August/September 2006

Volume 20 No. 4 – August/September 2006

Mud crabs come to Darwin tasters Abalone farm reaps cost-efficiencies Silver perch hatchery ‘road-tests’ its fish Hartland Yabbies thrives on simplicity Boolarra Goldfish Farm clocks up 50 years Tassal’s MD engineers amazing recovery Bribie Island mollusc team’s saucer scallops Wallis Lakes: from shellshocked to thriving

August/September 2006

www.AustasiaAquaculture.com.au

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 Advertising Megan Farrer

FA R M P R O F I L E S Mud crabs come to town

3

Abalone farm reaps cost-saving efficiencies from focus on R&D

8

Aussie abalone on the menu in Asia

14

Silver perch hatchery ‘road tests’ its breeding program

15

Hartland Yabbies thrives on home-grown simplicity

20

Boolarra Goldfish Farm clocks up fifty years of success

22

Barra successes consolidated with other species at Gladstone Hatchery

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Longlines of baskets and cylinders for Graphic design Beverly Waldie Printing The Franklin Press 91 Albert Road, Moonah, Tas. 7009 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).

Crookhaven oyster farm

35

Fish and fun for the whole family

41

F E AT U R E Tassal’s MD engineers a Lazarus-like recovery RESEARCH Mollusc team at Bribie kick goals for commercial beginning

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.

Cover photo: A montage of photos taken from stories contained in this issue.

Captions and photo credits as per the details inside.

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TECHNOLOGY From shell shocked to 'World’s Best' FISHENEWS

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August/September 2006

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FARM PROFILE

Wayne Alum holds a good-sized example of the farm’s output.

Inset: Crabs are kept moist and cool until delivery to the buyers.

Pic by Tropical Aquaculture Australia.

Mud crabs come to town In the 1970s an author called Bill Day wrote a story about life with the Aboriginal groups living in the region where there’s a now a city we know as Darwin. His story was called ‘Bunji’, after the local black rights newspaper he founded and edited, and it details the land rights protests by the Larrakia people for Kulaluk. People of the Kulaluk and Minmarama communities are from the Gwalwa Daraniki Association whose descendents are related to some members of the Larrakia tribe and share a common heritage. The Gwalwa Daraniki communities are independently well-established in the Top End, already progressing towards self-sufficiency in the modern world. They see an opportunity to use their land and skills in a new and exciting aquaculture venture – mud crab farming.

August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 3

FARM PROFILE

S

everal years ago a small prawn farm was established to grow the Black Tiger prawn Penaeus monodon at a coastal site within five minutes drive of Darwin’s Central Business District, at Coconut Grove. Unfortunately the owner’s enthusiasm wasn't matched by business acumen and the venture failed financially.

The site, on a natural mudflat, was left unused.

able species for the area. After developing a business plan and unsuccessfully seeking private investors, Helen, Phil and Bob approached the Northern Territory Government to discuss possibilities for government funding to take advantage of the land for the benefit of clan members.

The traditional owners in the area weren’t happy about the situation—one reason being the site was regarded as being a refuge for clan members. Another was that if the ponds were left unused they would have to be bulldozed down according to the environmental agreements in place with the Northern Territory Government, at a cost to the community. One of the owners, Helen Secretary, decided to contact long-standing friend, Phil Elsegood and his partner Bob Rose, of Tropical Aquaculture Australia (TAA) to see if the disused ponds could be put to use. She made a good move and TAA completed a feasibility study pointing to mud crabs as the most suit-

In common with just about all aquaculture ventures, there was very little entry level funding available. The first financial support came from the Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination.

After two years, she found that, while things could be done, the vagaries of the funding made things ‘complicated’.

Options The most viable culture options were trepang (the species Holothuria scabra or sand-fish is the most valuable) and mud crabs (Scylla serrata).

The mud substrate in the area wasn’t considered sandy enough for trepang, and the farming area was somewhat limited for the species. Behind these issues was the point that there was no source for cultured trepang juveniles at that time.

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The mud crab option offered some tantalising features. One of these is the current situation in the commercial and recreational mud crab fisheries in the Northern Territory. It would be kindest to simply suggest that the commercial industry currently perceives itself as under siege, with wildly differing opinions on appropriate resource management practices being advanced. Essentially, there are claims the species is over-fished.

From a new farmer’s point of view, perhaps, an opportunity to be seized.

Another huge advantage was that the Darwin Aquaculture Centre (DAC) has engaged in ten years of work to bring commercial mud crab breeding and farming to reality. DAC can now breed larvae and grow them into juvenile crabs (crablets). Currently, in various parts of the world the species is ‘ranched’ – juveniles are taken from the wild and grown out in pens – with implications in terms of wildstock management. Research into hatchery rearing has also been underway in Queensland and South East Asia (particularly in the Philippines).

Since DAC is a Northern Territory Government entity, the Government was obviously pleased to have the aquaculture industry take advantage of the effort put in by the researchers.

The practicalities of farming Currently the Kulaluk farm has four ponds holding 2.3ha of water. There are also three settlement ponds (total capacity of 0.5ha) providing for Environment Protection Authority-approved treatment of discarded water, a small hardstand shaded area, office, storage container and staff facilities. There are some constraints on farm expansion due to the Northern Territory Government’s policy on mangrove protection.

Juvenile crabs are sourced from the DAC hatchery at thumbnail size, currently each costing $0.20. Bob Rose is hoping to arrange for smaller/younger animals to determine the optimum survival for given crablet stages. It means the farm may be able to receive more stock for less effort and cost during the hatchery phase.

The risk of high mortalities during deliv-

FARM PROFILE

To left, the Mudla Farm hardstand and store; foreground, first settlement pond; growout pond array at rear leading to the coastline.

ery is very small since DAC facilities are less than an hour away from the farm.

The Kulaluk community will buy juveniles from DAC for two years, and there may be an option to buy from another source in Cairns in the future. In time, the farm hopes to develop its own production facility.

Water and pond setup The farm’s pumps are operated on Spring tides—this provides for the least lift into the ponds and delivers the cleanest seawater. Salinity varies from 14 to 25 g/L (ppt) during the wet and from 34 to 40 ppt during the dry season. There are no issues with water quality providing the current zoning and use of the area in general isn’t changed.

The pond bases have been partially contoured to provide a more natural environment. An option to develop raised, ‘mudflat’ mounds is being considered, as is mimicking a tidal variation process during the later phases of grow-out.

Some natural colonisition by the mangrove bush Avicennia marina provides an advantage by increasing food choices in the pond—detritus feeding—and by extending habitat choice. There’s a potential minor problem if rotting of the mangrove bush occurs and reduces water

Jacky Treves and Sylvan Shorty working with crablets at the Darwin Aquaculture Centre. Pic by Tropical Aquaculture Australia.

quality. However, efficient aeration will counteract the effects.

Feed and growth Stock feeding changes as the crabs grow.

Initially they consume commercial pellets as supplied for the prawn Penaeus monodon. The pellet size is matched to the crab mandible width to help reduce fighting over food. As the stock grows the feed changes to pellets and fish mince, then crushed/chopped prawns or fish. All live feeds are locally caught and

tested to ensure they’re disease-free.

Feeding is based on demand, and currently the farm staff are learning how the crabs respond. Growth rates are high, with 750gm crabs produced in 145 days after stocking, and with females showing signs of maturity at day 147.

Number one pond contains tagged crabs at 300g to 450g. The tags are being trialed by DAC to determine if they interfere with moulting. If they don’t, then tagging can be used in Government

August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 5

FARM PROFILE

been used to prepare a single dish type which has been sampled by a range of cultural palates. On a scale of one to ten, where ‘one’ is the least pleasant and ‘ten’ the best, all testers reported five to eight.

