggests there is a market domestically and overseas, particularly when fresh product is out of season. Summary The project has until 2010 to run, by which time Evizel and her team at Walkamin should have more conclusive data. But from what has been established to date it is fair to say the benefits will be manifold, both environmentally and economically. On traditional land based fish farms the metabolic by-products of growth feed an algal bloom that has to be managed, usually by mechanical aeration. When the load becomes too much for the pond’s biological system to manage it is flushed from the system.

Duckweed (Spirodela spp.) growing in Evizel’s office showing the seemingly small root zone. Nevertheless, it has proved to be a highly efficient nutrient stripping agent. (courtesy of Walkamin Aquaculture)

Under bio-remediation this nutrient build up is removed from the ponds altogether. Not only that, but it has an economic value and, in the case of duckweed, a direct value to the region in which the farm is situated. Examined closely, bio-remediation has benefits right across the board. For instance, removing the management of the metabolic waste from the fish ponds reduces the BOD loading on the pond and allows more fish production. It improves water quality and consequently fish quality, sufficiently so that growers don’t need to purge and buyers greatly upgrade their perception of farmed product. Mechanical aeration too is a costly element in pond aquaculture, primarily used to manage the algal blooms associated with intensive fish production. If the nutrients that drive algal blooms can be stripped biologically it may be possible to provide the requisite aeration by cascading aeration (associated with the movement of the water through the system) alone thereby

A lowered plant pond showing the baffles that direct and slow the water flow so as to enhance nutrient uptake by the plants.

eliminating the need for aerators in each pond. That’s a capital, operating and maintenance saving growers would love. In other words, this initiative, once commercialised, promises to make a huge impact on land based freshwater aquaculture in Queensland. Evizel Seymour can be contacted by phone on (07) 4091 9300, or by email on Evizel.Seymour@dpi.qld.gov.au

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Ph/Fax: 02 4982 6086 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 53

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F E AT U R E

The current state of Korean aquaculture and the direction of its development â&#x20AC;&#x201C; part 1 1. Introduction In Korea, aquaculture does not only supply superior marine foods to the domestic market but exports good quality marine foods, making a great contribution to the national economy since, from a geographical standpoint, fishing grounds are developed and foreshores well developed (Fig.1) In the 1960â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and 1970s when technologies were developed for producing the seedlings of laver, oyster, etc, aquaculture established its presence as a good producer of seafoods. From the middle of the 1980s when marine enclosing nets or land-based water tank-type technologies for cultivating flounder and others were developed, fish aquaculture was quickly advanced. In particular, a new turning point was found as aquaculture varieties were diversified (Fig.2 and 3). Aquacul-

> well-developed tideland > big difference between the rise and fall of the tide > culture species: shellfish, crustacean

ture began to be prevalent in the 1990s when a focus was put on sea bream, sea bass and black rockfish. The age of serious international competition was ushered in July 1997 when doors were wide open to imported marine products and live fish like sea bream and sea bass were introduced in large quantities from China, Japan and others. In the 2100s, the output of some marine products like Sebastes schlegeli increased and their import quickly multiplied. As a result, some aquacultural farmers went bankrupt because the balance of supply and demand for seafoods was broken, domestic consumption downsized, and seafood prices declined sharply. In particular, under the WTO Regime, aquaculture in Korea is faced with great difficulties in this infinite competition age when low priced live fish rush in

from China, Japan and others in great amounts and natural disasters were repeated like typhoons and red tides, and marine pollution. Considering the said difficult conditions of aquaculture, it is judged that now is the time changes need be made into a new aquacultural paradigm. 2. Current state and technical development of Korean aquaculture. A. Current state and characteristics of the production structure of aquaculture. As of the end of 2007, the licensed area of sea surface aquacultural grounds was about 132,000 ha and 4,000 ha was assigned Of the area, cooperative aquaculture accounted for more than about 5,000 ha which is 4.3% of the total licensed fishing grounds.

> > > >

simple coastline deep sea sand bed culture species: shellfish, fish

> complex coastline, many islands and bays > sand and mud bed > culture species: fish, seaweed, shellfish

Fig 1. Characteristics of Korean coast.

Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 55

F E AT U R E

communities comprising low income fishermen. In contrast, the aquaculture of fish, abalone, pearl oyster, sea squirt, shrimp, scallop, etc, required lots of capital and highly developed technologies, and so, was mainly conducted by some capable fishermen.