Since cultured crabs can be smaller than wildcaught when consumed, although sweet, the texture of the flesh can be different – a ‘lamb and mutton’ situation.

Preliminary harvests from pond 2 have produced around 100 kilos but it’s too early to predict an annual outcome. It would, says Bob, be nice to produce eight tonnes in the first year’s production, building to 15 tonnes .

The sharp end of the Mudla Farm operation – Tim Angeles’ big toe immobilising the harvest.

research work to learn more about the population dynamics of the species.

Pond two holds 4,400 six-month-old crabs (from conception). Pond three has 24,000 juvenile crabs. and pond four has 22,000 juveniles at 4 months old. The market size targeted is 350-450g.

Harvest and product quality Harvesting techniques are to still in their infancy and there are some complications to overcome. Currently pots are used and it can be somewhat testy extracting the crabs from the mesh, since they may choose to hang on. More importantly, the crabs fight each other –

and often the harvesters – ferociously and often lose limbs and claws which seriously affects marketability; a simple technique needs development to keep them apart once they're out of the pots.

Several ideas will be tested shortly.

Each crab must be tied to prevent it using its claws, and this process, which looks simple and is very rapid when performed by a veteran, is also time-consuming for a learner. Even a very small crab can inflict a nasty nip!

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Currently some small crabs are being sold on to be trialed for the softshell market in a fully recirculating system.

This provides another product outlet and allows destocking to take place. The farm has that valuable aquaculture advantage in the ability to sell crabs at different sizes to different buyers.

Product is going to two wholesalers, one now exporting internationally. The farm is presently negotiating with a local prepared-food market outlet which sells into the tourism arena.

Hurdles At the outset, the biggest problem encountered was dealing with government and agency bureaucracy, especially handling environmental approvals – a typical complication for most budding aquaculture businesses.

During establishment of the farm, money, time and the interaction between them caused hassles. For example the price of copper is extremely volatile, which affected budgeting for electrical wiring for power lines.

There are issues of predation, with the biggest pest being water monitors (a lizard) followed by raptors (birds, snakes) and humans (young boys).

On the plus side, the farm is close to infrastructure. The facility is operated by eight people: two in administration and six at the farm. All are employed under the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) scheme and Struc-

FARM PROFILE

tured Training and Employment Projects (STEP) by the Department of Employment Workplace Relations, for training in business or aquaculture at Charles Darwin University.

Looking ahead In the longer term options for polyculture will be considered: the number of hatchery-produced species from which to choose is increasing. The Kulaluk and Minmarama communities intend developing a brand name ‘Mudla Farms’, and are considering vertically integrating into the restaurant trade, selling Aboriginal marine foods. The pond site will also be used as a demonstration farm for communities interested in growing mud crabs, as well as a generic model for stimulating indigenous economic development activities.

Setona Shields and Sylvan Shorty weigh and measure stock to track growth rates.

by Dave Field For more information contact Helen Secretary (President of Gwalwa Daraniki Enterprises) ph 08 8985 5399; fax 08 8948 5429 or Bob Rose ph 0402 082 494; fax 08 8941 5165.

August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 7

FARM PROFILE

Abalone farm reaps cost-saving efficiencies from focus on R&D M

anaging Director Steve Rodis and Company Secretary Melinda Clarke established Great Southern Waters (GSW) in 1998. It took a further three years to break ground with the farm.

Situated at Indented Head on the Pearl Bay Coast of Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsular, the 20ha site is half developed with grow-out sheds, hatchery/nursery and office and staff facilities and workshops and storage covering 7ha.

Infrastructure Being just inside the heads of Port Phillip Bay, the intake water has a healthy exchange of ocean water from Bass Strait.

Three banks of three 250mm 37kW pumps can deliver 95ML a day at full capacity operating on a third redundancy.

When fully operational that gives an annual production of 120+ tonnes, making GSW one of the largest abalone farms in Australia.

There are four grow-out sheds: three are totally blacked out and one is double 90% shade cloth, giving a total area of 30,000m2 of cover. By the end of this year they will have 400 tanks in operation. Maximum carrying capacity is 500kg per raceway. Water exchange varies according to stocking density and time of year but averages 2.5L/sec.

The sheds are high: 4m wall height. This is to keep the heat away from the tanks and to provide as stable a temperature regime as possible. Port Phillip is approximately 2,000km2 and the tidal exchange is through a narrow opening to Bass Strait. During the peak of summer water temperatures in the top end of the bay can get as high as 26°C and fall to 9°C in the winter. Optimum temperature for abalone production is from 15-19°C. Water temperature in the Grow-on tanks ranges from a winter low of 10.5°C to a summer peak of 22°C. This gives a grow-

A bank of coarse sand filters outside the nursery.

8 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

ing season of six months within the optimum range. The meta populations of abalone in the bay have a higher temperature tolerance than those found outside in the ocean.

The hatchery is made up of a series of controlled environment rooms. The broodstock conditioning/holding room is 6m x 8m and has a separate water supply and discharge from not only commercial stock but also other areas in the hatchery. The spawning and larval rearing rooms are 6m x 13m. They are able to run up to 20 individual lines at any one time. They also have a mussel spawning area with six 16,000L tanks.

The nursery has 75 x 4,000L tanks under shade cloth. The juvenile abalone spend four to five months in this phase before going out into the grow-out sheds at 8-14mm.

The spawning and LRV water goes

FARM PROFILE

through a fine sand filter before going through a 1µm cartridge filter. The nursery water passes through a coarse sand filter and is further bag filtered until by the end of the season the water is only going through the sand filter. As the biomass is low, only 20L/min of water exchange is required.

The blacks required deep tanks with hides.

Preferred species There are two commercial species found in Port Phillip: black lip (Haliotis rubra) and green lip (Haliotis laevigata). A hybrid cross of the two species is also found in the wild on occasions and aquaculturists have found that it is possible to breed hybrid vigour (heterosis) into commercially raised stock to significant advantage. GSW have found that some customers still prefer the green lip so they carry 25% green lip. The balance are hybrid. The farm only carries black lip in family lines as breeding stock.

Breeding cycle Broodstock are selected for certain critical criteria such as growth rates and meat yields. For the genetics program GSW has in place most crosses are single parent crosses but sometimes may use half siblings according to what the geneticist recommends. These lines are produced using separate spawning, larval, nursery and weaning tanks. When a year old, they are tagged and put out in the growout tanks as per normal husbandry procedures.

In the wild the black lip preferring to hide in the crevices of the reef while the green lip is happy to sit in a more exposed area to catch drift weed. Translating this to a cultivation situation, the green lip and hybrids can be grown in shallow flat bed barely covered by water.

Two yo abalone in one of the raceways at GSW

Steve believes that slab production is more profitable than deep tanks. The greens are more tolerant of the higher temperatures but, as would be expected, they shut down sooner than the blacks as the water cools.

Using conditioned broodstock, spawning is carried out between September and December and is triggered by raising the temperature in the spawning tanks a couple of degrees – from a spring ambient 16°C to 17°C – and by passing the water through a UV system. The application of UV produces free radicals in the

water which has been found to trigger reliable spawning. Incubation takes 24 hours and larvae have a five day cycle..

Settlement plates coated with the micro algae Ulvella lens has been found to induce a very consistent settlement. The identification and use of this species has been a major step forward in the efficiency of the nursery production stage.

Once the larvae display cues that they are ready to settle, such as putting down their foot, they are removed from the spawning tanks and put in the settlement tanks with the prepared plates.

Settlement and metamorphosis occurs usually within 12 hours. The fine bag filters ensure that the algae in the intake water are small enough for the post larvae to feed on.

Steve says there is a huge amount of effort put into the hatchery and nursery stages as they’ve found that if they put the effort in there it’s carried with the animals through their entire life. Steve constantly sings the praises of GSW’s staff for their skill, expertise and dedication to the work. Water quality is also crucial to successful hatchery production and is one of the key parameters of this and every phase of the operation. “We

Looking down the central roadway at GSW. Getting permits and establishing the production base for a pump ashore abalone farm can take years.

August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 9

FARM PROFILE

run as intensive hatchery and nursery system as is possible and it’s paid dividends”, Steve says. “The lion's share of the nursery phase is more akin to horticulture than animal husbandry. Make sure they have plenty of the right sort of food and they’ll power away.”

Water temperature in the nursery swings up into summer and is usually just on its way down in early autumn when they average 10mm and are ready to be moved into the grow-out sheds.

A 1kg female from the wild can spawn 3,000,000 eggs. The 130+g females used in the commercial production will drop 250,000 eggs. GSW spawn once a year but two spawnings a year is possible with the right set up.

A sample of the abalone diet used at GSW.

Mussel spawning Port Phillip Bay is also one of Australia’s premier mussel producing waters. The traditional method of seeding ropes has been to collect spat from natural spawning. Steve says that growers were looking for improvement in seedstock that hatchery selection can provide as well as stealing a march on natural spat fall and seedstock security. Mussel breeding is carried out in the autumn when the hatchery facilities are not fully utilised so it compliments the overall operation of the farm.

Looking down on the six 16,000L mussel spawning tanks.

Although it costs more to seed growing ropes with hatchery produced spat, Steve says that growers have noticed marked improvement in mussels produced from mass selected broodstock.

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Genetics program GSW have been working on family lines for the last three years. It’s a core driver for the business. Steve can measure the advantages of doing it and intends to continue down that track on a more expanded front. “We know the gains but when you’re dealing with an animal with a long lead time such as abalone it can take some courage to commit precious funds in the early stages of development.

We made and continue to make the commitment and those rewards should be significant in the medium to long term,” he says.

“The improvements don’t come just in

FARM PROFILE

growth rates’”, Steve continues. Meat yields, adaptability to domestication and disease resistance can all be significant outcomes from a specalist breeding program. “We have the largest genetics program in Australia, and we’d be in the top handful in the world for sure.”

The farm has produced about 70 family lines, which takes a lot of management.

Steve says they need even more. “The more you have the greater the selection power you have. You just have to look at any husbandry, be it plant or animal.

Genetic selection is a corner stone of that industry’s development. It’s used because it works.”

Steve says, not withstanding the need to keep the genetic selection base invigorated with new genetic material from time to time, this should be the last season they need to use wild stock in any significant quantities.

However, he points out that with wild stock, there is no way of evaluation the performance of that broodstock. “You could be looking at a 120mm animal that is ten years old sitting beside another that’s 20mm smaller but only five years

old. We really have to remove that element of doubt in a farming situation.”

The main advantages of the hybrids over the green lip are quicker growth and higher meat yield. Because of the long lead time of abalone it‘s too early to quantify the gains made by the program.

The females take three years to reach maturity and the males can get on the job in two.

GSW hope to get a 10% gain with each generation by use of the breeding program. The indications based on their program so far suggest that this will be significant.

Culling program Steve has strong views on carrying nonperforming stock. “There’s no point in keeping lower performing animals.

We’ve been down that track in the mistaken belief we’re better having more than less but it’s a dead end,” he says.

“They take up space and cost the same to manage as the elite performers. We select heavily right through the cycle and it pays dividends. At harvest we find about a 35% size differential between the tops

and the bottoms. Without the culling program it could be as high as 100%.

That’s bad economics.”

As a rule of thumb the operation gets a 90% fertilisation rate and a 50% to 80% hatch rate. Throughout the larval cycle, weak or slow developing larvae are removed. Settlement is pretty consistent at about 35%. About 20-30% are culled when the juveniles are transferred to the grow-out raceways. After they’ve been in the growout for six months there’s another cull. “What we look for is a consistent environment for every single animal that goes into the nursery and they’ve got five months to prove themselves. After they’ve been on the manufactured diet for six months we again cull any smalls. It’s labour intensive but it pays dividends.

“We’re still working out the bio-economics of the program. We place a lot of emphasis in robust data collection, knowing what is on the farm at any point in time and predicting forward. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

Whether we should be doing another cull at 18 months or two years. It’s really a work in progress.”

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FARM PROFILE

Manufactured feed The farm uses diets manufactured in South Australia. Adam & Amos and Eyre Peninsula Aquaculture (EPA) have been making diets for the industry from the very early days of abalone farming in Australia. GSW introduce the manufactured weaning diet as a powder in the last stages of the nursery production to build up the gut flora before they are transferred to the growout where it will be their primary source of nutrition.

1

The grower diet is 30/70 protein/energy diet. Working to a 1.5% body weight per day as a rule of thumb at the optimum temperatures, GSW also feeds to appetite. Feed conversion is 1.3:1.

R&D is a big focus. A recent collaboration has been with Melbourne Uni on some fundamentals of the operation.

Steve says getting the animals to grow is one thing. “We’ve been undertaking some trials with Melbourne Uni over the last six months looking at the interaction of the variable inputs. There’s definitely a

2

1. An example of the gains from the hybrid breeding program. Shown here is a same age tiger hybrid amongst a cohort of green lip abalone.

2. A close up of two year old abalone in one of the raceways at GSW. 3. Juvenile abalone 2 months after being transferred from the nursery (note the new shell growth).

4. Grading is an on going job at GSW, but one that has paid for itself many times over with improved production.

3

12 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

4

FARM PROFILE

point where if you keep feeding them they keep eating but it won’t be shown as a comparable increase in body weight.

We’re trying to nut down the economics of it. How much water do we really need?

It’s one thing pushing them to their biological potential. You’ve got to find the point where the biology and the economic lines cross. There are so many variables.

Stocking densities, flow rates, grading and feeding rates all have an economic impact. It’s very much a work in progress and we’ll still be working to improve it in ten years I would think”, he says Production efficiencies At a maximum stocking density of 10kg/m2 and water depths of 50mm the stocking density per cubic metre is in the vicinity of 200kg. This is a very efficient use of water, especially when compared to other intensive aquacultures.

Grading is a continuous business. As the abalone fill the raceways they must be knocked out, graded and re-stocked.

The faster they grow the more often this has to be done. Steve says labour is one of the major input costs in abalone aquaculture and one that’s difficult to reduce.

Once in the grow-out the stock take from two to three years to reach market size of 100g to 130g. As an average the abalone would be 15g after the first year in the growout and 75g after the second year. Steve says it is impossible to talk in more than general terms as there are so many variables. For instance, they’ve found that the hybrids tend to have a higher meat yield and faster growth rates than the green lip. The family lines and hybrid breeding program is expected to reduce growing times considerably whilst at the same time increase the consistency of the product.

the market was. The increased volume of farmed product is also having an influence on the buyer’s attitude.

Steve feels there is an enormous opportunity to distinguish the farmed product from the wild caught animal. “But before this can happen, above all else, the industry has to establish a reputation for a consistency of supply and a reliability of quality. You can’t hope to develop new products and distributors can’t go to their buyers with confidence if the supply is on again off again.

“And there’s a huge difference between canned product and fresh or live abalone, as anyone who has tried them both will testify. There’s a lot more processing technology about now that can maximum value out of existing markets and expand into new markets with a first rate product. Transportation times are being cut to next to nothing (per unit) but until there’s a consistency of supply and a critical mass; it’s difficult to gain a toe hold in the highly competitive international seafood market.”

Steve says the sale of live product from the wild catch has increased substantially over the last five or so years to the point that it’s thought to comprise around 40% of the product that leaves the country.