Fig 2. History of Korean aquaculture.

(2) Aquaculture production

Fig 3. Marine culture species in Korea. Scallop Fleshy prawn Surf clam Manila clam Olive flounder

Olive flounder

Black rockfish

Abalone Laver

Olive flounder Sea squirt Red seabream

Sea mustard

(1) Aquacultural licenses As of the end of 2007, the total number of aquacultural licenses was 9.352, of which 2, 425 were for seaweeds, 560 for fishes, 5,577 for shellfish, and 790 for others. Speaking of varieties, 1,182 licenses (12.6%) were for oyster, 948 (10.1%) for laver, 857 (9.2%) for ark

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56 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

Manila clam

Oyster

shell, 850 (9.1%) for small ark shell, 633 (6.8%) for Manila clam, 560 (6.0%) for fish, 514 (5.5%) for sea tangle, 494 (5.3%) for sea squirt, and 455 (4.9%) for sea mustard. Licensed fisheries were 3,945 cases in total, of which 888 cases were for marine seedling production fisheries, 1,263 for land-based seedling production fisheries, and 1,794 for land-based aquaculture (1,417 for water tank-type land-based aquaculture and 377 for embankment-type aquaculture). Speaking of aquacultural types, fishes and other marine animals were mainly produced through individual and cooperative aquaculture, while seaweeds were cultured by fishery communities. Seaweeds such as laver and sea mustard were cultivated with generally known technologies and their aquaculture required less capital. So, the aquaculture was developed as a main income source of fishery

Caught fisheries in Korea are unlikely to increase, and it is expected that the shortfall will be met by aquaculture production. Aquaculture production in Korea continued to increase until the 1980s or early 1990s. Thereafter, the production fluctuated, mainly due to the advent of adverse environments and the outbreak of red tides and diseases. Again aquaculture production has continuously increased since 2001. (Fig.4) In 2007, aquaculture production accounted for 42.4% (1,386 thousand tons) of the total output of marine products, which was 3,270 thousand tones (including the output of deep sea fisheries). The majority of marine aquaculture production is focused on seaweeds, followed by shellfish. In particular, the output of finfish aquaculture was 98,000 tons, which was 7.1% of the total aquacultural output; however, it is worthy to note that finfish production is significantly increasing. Korean inland aquaculture production in 2007 accounted 1.5% of total aquaculture production (Fig.5 and 6). Of the aquacultural output of finfish, the annual output of Oliver flounder Paralichthys olivaceus had the greatest share or was 41,000 tons, followed by that of black rockfish Sebastes schlegeli (36,000 tons) and sea breams including red sea bream Pagrus major 8,000 tons) (Fig. 7 and 8). The total output of aquaculture of shellfish was 479,000 tons: that of Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas was 321,000 tons, mussels 98,000 tones, granular ark including ark shell Scarpharca broughtonii 31,000 tons, and Pacific abalone Haliotis discus hannai 4,000 tons (Fig 9). The total output of aquaculture of seaweeds was 793,000 tons; that of sea mustard Undaria pinnatifida was 309,000 tons, sea tangle Lamimaria japonica 250,000 tons, and Hiziki Hizikia fusiforme 21,000 tons. In

F E AT U R E

recent five years, the production of sea tangle has increased more than 10 times since it gains popularity as a health food and a feed for abalone.

somewhat poor improvement has been made in securing the aquaculture industry’s external competitiveness. It calls for future strengthening of the industry’s competitiveness through intensively investment of budget and manpower in the development of strategic aquaculture species and up-to-date aquaculture technologies. For the development of aquaculture formula feeds, which have been limited to such basic feeds as flounder and black rockfish, NFRDIO is leading intense researches into the development of practical formula feeds and the improvement of their quality.

(3) Aquacultural households and population At the end of 2006, the number of fishery households across the country was 81,000 (0.5% of the total households) and fishery production was 215,000. Aquacultural households were 24,000 (29.7% of the total fishery households) and aquacultural population 63,000 which was slowly reduced in the 1990s, stagnated in the 2000s, but somewhat increased more recently.

Moreover, as the damage to aquaculture life caused by fish diseases increases year by year, NFRDI is collaborating with the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishes in order to develop vaccines for preventing the diseases of aquaculture fish and construct systems for quarantining aquaculture life at the national level.

(4) Characteristics of the income of aquacultural households. In 2006, the annual average income of an aquacultural household was about $35,000, which was higher than that of a fishing boat fisherman or other fishermen.