“Our biggest competitors for cold water species are Chile and South Africa. Their low labour costs give them an advantage over Australia. China produces thousands of tonnes of aquaculture product, but it’s

by and large a low-grade product. It’s a matter of consistency, in terms of volume, quality and timing plus developing a range of quality products. If we can’t market on those principles, we’ll be swallowed by the cheaper producing nations.

Distinguish yourself or die. This is what we’ll be doing at GSW”, Steve says.

Steve also feels there is an opportunity to develop the product on the domestic market. “Most consumers’ only experience of abalone is as a flavourless old piece of leather, often with the living daylights cooked out of it until it’s as tough as an old boot. Fresh abalone cooked quickly, like all seafood should be, is as sweet as a nut”, Steve says. “It’s just a matter of educating the public.”

With the farm established and the development programs in place that are starting to deliver cost saving efficiencies as well as a range of products, Great Southern Waters is starting to explore long term markets for value added product that will underwrite the future of the company. The faith and sheer hard work of Steve and Melinda, investors and a dedicated team of professional and motivated staff has been justified.

by John Mosig Steve Rodis can be contacted at Great Southern Waters by phone on (03) 5257 2033; or by e-mail on stever@gsw.com.au

Markets & the future Traditionally, most of the product exported from Australia has been canned. This gave it a shelf life of a number of years and something of a commodity rating when it came to price. It was a healthy price, as the value of an abalone quota verifies, but still a price taker and reliant on the food service industry to a large extent in Eastern Asia. The SARS outbreak demonstrated just how vulnerable August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 13

FARM PROFILE The green lip abalone is K.I. Abalone’s star performer.

Aussie abalone on the menu in Asia I

f you order an abalone entrée in Japan the chances are the delicacy will have been grown, harvested and processed by an innovative South Australian aquaculture company based on Kangaroo Island.

Established in 1995 by John and Trish Hall, Kangaroo Island Abalone (K.I. Abalone) is Australia’s largest abalone farm and one of the five biggest in the world.

The company owns and operates its own hatchery at Smith Bay on Kangaroo Island’s picturesque north coast, spawning between four and five million abalone per year.

Currently, 75 tonnes of abalone are processed and packaged on-site each year at K.I Abalone’s processing/packaging facility, generating more than $1.4 million in export revenue. Most of the product is ‘snap-frozen’ using modern nitrogen freezing technology and sold to the Asian market, particularly Japan, for a premi-

um price.

A recent expansion program – including the construction and fit-out of a state-ofthe-art processing facility – is projected to increase the company’s production capacity to 500 tonnes per year, yielding $9.5 million in export revenue by 2009/10.

The Australian Government’s Food Processing in Regional Australia Program (FPRAP) awarded K.I. Abalone a $200,000 grant to assist in the purchase and installation of nitrogen freezing equipment in the new processing facility.

This is an exciting time for K.I. Abalone,” Managing Director, John Hall said.

“FPRAP support will enable us to significantly increase our production capacity, and develop our markets further, particularly in Asia.”

14 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

The company’s dedication to innovation, best-practice and export market development was acknowledged in the 2005 South Australian Premier’s Food Awards where K.I. Abalone swept the pool, winning all three categories for which it was nominated: the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) Leadership Through Innovation Award; NFIS Limited Leadership Through New Export Development Award; and the Adelaide Produce Markets Limited Leadership Through Value-Adding Award (for medium-sized businesses).

K.I. Abalone’s growth and success will, in turn, deliver flow-on benefits to the industry and the local community by providing valuable employment, educational and skill development opportunities, as well as enhancing the regional ‘branding’ of Kangaroo Island.

FARM PROFILE

Silver perch hatchery ‘road tests’ its breeding program H

atchery production has often been called one of the bookends of aquaculture: without a reliable supply of good quality seedstock the industry can’t operate. In fish farming, as in all farming enterprises, genetics plays a major role in the cost effectiveness of the operation.

Slow growing fish are simply not cost effective. Alan Hambly of Kundabung is one hatchery operator who looks very hard at the family line of the fish he breeds to ensure his customers get the best possible seedstock.

Situated on the Mid North Coast, Alan and Deborah bought their property in 1996 after searching from Newcastle up to Mackay. The couple first considered freshwater crayfish – both blue claw and redclaw – but felt there were too many negatives. “We went to see a lot of farmers and came away with the impression that there were a few problems in the industry. Not that the silver perch industry doesn’t have its share. For everyone who wanted to talk the industry up for what ever reason, there was someone who gave a more realistic view,” Alan says. “In the end we chose Kundabung and silver perch.” They established Sunrise Fish Farm (SFF) in 1997 and now turn off five to six tonnes of silver perch and 300,000 fry a year. Although also holding Australian bass (Macquaria novemaculeata) and golden perch (Macquaria ambigua) broodstock, as Alan works away from the farm for part of the year, they have found themselves concentrating on silver perch production.

The Farm Water comes from bores and two holding systems. The top system is a catchment reservoir and silt trap of 9ML and 7ML. The farm has four drainage dams at the lower end of the farm that hold another 30ML. In all, the farm stores 46ML of water and can draw 40ML from the 125mm bore. Water can be moved around the entire farm from both dams

Alan and Deborah beside the fish transporter.

Alan and Deborah casting a critical eye over a batch of fingerlings waiting for delivery

and the bore. The average rainfall for the region is 1,100mm which helps keep the reservoirs full. Even during the drought the bore has been able to keep up with evaporation. There are three broodstock ponds, eight fry ponds and seven growout ponds. Pond sizes vary slightly but

most are around 0.1ha to 0.2ha.

The farm is on single phase power. Given the small ponds large aerators aren’t required. Recently purchased Chinese aerators, paddlewheels and submersibles should do just fine. “The first paddlewheel was bought second-hand and we got

August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 15

FARM PROFILE

seven years out of it,” Alan says. “Time will tell on the Chinese equipment but Proaqua have been terrific with their service.”

The hatchery is basically a flow through system. There are 1,500L, 1,000L and 800L tanks (two of each size) in a light and temperature controlled shed. A 30m inline cartridge filter removes organic solids and Alan washes down with chlorine between breeds. The water is well aerated with air stones and water is exchange is as necessary. The fish are in there for no more than seven days during a breeding cycle and it only costs a dollar to do a complete water exchange in the hatchery.

When the sludge in the ponds builds up it is a simple matter to drag it back to the banks.

Having your own earth moving equipment helps keep the farm in working order without having to wait on contactors.

Purging and, when necessary, quarantine protocols are carried out in two 9,000L rectangular and one 7,000L and one 5,000L circular tanks housed in an open shed. Half water exchanges are undertaken every 12 hours when the fish first come in. After that it’s only a matter of dealing with ammonia. The water is dropped into tanks through shade cloth to aerate it as well as the air stone aeration.

The hatchery is double insulated enabling Alan to economically boost the temperature to advance incubation should the ponds produce a plankton bloom earlier than normal. This helps get ahead of any aquatic insect breed-up. Likewise, if the ponds are slow, the heaters can be turned off to retard incubation.

Water temperatures can fall to 9°C during the winter and rise to 33°C in the summer.

The growing season proper gets under way in early September when the water hits 20°C and runs through to the end of May. Breeding can be done when the broodstock pond water gets up to a constant 19°C. Alan puts this down to the abundance of natural feed available. From time to time they have massive hatches of tadpoles, and native fish occur naturally in the ponds, which add to the daily ration of silver perch pellets. This conditions the stock for early breeding.

Broodstock Alan was fortunate enough to talk with the late Tony Rock before he retired to Tasmania. Tony gave him quite a few clues on broodstock selection and maintaining family lines. All the breeding fish on the farm are tagged and lines are

16 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

FARM PROFILE

selected to produce deep, thick bodied fish that put on weight, especially with the males Alan says.

He had the opportunity to select the best males from a batch of 200,000 less than two year old fish from a Ken Galloway, a local grower since retired. These have become the foundation stock for his male breeding line.

Typical of the deep bodied, thick-shouldered fish they have been developing at Kundabung, this silver perch is being purged for market.

The female line was chosen from his own stock, originally from Max Cluff. Many of the Queensland fish in those early days were supposedly crossed with Welch grunter (Bidyanus Welchi). He has lines from Grafton Research Centre, Murray River and Cataract Dam, but he has found his own locally acclimatized stock – that have been selected for their ability to put on condition quickly – produce a superior commercial breed.

He has noticed that, in general terms, growth slows down after 2kg. His own line of broodstock has reached 3kg in three years with some of the females going well beyond that. One batch of growout fish that went into a pond at an average of 100g were averaging 700g twelve months later.

Production cycle The early breeding silver perch are conditioned in a recirculation unit. This enables an early constant temperature and a live food diet supplemented with pellets.

Alan looks for females in prime condition to inject. He uses 200i.u. of hormone per kilo on both males and females.

Ponds are freshly flooded for each breed.

If the spawning fails the pond is drained and the process starts over again. During the drought the amphibious insects were extremely active and Alan found he had to lightly spray the surface of the ponds with diesel. Done in the evening when the wind was light, this would kill off a generation of air breathing insects that had the potential to greatly reduce survival of the vulnerable fish larvae. One spray was generally enough.

The key to successful early breeding is the plankton in the fry ponds. Alan doesn’t use a set regime as he believes the seasons change and, particularly in the late winter and early spring, can be unpredictable. “The only way is to be

A plankton pond drying out in readiness for the next batch of larvae.

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FARM PROFILE

Aview of the farm. Note the power points at each pond.

down at those ponds every day checking how things are going. I take samples constantly with the plankton net and check the size and amount of plankton in the pond. This tells me whether I should be adding fertilizer and/or water to boost production and stabilize water quality.”

Survival varies with the season and the time of the season. It becomes a numbers game. Last season, half the fish they sold came from one fry pond. Stocking densities for perch are 150/m2.

“We stock according to the size of the fish. The industry goes for 20,000/ha for growout stocking density but I’d suggest to anyone starting to stock at 10,000/ha and work up from there,” Alan says.

Growout While the cash flow throughout the year from the growout ponds is handy, one of the benefits from growing table size fish is that the farm gets to road test its breeding program first hand. For instance, Alan have noticed that the shooters, as a line, aren’t as productive as the main line of fast growers.

Plankton sampling is an on-going procedure. Alan strongly believes in giving the fry a good start to life.

The fry are sold between 1g to 3g. Sales fall away once the growing weather stops and more often than not have lines of fingerlings between 10g and 100g available in the spring. These over wintered fish are ideal for stocking out the next summer and usually find their way into the SFF growout ponds.

Feed Select Nutrition floating starter and growout rations are used. Food conversion depends on how hard the ponds are being driven during a particular season.

“Last year food conversion for the whole farm was up around 1.8:1. The year before we were 1.6:1. I haven’t done any figures for this year but we have bought a lot less feed. A lot of our fish are up to size and we’ve just been holding them in good condition, ready for market,” Alan says.

“We feed starter crumbles after two to three weeks in the plankton ponds. A bag goes a long way. All the time I’ve got them in there I’m looking at how the bloom’s going. I try to keep a good range of zooplankton going for four weeks.

Sometimes you’ll just end up with daph-

18 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

FARM PROFILE

nia. Even with that we keep the feed up to them. We’d love to have the time to feed them seven times a day but we usually get in three or four feeds.”

The farm has been using a locally marketed bacterial product marketed as Ultrazine.

It’s was too early to draw conclusions yet but Alan does feel that the fish in the four ponds where it has been introduced are doing as well as anything on the farm, despite carrying twice the number of tails.

Sunrise Fish Farm also has a goldfish license and 15 year old daughter Rachelle is following in the family footsteps with a goldfish pond of her own.

Markets Alan says that most of their fingerling sales go to other hatcheries, followed by growers and the recreational box trade.

As their table fish harvest is modest, they’re held back until the market is firm. Alan says that if the floor price on the Sydney Fish Market is $7/kg the fish may as well stay in the ponds. When the price comes up they get as many out the gate as possible.

Fish are marketed under the brand of Hastings Stirling Perch. Stirling Perch is the brand name registered by Alan’s brother John (AA 18-1). Hastings Council, covering the Port Macquarie region, felt it was good for the district’s growing reputation as a gourmet food region and the Hastings Stirling Perch brand was born. QA standards are set high, and the type of fish Alan is breeding lends itself to this type of top shelf marketing.

Unfortunately, not all councils are so encouraging. Alan and Deborah, being right on the Pacific Highway, wanted to trial a fishout on their property. The application fees through Kempsey Council and NSW Fisheries alone ensured that the trial didn’t go ahead. As Alan says: “How do you know if it’s going to be a commercial possibility before you’ve trialled it? We couldn’t even get a one day permit without having to spend an arm and a leg.”

The future Imports of cheap white flesh boneless fillets and prawns are hurting local seafood producers. Larger growers are hurting, but smaller growers are haemor-

Feeding a supplementary ration in the plankton ponds ensures the larvae maximize their genetic potential. These fingerlings averaged 3g.

rhaging. Alan feels the silver perch industry will have to get smaller before it can get bigger.

“Anyone who grows silver perch knows there is great potential there,” he says.

“Once the local buyers discovered they could get them, and get them delivered when they wanted them and at the size they wanted, they put them on their shopping list. But unfortunately, the way the fees and charges work against the primary producer – especially small one – it’s adding unnecessarily to the cost of production. Whether it be Food Safe, the local council or NSW Fisheries, profitability is not considered. Yet if the industry can’t afford the fees, there’ll be no industry. It’s not only the cost of the fees, it’s the cost of the rules and regulations that have to be complied with. They’re costs a pioneering industry just can’t support.

and Deborah settle in to concentrate on rebuilding it through producing bigger, better, faster growing seedstock for the future of the industry.

by John Mosig Alan Hambly can be contacted by phone on (02) 6561 5133.

“In the case of Food Safe, the literature they’ve sent us doesn’t really tell us what they are looking for. I send my fish to market in a registered food truck that picks them up at the front gate. Do I have to register my car as a food carrying vehicle to drive half a dozen polystyrene boxes the 250m to the front gate? I haven’t worked it out yet, but the total cost of the Food Safe compliance could be as much as a 50c/kg in real terms.”

While the silver perch industry goes through a period of rationalization, Alan August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 19

FARM PROFILE

Hartland Yabbies thrives on home-grown simplicity 1

3

2

1: Yabby holes are found throughout the back reaches of the dams.

5

2: Water harvesting is not a problem when you have your own bulldozer says Graham.

3: The hard gravely ground of the Whipsticks State National Park makes an ideal catchment for the Hartland’s operation.

4: Yabbying is a part of the local culture and it wasn’t until Graham put up a sign asking people to respect another man’s livelihood that it dropped off.

4

A

visit to the Seymour Alternate Farming Field Days in 1996 led to Graham and Lorraine Hartland maximizing the financial returns from a valuable resource on their 625ha Neilborough East property.

“We met a few people over there, Russel Perkins from yabby Blue, Max and Elizabeth Lloyd (AA 14-6) and through them, Bernie Colbert (AA 19-5). The talk was all very positive so we decided to give it a go”, says Graham. Ten years and a big drought later they’re still turning off yabbies.