Furthermore, research is being conducted at its initial or preparatory level to develop environment-friendly eco-aquaculture technologies for the restoration and preservation of coastal ecosystem and the improvement of aquaculture

B. Technical development Aquaculture farming in Korea has been nurtured through many efforts made to construct aquaculture complexes and develop relevant technologies, but

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productivity and to develop up-to-minute aquaculture technologies including technology- and capital-intensive highefficiency recirculating aquaculture basin systems which are to avoid environmental restrictions. This thesis aims to introduce major contents of the ‘four strategic projects to reduce aquaculture production costs’ which have been executed since 2004 for strengthening the competitiveness of the fish aquaculture industry by NFRDI, the only comprehensive marine research institute in Korea, and to present the results of the implementation of the projects. Introduction is also made about the development of cultivation of fish in an in-closing net in the open sea, which has been executed since 2005 to keep coastal farms environment from deteriorating caused by the pollution of the farms and the inflow of pollutants from land, prevent fish aquaculture farms from damages caused by annually recurring typhoons and red tides, and change the aquaculture industry from a small-scale household economy to a large-scale corporate one.

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F E AT U R E

Fig 5. Marine and inland aquaculture production in Korea, 1998-2007.

Fig 4. Fisheries and aquaculture production in Korea, 1971-2007.

Fig 6. The ratio of marine aquaculture production in 2007.

(1) NFRDIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s four strategic projects for aquaculture cost efficiency (a) Development of environmentally sound and high-quality extruded pellet. In 2006, a total of 578,000 tons of fish feed were used for finfish culture in Korea. Among them, moist pellet and extruded pellet were 461 and 117,000 tons, respectively, and the use of extruded pellet was only 20% offish feed. Fishermen seemed to avoid the use of extruded pellet because they believe it is not an efficient fish feed, in addition to the fact that they have no conception of the environmental contamination brought about by the use of moist pellet. The use of extruded pellet is now highly recommended because it can prevent environmental contamination and over catching of fisheries resources. To secure a more stable fish feed supply and achieve eco-friendly aquaculture, an increase in extruded pellet usage is necessary. NFRDI has conducted a fish feed efficiency increase study and feed allowance system establishment research. 58 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

Some of its fish feed development research include the identification of nutrient requirement of flounder (adult stage) and the development of feeding regime system (feed allowance system) in flounder culture. Also, NFRDI has developed two kinds of extruded pellet for flounder (juvenile stage and adult stage) and one extruded pellet for rockfish (juvenile stage) and the output are now being used in Korean aquaculture industry. NFRDI has also initiated a project to identify the nutrient requirement of flounder at each growth stage and every season, and to try and establish feed allowance system for flounder culture based on the study results. It will also expand field application experiment of extruded pellet continuously and induce expansion of extruded pellet use through introduction of outstanding cases of extruded pellet use through introduction of outstanding cases of extruded pellet use. The Korean government is now supporting fishing households through the directpay system for extruded pellet. Under this system, government is compensat-

Fig 7. Korean marine aquaculture production of finfish species, 1998-2007.

ing the fish farmers for the cost increment caused by extruded pellet use. (b) Development and practical use of fish disease vaccine The mortality rate of cultured finfish in Korea was 8.2% in 1996, but since then it has increased every year reaching 16.8% in 2006. In the early 1990s, fish diseases were found to occur in the hotter season with temperatures of above 20Â° C, and showed simple infections caused by single pathogens such as bacteria or parasites. However, in the late 1990s, diseases were found all year round and disease patterns showed complicated infections by more than two pathogens. In 1996, simple infections caused by one pathogen made up more than 90% of all fish diseases. Every year, complicated infections by more than two pathogens have increased continuously. Especially, in 2006, complicated infection rate increased to about 30% of the diseases. For fish disease management, control is focused on treatment rather than prevention. For a more efficient and positive

F E AT U R E

disease control, NFRDI have conducted fish disease vaccine development research to convert the existing treatment policy to a disease prevention system. Some of NFRDIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research achievements related to vaccine development are discussed below.

Aquaculture productivity shall be enhanced through prevent fish diseases in the future when projects will be executed to industrialize the Streptococcusis-Edwardsiellosis mixed vaccine for flounder in 2008 and develop a RVIDStreptococcusis mixed vaccine for rock bream in 2009, a recombinant vaccine for flounderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s viral nervous necrosis in 2009 and a triple multi-vaccine for Streptococcusis, Edwardsiellosis, and Vibriosis in flounder in 2010.

Streptococcus inactivated vaccine for flounder was developed and the right to the technology has been transferred to two pharmaceutical companies. Permission to manufacture the vaccine was provided after its on-site clinical effects were confirmed. In addition, a Streptococcusis-Edwardsiellosis mixed inactivated bacterial vaccine was developed from flounder, and an application for acquiring a patent for the vaccine is being applied and the appropriate technology transferred. Tests are also being made to confirm the clinical efficacy of the vaccine. Moreover, a recombinant vaccine for rock bream iridovirus was developed in 2005 and an application for its patent was applied the same year. A patent for the vaccine was secured in Korea in 2007, and a plan has been made to transfer the appropriate technology for industry-academy joint researches.

(c) Genetic improvement for growth and disease resistance. In Korea, flounder has been cultured for more than 20 years now without full support of breeding technology. Growth-orientated selection has induced the lack of genetic diversity of cultured fish. Recent fish mortality caused by fish disease and deformed fish in aquaculture is presumed to be due to a lack of genetic diversity. While the near relation of cultured flounder is not serious, without genetic diversity of cultured fish, the country may face a very grave situation in the near future. In view of this, NFRDI has been conducting a research project to develop

Fig 8. Net cages for rearing of black rockfish.

rapid growth and disease tolerant flounder and abalone species since 2004. One important achievement of the project is the development of a parentage assignment technique for flounder. A mating scheme for family production has also been established and F1 was produced in 2005 according to mating plan. A total of 287 families were produced, composed of nucleus population that

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Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 59

F E AT U R E

Fig 9. Korean marine aquaculture production of shellfish species, 1998-2007.

shows genetic diversity, aquaculture family with rapid growth, and release family that has natural genetic diversity. The research results can be used for mass production of genetically improved flounder juvenile. In 2008, it is expected that the growth rate of flounder will be improved 1.2 times, and that production was according to the interbreeding guidance which was established in 2007. A total of 813 individual abalones were collected from 11 different regions, their genetic diversity has been identified, and half-sib families were produced. Genetic evaluation of the collected abalone, such as growth trait, is being conducted. In the case of abalone, growth rate is expected to improve by 1.2 times in 2008 through genetic capacity evaluation, genetic parameter estimation (2006 – 2007), and the establishment of mating design for the next generation (2007). (d) Development of management system for automatic fish culture This project focused on the development of automatic culture system. To save production cost, NFRDI continuously attempts to develop re-circulated seawater filtering aquaculture system, automatic feeding system, and environment inspecting system In recent years, damages in the land-based culture system in Korea have occurred repeatedly with the occurrence of red tide, typhoons, and other disasters. The cost needed for the water supply is one of the main causes of the worsening financial management in aquaculture production. To resolve this problem, low cost and high efficient recirculating filter system is being developed. Under this research 60 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

project, low cost and high efficient foam separator, three-phase fluidised bed filter, and automatic feed supply machine have already been developed. Using the recirculated system developed in 2005, flounder were cultured for 150 days and during the culture period, the growth and survival rate and the feed coefficient were monitored. Based on the examination results, average weight of cultured flounder in the recirculated system was 313.6g, and it showed outstanding growth as compared to the cultured flounder in the raceway or running water system. The survival rate and feed coefficient in the recirculated system was also higher than that in the other system. In 2005, NFRDI designed and manufactured the automatic feeding system, and the developed system was distributed to fish research centres and individual fish farms. The efficiency of this system is being monitored continuously. (2) New challenges for Korean offshore aquaculture For a stable and continuous aquaculture operation, conservation and improvement and improvement of the growing area are necessary. The concept of “ecosystem-based aquaculture” has now grained popular adoption worldwide. Hence, to avoid repeated problems from occurring in coastal aquaculture areas such as red tide and typhoon, as well as to reduce environmental contamination in the coastal area, NFRDI is currently promoting the adoption of offshore aquaculture system. Industrialization of the offshore aquaculture system started with the “integrated coastal and ocean resources sciences and