The Hartlands have gone about it in an interesting way. Their farm backs onto the Whipstick Forest National Park and the run-off from the Park runs across their farming land. Given ownership of their own Caterpillar D4 bulldozer, they have been harvesting stock water for years in every convenient gully. The water is harvested in the winter and spring and in many cases backs up into the forest. Come the autumn the water has receded into the main sump behind

5: The dams go back into the forest. This ebb and flow environment provides an ideal habitat for yabbies.

the wall and the shallow timbered arm is left dry. This creates a flood and dry habitat ideal for yabbies. The run-off also carries the debris from the forest floor with it, adding to the detrital food chain.

There are 24 dams on the property. Two are large storage dams, one of 35ML and a house dam of 17ML. Graham estimates the farm has 3ha under water at the end of Spring.

Integrated Agri-aquaculture The other part of the Hartland’s successful philosophy is the cost factor. The operation is fully integrated. Apart from four 0.1ha purpose built ponds near the house dam, the dams from which the yabbies are harvested are all part of the farm’s on-going stock water conservation program. Dam walls have to be maintained and bottoms cleaned out on a regular basis so utilising them as yabby harvesting dams is an added bonus.

The harvesting is done during regular stock inspections. Ice used during delivery is made on the farm so the only extraneous outlay is on yabby traps replacements and delivery costs.

20 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

Feed is all home grown. Wheat and lawn clippings from around the house make up the nutrient that is put out in the purpose built ponds. The stock dams get their nutrient from wheat and run-off water. The run-off water carries sheep and marsupial manure as well as debris from the forest.

As a rule of thumb the Hartlands feed once a month between harvests. Graham chose wheat as a feed by chance. One day he was feeding the chooks and as he passed one of his purging tanks he tossed in a handful of wheat. There were 150 yabbies in the tank and by the time he’d finished his tea they had cleaned up every grain. Wheat became the staple diet of the yabby operation.

Although the farm dam production method is very economical to run, it is subject to climatic conditions. A good year will see a harvest up to 500kg, nearly all of it profit. However, if the season turns to drought, production can fall away to next to nothing.

The region is undulation country with no natural wetlands. As predators are not a problem the ponds are not netted.

After the drought broke Graham sighted

FARM PROFILE

the first water rat he’s seen in the district but that was an isolated incident. Similarly with tortoises, the first one he noticed was after the drought broke.

Birds are not a problem in the region.

and an air pump (an anti air-pollution pump scavenged from an old Mazda).

Graham works off-farm at a local piggery. Friday is his day off so Friday has become yabby delivery day.

The biggest problem from predators has come from the two legged variety. Yabbying is a part of the local culture and it wasn’t until Graham put up a sign asking people to respect another man’s livelihood that it dropped off. Maybe the threat to take car registration numbers of the trespassers and report them to the police had something to do with it!

They’re too far off the main road to sell bait, but their daughter runs a worm farm at Epsom on the Northern outskirts of Bendigo so they sell a bit of bait to her for her customers. To save the hassle of differential pricing for different sizes, everything up to 30g sells at $35/100, which makes everyone happy.

Marketing Yabbies are harvested from 50g upwards – Graham likes to average at least 19 to the kilo – and sold through John Brian at Moama. “John takes up to 10% one claws and we come home with a cheque.

The last lot I took up averaged 68g.”

Trapping occurs once a month all year round although, as winter harvests drop off a bit and John Brian closes down in July and August, harvesting isn’t pushed too hard in these months. Ironically, the farm dam harvest is at its slowest at the peak of summer when the evaporation is highest. This ties in with the long held belief that yabbies are activated by water flow. Fresh water leads to favourable conditions by bringing organic matter into the dam. This becomes detritus which in turn provides nutrition. Although temperatures above 20°C bring a higher metabolic rate – and certainly faster incubation times – it would appear that yabby activity per se is triggered by a fresh input of water into their environment.

Safe food legislation As far as PrimeSafe is concerned, Graham says that he’d never seen anyone sit down and eat a live yabby and until he saw that he wouldn’t regard them as food. Apart from a few bait yabbies, the farm only sells into NSW – for which a PrimeSafe licence is not required. The Hartlands have kept their Fisheries Victoria aquaculture license so as to remain independent of being part of someone else’s multi water license.

The purging system is very simple. There are two holding tanks with a bio-filter

Bought ice Originally Graham and Lorraine made their own ice but later on decided it was more economical to buy it in when they were shopping in Bendigo. At the time they were delivering to Central Victoria Yabby Farms – just ninety minutes drive away – and complaints about losses began to be made. Although a bit sceptical of the claims at first, on-farm trials soon showed that with the bought ice there were losses of 10% in the first two or three days.

Water is not a problem as the run off from the forest ensures a good flow.

However towards the end of the drought it was a near-run thing with the house dam eventually being totally cleaned out.

But withing four days, seven inches of rain fell. “A wall of water came down and we watched it fill every gully dam on the place,” Lorrained recalls. “It only took an hour to fill the house dam.”

Bait Working at the local pig farm, Graham has permission to bring home meat from any mortalities and bait has never been a problem. He says the best bait of all has proven to be the crackling off the Christmas pork!

Pig meat will trap up to four days. Another favoured bait is tinned sardines. “Only put two holes on the tin – it will trap for 36 hours”, Graham says. “If you put three holes in the tin the water washed through and it won’t last any time at all”.

Growers’ Association The erosion of the number of yabby and Multi Water licenses – caused by the imposition of Cost Recovery and PrimeSafe fees that shattered the Victorian

Graham with some boxes ready for delivery.

yabby industry – is being felt keenly by the survivors. “You’ve got to keep in contact with other people to know what’s going on”, says Graham. “I’d like to see the Freshwater Crayfish Growers Associating (FCGA) active again.”

The Future Asked about the future of the industry, Graham says: “As long as people don’t go overboard it will be OK. People spending too much and expecting too much back in return are doing more harm than good. We didn’t go into it to make a fortune; just as a paying hobby. Everything apart from the yabby traps is part of the normal running of the farm. Personally, I can’t see large scale commercial yabby getting off the ground, not for a long time. Water’s getting scarcer. There seems to be a helluva scope to do it our way.

When the grandchildren ask what do you want for Christmas, we say yabby nets.

The kids are happy and we’re happy.”

With capital, labour and replacement costs at close to zero, and only fuel once a month as an outlay, the Hartland’s operation seems assured of success. Only drought can make a dint in the viability of their yabby harvesting business and, even then, with the natural rapid recovery of the animal after good rainfall the lost production is soon made up. The future of the Victorian farm dam harvest seems assured.

By John Mosig Graham and Lorraine can be contacted by phone on 5436 1283

August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 21

FARM PROFILE

Boolarra Goldfish Farm clocks up fifty years of success Established fifty years ago, Boolarra Fish Farm is not only the Australia’s largest goldfish (Carassius auratus) farm but also one of the country’s most successful aquaculture operations. Situated at Boolarra in the Victoria’s Latrobe Valley on the northern slopes of the Strezlecki ranges, the farm makes good use of the natural resources provided by the topography of the land and abundant spring water. Franz Wucherpfennig started out breeding tropical fish as a hobby before moving into goldfish. He and his son Franz built the first ponds. The farm is now managed by the next Wucherpfennig generation, Russell.

The Farm The farm covers 25ha and consists of 155 ponds ranging in size from the 30m x 70m breeder ponds down to 10m x 10m holding ponds. The main production and breeding ponds – numbering 80 and covering 17ha – are on the flat

lands that slope gently down to the Little Morwell River. The remaining 75 ponds, covering 8ha, are in a series of tiers rising above the farm to the spring. Some of the ponds are above the spring and Russell uses an 110hp diesel pump to service the uphill ponds. The water is so good it is piped to the houses and is used in the grading and holding tanks and in the packing boxes. The region has a 1,000mm average rainfall. Given what some regard as a one in two hundred year drought in Victoria, the water supply has proven reliable and the quality first-rate.

There are 21 breeding ponds and 32 production or growout ponds on the flats. The balance of the ponds are used to store fish ready for sale, oversized fish and reserve broodstock. New broodstock are selected each season.

The breeding ponds have concrete sides to keep the grass away from the water’s edge and, so stop the fish using the grass

22 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

as a repository for their eggs. The concrete also provides a ledge for the breeding mats and the working platforms to carry out the harvesting.

Attracted by the goldfish’s habit of sunning themselves at the surface and encouraged by the high stocking densities, predators are a problem and the whole breeding and production area is netted. Foxes are particularly savage on spawning fish. They are easy prey when they are in a breeding frenzy on the mats set near the surface close by the bank of the ponds and foxes and even crows are serious predators at this time. Russell says the crows will pull large fish out and just eat the gills, leaving them thrashing on the bank.

The extensive grading and packing facility is set at the foot of the slope between the two sets of ponds. The newly built packing shed is 20m x 40m and also houses the office. Beside the packing shed are the 50 tanks used to hold stock.

FARM PROFILE

These flow through tanks receive supplementary aeration from three 7.5amp blowers. This area is also netted.

Paul Cardona hand selecting broodstock for next season.

The whole farm is backed up by an 110Kva diesel driven generator.

Pond management The farm holds over 425ML. Ponds are topped up in the summer months when necessary but summer evaporation is less than a metre and the rainfall is high.

Breeding and production ponds are drained each season and limed at the rate of 0.5t/ha. The natural pH of the water is 5.4 and the ponds are limed to bring the pH up to 7.5.

Plankton blooms are healthy but light by comparison with (say) a silver perch pond. The ponds on the flat are all aerated with 1hp three phase paddlewheel aerators. The tiered ponds aren’t pushed as hard and are not provided with their own aerators.

Originally the Wucherpfennigs used tractor-driven bank mounted aerators but as the business grew these were swapped for electric pond-sited paddlewheels.

The tractor-driven aerators can still be called upon in the event of the occasional emergency in the tiered ponds.

Drainage water goes through the farm’s two settlement ponds, one of 0.2ha (2.5m deep) and the other 150m x 80m (3.9m at the deepest point). Discharge would be about a megalitre a day. The settling ponds hold 5Ml and 25ML respectively.

The holding tanks.

Note the predator netting.

The ponds are well established and the natural ecosystem keeps the ponds stable and relatively disease free.

The water system is designed to maintain the normal flows from the natural run off and the spring flow overflow and, apart from the natural flow lines, is divided into three separate systems: the production and breeding ponds on the flats and two separate gullies in the tiered ponds.

Production cycle The farm breeds breed the five basic varieties – comets, shubunkins, red fantails, black moors and calicoes. Lines of oranders and red cap oranders are also being developed.

Sixteen hundred broodstock are graded August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 23

FARM PROFILE

into the breeding ponds in the autumn.

As many as 300 can be lost to foxes and other predators that slip in through the predator defences. They are selected for their shape, size, colour and condition.

The breeding season can start as early as late August or as late as the end of September and continue until Christmas.

However, once there are enough fry in the ponds the breeding mats are removed.

One of the comets bred at Boolarra Fish Farm.

Although the breeding cycle is temperature related, Russell doesn’t bother keeping track of the water temperature as the breeding cycle is not induced in any way.

He works on the rationale that there’s nothing he can do about it except let nature take its course.

The breeding mats consist of a weldmesh frame measuring 2m by 0.75m covered in coconut fibre (copra). Russell is gradually replacing the coconut fibre with a fibreglass mesh.

Harvesting fish for grading and distribution. Russell directs Steve Plath (L0 and Paul Cardona.

Note the 1,000L tanker.

Mosquito netting is first placed over the breeding ledges just below the water surface and the frames are placed on the netting. The netting is to collect any eggs that miss the mats. There are 18 spawning mats in each pond. Breeding is prolific and will continue for two or three days. Indeed, it is so prolific that the mats may have to be replaced two or three times during the day. Technical Assistant Paul Cardona says that some mornings they get to the ponds at 5am and have had to cover the mats with another one to prevent them getting too heavy, only to have to cover the second matt with a third before they could get them all shifted across to the growout ponds.

After a spell of ten days to a fortnight breeding will recommence. The cycle will continue until around Christmas.

Each pond will have its own rhythm and Russell says keeping tabs on that side of the operation is one of the arts of goldfish breeding.

The laden mats are removed each day and taken to the growout ponds where the eggs will incubate and hatch. In the early part of the season this will range from 10 days to a fortnight. By November the incubation period can be as short as a couple of days. Three months later the fish are up to the required market

24 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

FARM PROFILE

size but Russell holds them back for another two to three months to allow them to harden up. Most fish will hold their size on a maintenance ration but there are always shooters that have to be graded into larger size ranges when they are harvested.

Breeding stock is hand-selected and replaced each year. Russell says it’s the key to quality control. “We don’t just take any fish. We’ll spend hours over the process, making sure we have what we’re looking for in colour, tails, bodies and of course condition. We’ve managed to lift our colours, and get more blue in the shubunkins and calicoes.”

Feeding Around 100 tonne of food is consumed a year. Ridleys have a provender plant at nearby Pakenham and make up a feed to the Boolarra Fish Farm formula. The basic maintenance pellet is a 3mm 18% protein ration, while the grower crumble is 25% protein.

Before the crumbles are introduced the fry are weaned onto soybean flour slurry.

The slurry is made up of 1 bucket of soybean flour per 1000L of water. The

ponds also carry a healthy plankton bloom that adds to the diet. Once weaned the fish are fed crumbles six days a week during the summer. Maintenance ration is fed only three times a week. The sinking feed is blown across the ponds.

The feeding rate is established by the fish themselves. Russell is cautious when starting off but once the fish actively start going for the food he increases the rate.

If they are active towards the food Russell knows they aren’t being overfed. If they are up near the surface when they go down in the morning he knows to increase the feed.

Lift nets are used for sampling stock.

After feeding out, the lift nets are baited and if the fish are still coming to the food it’s an indication that they are still looking for more; so Russell knows to boost the rate. If the food is still there at the end of the day he knows to reduce the ration.

Harvesting Harvesting occurs throughout the year.

When the ponds are fully stocked harvesting can be done with the lift nets to lighten the load on the ecosystem. Once this becomes uneconomical the ponds

are seine netted in bites until it becomes necessary to drop the level and clean them out completely.

The fish are placed in half filled 1,000L tanks and taken up to holding tanks where they are given a salt bath and allowed to settle before being graded and counted into orders ready for dispatch.

They are held in cages until it is time to pack them off.

Packing is in plastic bags inserted in cardboard cartons which are then taken to the relative distribution point, to wholesalers in Melbourne or to the airport. In the summer, ice is used in the water to keep it cool. It is also salted up to 6ppt and a little lime added to increase the pH to around 7.5 to 8.

Disease The farm is impressively clean and, apart from the occasional parasite outbreaks, disease is almost non-existent. Sporadic summer outbreaks of columnaris are easily controlled with oxytetracycline.

Flukes can be a problem going into the winter but Russell points out that the whole thing revolves around water quality. “We proved it to ourselves this sum-

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August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 25

FARM PROFILE

1

2

4

3

1: Grading stock. Note the ledge for the breeding mats 2: Goldfish will congregate at the surface, which tends to attract aerial predators.

3: Recently harvested black moors waiting to be graded.

4: A view of the breeding and production ponds at Boolarra Fish Farm.

5: Breeding mats stored for the winter.

mer. We’ve had a tremendous production year without problems and this is all to do with water quality,� he says.