technical arrangement” between the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MOMAF) of Korea and NOAA of USA. Under the agreement, NOAA offered NFRDI six offshore aquaculture cage sets in 2005 and 2006. The system was installed in offshore areas 4.5km away from the shoreline of Jeju island in Korea. Economical efficiency was secured in 2005 when an aquaculture test was conducted to raise 7045,000 rock bream and the timing was controlled to put the fish on the market. In 2006, 1,200,000 rock bream were cultivated for a test on the management of their high density breeding. Acceleration is also promoted for the development of Korean-style in-closing nets in the open sea to raise high value-added fish such as tuna and yellowtail. After this, to expand the supply of offshore aquaculture system, sea area specific (East Sea, Southern Sea area, Jeju area) fish species will be identified and selected. A lot of efforts will be employed for the practical use of Korean style offshore aquaculture system. For the continuous expansion of enterprise scale offshore aquaculture system, fish species have to be differentiated from the species breeding in the coastal area by small family business fisherman. Migratory fish species are highly recommended for offshore aquaculture system. The development of the technology for juvenile production and culture for migratory fish species, yellow croaker Nibea japonica, Cobia Rachycentorn canadum, Tuna Thunnus thynnus, Striped jack, Pseudocaranx dentex should also be accomplished. By Mi Seon PARK For more information contact the author at: East Sea Fisheries Research Institute, National Fisheries Research and Development Institure, #30-6, Dongdeok-ri, Yeongok-myeon, Gangneung, Gangwon-do, 210 – 861 Rep. of Korea Email: parkms@nfrdi.re.kr In our next issue: Vision and strategies for new aquaculture in Korea. Reprinted with permission from Aqua Info, Vol 2. No. 5

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• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Graphic LCD with backlight Built-in barometer for DO compensation Quick Calibration feature Measurement check eliminates any erroneous readings Auto recognition of pH and pH/ORP probe Logger function records the data of all connected sensors Log-on-demand and automatic logging (up to 60,000 samples) Can display logged data as graphs USB for PC connectivity Auto-range of EC and TDS readings Good Laboratory Practice feature with the last 5 calibrations recorded All sensors are field replaceable Meter accepts both alkaline and rechargeable batteries Rugged probe with stainless steel tip has a diameter under 2” for wells and pipes

For further information, please contact Hanna Instruments on tel: 03 9769 0666, fax 03 9769 0699 or e-mail: hannains@hannainst.com.au. Specifications, MSDS and further information are available on our website: www.hannainst.com.au *GOOGLE™ is a registered trademark of Google, Inc. HANNA instruments® has no affiliation with Google™, Inc. Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 61

TECHNOLOGY / SERVICES

Jeyco 5 x 3 mooring grid deployed in two days provided through strategic business partnerships allows AEG to supply turnkey systems that meet global client needs. For company details please visit: www.aeg-solutions.com

quaculture Engineering Group Inc (St Andrews, NB) recently deployed a 5 X 3 mooring grid in just two days with Jeyco Mooring and Rigging to secure a high-energy site in Nova Scotia, Canada operated by Ocean Trout Farms. A service barge having dimensions of 18.3 m (60ft) X 6 m (20ft) was used for the entire operation. “Deployment of the supplied Jeyco mooring grid was very efficient saving our company considerable boat and dive time that would have otherwise been necessary using more traditional mooring rigging, including concrete clump weights,” states Sherman d’Entremont, Ocean Trout Farms Marine Operations Manager. Static and dynamic engineering analyses determined required rigging based upon site-specific data provided by the site operator. Jeyco supplied all the required rigging with engineering site drawings, including 500 kg and 750 kg high performance Stingray anchors, Jeyco

Waders Durable cut resistant Neoprene sizes XS/6 to XXXL/13 supplying to the oyster industry for over 10 years Steven & Tanya Pope Tel: 0427 296 086 or 0428 296 080 Email: stevtan64@bigpond.com

Aussie Oyster Wear 62 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

heavy-duty thimbles and Euroflex rope. The deployed grid is insured by Jeyco for mooring failures as long as an acceptable inspection and maintenance schedule is maintained and documented. The site has already experienced high winds and wave conditions since its deployment from Hurricanes Hanna and Kylie. “Both of these storms resulted in waves of 3 – 4 m height while all of the Jeyco anchors held their positions,“ says d’Entremont. AEG serves as the distributor for Jeyco Mooring and Rigging, including fully engineered mooring grids, in North America. Deployment of this grid joins more than 20 complete engineered mooring grids deployed by Jeyco globally. In total, more than 6,000 high performance Stingray anchors are now in use globally to moor aquaculture. About AEG The Aquaculture Engineering Group Inc. provides professionally engineered equipment and management solutions to the marine aquaculture industry, particularly those operations sited in medium- and high-energy environments. AEG Solutions must meet five sustainability criteria to ensure our product portfolio is: socially acceptable, cost-effective, eco-friendly, professionally engineered, and robust for survival. Our own line of innovative technologies coupled with those

About Jeyco Jeyco Mooring and Rigging, headquartered in Bibra Lake, Western Australia is a leading global supplier of mooring and rigging equipment. The company’s success in the aquaculture sector is largely a result of the performance of the innovative Stingray Anchor. Jeyco’s philosophy is that mooring grids must be well designed to account for all of the anticipated forces while remaining costeffective to the site operator. It also works with a number of partner companies to deliver turnkey solution as required including Australian Marine and Offshore Group, Universal Nets and Aquaculture Engineering Group. For company details visit: www.jeyco.com.au/ About Ocean Trout Farms Ocean Trout Farms is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cold Water Fisheries inc., headquartered in Coldwater, ON. The company raises trout within a vertically integrated operation with grow-out sites located in Ontario, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. For company details visit: www.coldwaterfisheries.com/ For more information please contact: Australia and New Zealand Geoff Wolfenden, General Manager, Jeyco Mooring and Rigging Tel: +61 8 9418 7500 Mobile: +61 417 750 033 Email: geoff_wolfenden@jeyco.com.au Skype: geoff.wolfenden GLOBAL: Chris Bridger, General Manager, Aquaculture Engineering Group Inc. Tel: +1-506 529 8467 Mobile: +1 506 467 7488 Email: chris.bridger@aeg-solutions.com Skype: cjbridger

TECHNOLOGY / SERVICES

Oyster posts in a plastic vault B

ack in 2003, Plastic Pole Vault Pty Ltd researched and assessed how we could supply a chemical-free, long life post for the viticulture industry. In mid 2007 Oyster Farmers proved the range of plastic encapsulated timber posts we developed were also remarkably suitable for aquaculture after trials throughout South Australia. The Plastic Pole Vault post combines the strength and rigidity of pine with the protective properties and toughness of polyethylene plastic to provide protection from the elements and make it environmentally sustainable. In the past, pine posts have been used because they display great rigidity with resistance to bending and warping, are cheap, and readily available. However, treatment has been required to protect the timber from the harsh Australian climate and the daily activities of aquaculture. In today’s modern oyster farming applications there is much debate about the use of chemically treated posts. It is common knowledge that the various traditional timber preservation products such as CCA (treated pine) or tar have been identified as potentially harmful to the environment and can lead to leaching of chemicals into waterways. A move to chemical free structures would be progressed once a suitable alternative was available. Plastic Pole Vault provides an environmentally friendly timber post that is non-toxic, with no adverse leaching of chemicals. Other techniques for protection of timber in a marine environment are to fit a plastic sleeves over the timber in the form of either a heavy gauge plastic film, known as fluming, or a plastic pipe covering a timber post. Both of these methods have significant drawbacks and are extremely time consuming and add to the total cost of installation. Plastic Pole Vault posts, including the recently developed rail and joiner, offer this timber and plastic combination without the assembly time and cost. The UV resistant plastic coating, which

is stabilised with carbon black, on the Plastic Pole Vault posts is applied in molten form and the process imparts a strong adhesion between the pine and the outer plastic shell leaving no exposed timber. Where normal timber posts deteriorate over time, particularly submerged in water, the protective outer polyethylene plastic shell on the Plastic Pole Vault post has an exterior life expectancy of up to 50 years. Farmers can handle Plastic Pole Vault posts as they would normal timber posts. The posts have enough “give” in them so that they can be drilled, screwed, bolted and stapled to attach standard fittings and clips. They are also strong enough to be break resistant if hit by barges or boats and sturdy enough to survive strong tides and storms. The New South Wales market has shown great interest in the Plastic Pole Vault posts for two reasons; Firstly, there has been a strong push from both the NSW Fisheries Department along with many of the farmers to reduce or eliminate the use of tar on timber used in oyster lease structures. Plastic Pole Vault posts and rail allow farmers the option of having the rigidity of timber without the need for chemical treatments. Secondly, in addition to the elements such as moisture and sun exposure on timber structures, oyster farmers along the NSW Coast have the added problem of the marine borer (worm), which is quite prevalent. Timber in South Australia and Tasmania seem to be less affected by the marine borer. Plastic Pole Vault posts are ideal in marine, tropical or wet environments, since plastic is inert in seawater, and they are not susceptible to marine borers, salt, water, or barnacles.

Plastic Pole Vault Pty Ltd is in ongoing consultation with oyster farmers in order to continue developing new plastic coated timber products that will meet the needs of the various oyster lease structure requirements throughout Australia. Any queries or suggestions regarding the Plastic Pole Vault products may be directed to David Macdonald (Manager) on 0418 322953 or email at david@plasticpolevault.com.au

Oyster Farming Business For Sale Perfectly positioned in one of the beautiful beach suburbs of Hobart, this 20 year old business is the first time offered for sale. Extremely profitable and offers enormous potential given the demand of the product. A unique lifestyle is associated with this business. • Excellent production figures, consistently returning 15% plus. • Opportunities to value add and export product. For further information please contact the Managing Director, PO Box 2086 Howrah TAS 7018 or by email: C.P.O@bigpond.com

Exposure of the Plastic Pole Vault products at the recent Australasian Aquaculture Conference in Brisbane has seen interest in the posts grow to a level where we now hold stock at two locations on the NSW Coast. Stock is also held at Cowell in South Australia and our factory in Melbourne. Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008 63

RESEARCH

Changes to the Tasmanian School of Aquaculture 1 and 2 years respectively, starting in February 2009. The Associate Degree in Aquaculture has been retained and restructured.

he School of Aquaculture, University of Tasmania has, since 1 January this year, undergone significant changes following the integration of the University and Australian Maritime College. The School of Aquaculture has now joined the Fisheries and Marine Resources Department (from Beauty Point) and the National Centre for Marine and Coastal Conservation (from Rosebud, Victoria) to form the National Centre for Marine Conservation and Resource Sustainability (NCMCRS), located on the University’s Newnham campus, Launceston.

Aquaculture along with fisheries management, seafood quality and safety, marine conservation, global change and ocean governance form the core activities and the course majors for the newly formed Bachelor of Applied Science (Marine Environment), Graduate Certificate of Applied Science (ME), Graduate Diploma of Applied Science (ME) and the Masters of Applied Science (ME) with Honours which are courses over 3, 0.5,

The new National Centre courses provide a unique translational science approach to education in Australia, undertaken by focusing on the application and translation of science into industry practice, management and policy by combining the underpinning knowledge in natural and social sciences, management, policy and law with the core majors listed above. The courses provide students with the flexibility to mix and match career options, for example by combining a major in aquaculture with a minor in seafood quality and safety or aquaculture with coastal conservation ... and so on. The aquaculture courses still contain the usual favourites such as production techniques, technology, health, nutrition, policy and operations, molecular techniques and work experience, but will now be extended with opportunities in seafood handling, quality, safety and product development together with business units, marine ecology, biosecurity, food security, marketing and governance. Aquaculture at the NCMCRS therefore

embraces the concept of “Production to Plate”. Students have access to the on-campus Aquaculture Centre and commercial facilities where aquaculture species are produced and can follow this right through the processing, handling, food preparation and sensory testing of the product. They will learn how to culture products in a sustainable fashion, the policies involved in industry and facility development, and gain an appreciation of aquaculture marketing and economics. The National Centre also is keen to continue with its Professional Development short courses developed in conjunction with stakeholder demand. Some of these have included topics such as fish health, microalgae, marine resource management, marine risk assessment, and fisheries surveillance and compliance. Research courses still form a major focus of the National Centre through the Bachelor of Applied Science (ME) Honours, Masters of Applied Science (ME) with Honours (coursework and research), Masters of Applied Science (Research) and PhD. For more information please go to www.amc.edu.au/marine.studies or phone 03 63243801.

Market Place FOR SALE Tasmanian Shellfish farm/business Phone 0418 351 894 or visit www.southerntasmanianmussels.com.au

AQUACULTURE CONSULTANCY SERVICES Fast Disease Diagnosis & Control • Independent Lab Confidentiality • Microbe & Parasite ID’s • Water Quality & Biofilter Taming • Depuration Monitoring & Control • Disease Risk Assessments •

• All Hours, All Species, Every Day • Larval Mortality Control • Specialty Vaccines Prepared • Designs for Disease Minimization • Serious Biofilter Microbes • Antibiotic Selection

Contact: Dr Steven Nearhos 446 Enoggera Rd, Alderley QLD 4051 aquacult@baseline.com.au

Baseline

Phone (07) 335 66 111 Fax (07) 335 66 833

OzBugZz © Biofilter Starter 1-2-3 Fast starts can be routine. Pure fresh-cultured OzBugZz© microbes nitrify & denitrify waste in marine & fresh water recirc. & purge systems. Quality + O.Night Del + Tech Support. Dr Steven Nearhos Baseline (07) 335 66 111.

64 Austasia Aquaculture | December 2008

Market Place • • • • •

Prawn Grading Machines and systems for the prawn farming industry.

AU SSN AP

Prawn Grading Machines Prawn Cookers Prawn Washers Single machines as well as complete systems IQF Freezers

Tailor made clips for pearlers, oyster and mussel farmers. Call us for your specific needs.

Prawn grader KM1130

K.M. Fish Machinery A/S Tel: +45 9886 4633 • Fax: +45 9886 4677 • Web: www.Km-fish.dk Agent in Australia: Terry Gorman & Associates Tel: 02 9979 7269 • Fax: 02 9997 4203 • Email: terry.gorman@people.net.au

Complete commercial indoor recirculating aquaculture system 27,000 litre system comprises: 4 poly tanks 5,000L • 5 fibreglass tanks 1,000L PVC plumbing, fittings • 2 sand filters New Foam fractionator • Biological Filter 3000L fibreglass Oxygen generator • Alarms • New diesel generator Automated Feeding trays • Commercial Scales 300kg Dissolved Oxygen meter • 6 Outdoor Aerators Miscellaneous items (photos of all equipment available on request) Valued at over $35,000 when new... Selling now for $17,500 Also, corrugated shed 18x15m priced at $12,500. BARGAIN! $30,000 for everything For more information call Anthony Naughton on 07 5466 1100 or email: happykoala@helloworld.com Location Grantham, QLD

To advertise please call Megan on 03 6245 0064 Now in full glorious colour.

FOR SALE – FULLY OPERATIONAL FLOATING RACEWAY SYSTEM – MUST SELL!

System includes: 7 Floating modular plastic raceways and auxiliary components, 6 pontoons, shipping container housing an office section, 1 Air blower (420CFM), auto start generator – 35 Kva all fully alarmed with 8 outputs etc. Plus – 8 X 2500L, 4 X 1000L, 2 X 5000L Tanks, Sand Filters, Oxygen Reactors, Water Heaters, Pipes and fittings etc All offers considered. Contact Sam on 0439 011 879 or email eels888@optusnet.com.au for a full list of items.

FOR SALE: Marine Farming Lease in far North West Tasmania Size: 15 hectares Price: expressions of interest Description: marine farm development plan (1999mfdp) 22 Year lease – currently undeveloped marine farm lease in inter-tidal waters known for famous growth rates, nutrient flows and low pollution. Keen and motivated vendor. Expressions of interest will be treated in the strictest of confidence. To: Marine Farming Lease Att: Scott Dawkins PO Box 1369, Launceston tas 7250 Email: reception@scottdawkins.Com.Au

T: 08 9582 3548 F: 08 9582 3579 E: aussnap@aapt.net.au M: 0407 470 642

YABBY TRAPS $4.30 each in lots of 30 $4.10 each in lots of 60 $3.75 each in lots of 90+ Orders of 100+ POA (All prices ex tax/ex store Melbourne)

Ph: 03 9817 3043 Aquaculture Services Australia Pty Ltd 30 Cecil Street, Kew 3101

a blue revolution to feed the world

February 15-18, 2009

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Washington State Convention Center

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Seattle, Washington

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THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE & EXPOSITION OF

Associate Sponsors American Tilapia Association American Veterinary Medical Association Aquacultural Engineering Society Aquaculture Association of Canada Caribbean Aquaculture Association Catfish Farmers of America Global Aquaculture Alliance

International Association of Aquaculture Economics and Management Latin American Chapter WAS National Aquaculture Council Striped Bass Growers Association US Shrimp Farming Association US Trout Farmers Association

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For More Information Contact: Conference Manager â&#x20AC;˘ P.O. Box 2302 â&#x20AC;˘ Valley Center, CA 92082 USA Tel: +1.760.751.5005 â&#x20AC;˘ Fax: +1.760.751.5003 Email: worldaqua@aol.com â&#x20AC;˘ www.was.org