5

Markets The farm turns off 3.5 million fish a year with main line being the traditional straight tailed comets. The most popular size is 3cm to 4mm. Russell says that whilst imports are having an effect, the market has grown steadily over the years. One new niche is water garden displays and ornamental fish tanks as a feature of either office or home.

Widely recognized for their quality, Boolara Fish Farm sells to wholesalers in all the mainland states; they in turn distribute the fish to the retail outlets. With an established farm in an ideal situation to produce goldfish, this operation is not only one of the oldest farms under continuous management in Australia but one of the icons of the aquaculture industry.

by John Mosig Russell Wucherpfennig can be contacted by phone on (03) 5169 6330, or by fax on (03) 5169 6603

26 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

FARM PROFILE

Barra successes consolidated with other species at Gladstone Hatchery Andrew Hamilton with a16kg barramundi.

The Gladstone Water Board Barramundi Hatchery started in February 1996 to stock the town’s water supply, Lake Awoonga. Since that time the hatchery has surpassed all goals achieving full commercial status producing quality fingerlings for a national and overseas market.

L

ocated on the central Queensland coast at Gladstone, the Gladstone Area Water Board Marine Fish Hatchery has been producing barramundi (Lates calcarifer) fingerlings from 25 to 200mm for restocking Lake Awoonga, sale to farmers, and recreational fishing groups for almost a decade.

The hatchery receives in-kind support from the Central Queensland Ports Authority (CQPA) by using its land and facilities.

Acting manager Andrew Hamilton says the hatchery is housed in a 24m long x 8m wide brick building, on the banks of the Auckland Inlet in the centre of town, adding with a smile that it’s only 500m to the Yacht Club, “which was handy on Friday night”.

Three species While barramundi is the mainstay of the hatchery, it also produces Mangrove Jack (Lutjanus argentimaculatus) and Sea Mullet (Mugil cephalus) and has plans to pos-

sibly expand production to other species in the future.

Andrew says the hatchery, which employs three full time staff, a manger, a technician and hatchery assistant, produces a million fish per year. Since set-up the hatchery has produced and stocked 2.4 million barramundi, 470,000 sea mullet and 13,000 mangrove jack into Lake Awoonga, Gladstone’s water source, and the primary reason the hatchery was initially set up.

August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 27

FARM PROFILE

The hatchery is located on the banks of the Auckland Inlet in the centre of Gladstone.

“Yearly we aim to stock into Lake Awoonga 200,000 barramundi, 100,000 sea mullet and as many mangrove jack as possible.”

The rest of the hatchery’s production is allocated to commercial sales.

Andrew says the hatchery had recently made a substantial investment to dramatically upscale its mangrove jack production. “This included the addition of a marine algae laboratory and equipment to produce live food including copepods.”

Following on from work done by the QDPI in Cairns and the Darwin Aquaculture Centre, the new equipment should allow significant increases in mangrove jack production over the next two years.

“If we can crack it we’re hoping to produce 50,000 to 100,000 fingerlings a run.”

Flow through and recirc systems The hatchery operates both flow through and recirculation systems. “Flow through is more straightforward although we have less environmental control,” Andrew explains. “Consideration is being given to system modifications including the possibility of switching all the broodstock systems to recirculated systems.”

To meet all of its water supply needs the hatchery has two stainless steel submersible multi-stage borehole pumps suspended under a wharf adjacent to the facility, in a water depth of 5-6m. “The larger 3 phase pump is a Grundfoss SP30-4R in 904L S/S and supplies 400450 litres per minute and the small single phase pump (also a Grundfoss, SP8a5N) supplies about 150 litres per minute.”

28 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

Andrew says the inlet water pipes are flushed with freshwater and allowed to sit for about 24 hours when cleaned (twice a year).

An 80mm polypipe is used for the large pump and a 50mm is used for the small pump to take the water 50m from the wharf to the pre-treatment systems.

Other pipes used throughout the hatchery are PVC and vary from 25mm to 100mm.

“The inlet water quality is variable particularly with respect to turbidity,” he says. “The water supply from the small pump is run through a sand filter and then a 1 to 10µm filter bag into the main storage tank (about 32,000l).”

The storage tank water can be recirculated through another sand filter filled with zeolite which is quoted to filter

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FARM PROFILE

The hatchery has 2 stainless steel submersible multistage borehole pumps suspended under the wharf to ensure it can meet it’s water supply needs.

The multi purpose tanks which are kept at the rear of the hatchery are used generally for broodstock and nursery.

down to 3-5µm “This water can be sent to various places including our main barra broodstock tank, our secondary broodstock tank and quarantine room and into the hatchery.”

The water for the hatchery and live food production areas undergoes further treatment; first it is filtered through two Polypro bag filters (5µm and a 1µm bag or cartridge) before being passed through a UVi Flo 30 000 SE series Ultra-Violet steriliser.

In the algae laboratory the water is filtered down to 0.2µm and run through a separate UV before reaching the tanks.

“The water from the large supply pump passes through a multi-media filter (about 10 to 20µm) and then to our 60 tonne multi-purpose tanks. The mullet 30 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

FARM PROFILE

The barramundi larvae are stocked in 10t rearing tanks.

and mangrove jack broodstock receive this water directly and the water for our nursery tank goes through another filtration step, a 10 to 15µm sand filter, then through a separate UV and then to the tank. We are planning to change the media to zeolite.”

Broodstock collected locally The three culture species produced live in fresh or saltwater but they must spawn in saltwater. Andrew says the hatchery is lucky because Gladstone Harbour still holds good numbers of all of the species currently produced. “The hatchery is in an excellent location right on the water’s edge and only 500m to Gladstone Harbour from where our broodstock are collected. We maintain very good relationships with commercial and recreational fishers in the local district, both of which have helped the hatchery tremendously over the years.”

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August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 31

FARM PROFILE

Whilst the species are mostly kept in separate tanks, from time to time communitive species are housed together.

“We try to keep the ratio of males to females 50/50 but in reality it probably varies by plus or minus 20%.”

Behind these algae tanks runs the Auckland Inlet which supplies the hatchery with all it’s water.

The barra broodstock are currently maintained in a 55,000l recirculation system.

Densities are kept fairly low with a maximum of twenty fish, the biggest at around 18kg. By maintaining the broodstock in summer conditions the breeding season can be effectively extended to nine months instead of the normal 3-6 months.

The hatchery is even considering keeping the barramundi in breeding condition year round. “We are currently in the process of building another two recirc

Management metrics Key Management Decisions for Gladstone Fish Hatchery include: • Staff selection (collectively 35 plus years experience in aquaculture and fisheries).

• Recirculating barramundi broodstock system for temperature, lighting and seasonal control to enable extended spawning season.

• Utilising local species and the choice/ range of species produced, including species that spawn in the traditional off-season therefore allowing greater utilisation of the facilities year around.

• Pre-filtration, quarantine systems and water quality procedures to assist in health management.

• Unique southern strain of barramundi produced.

• The application of the KISS principle wherever possible.

Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) include: • Annual harvest: One million fingerlings per annum.

32 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

The fingerlings are graded using bar graders.

FARM PROFILE

systems, one each for quarantine (8,000l) and broodstock conditioning (25,000l).

Ideally we would like to maintain multiple sets of each species of broodstock in separate systems,” Andrew explains.

The hatchery currently produces only the local southern strain barramundi, the southern most strain on the east coast of Queensland.

Mullet and mangrove jack broodstock are maintained in two of four 60,000l flow-through multi purpose tanks.

“Effectively two are used for broodstock; one for our nursery and one is spare.”

The hatchery has 55 mangrove jack broodstock including around 40 second generation fish with the wild-caught remainder weighing up to 7kg. Around fifty sea mullet broodstock are held but that number may soon rise. Their average weight is 2-3kg.

By Emma Rudge and Dos O’Sullivan.

For more information contact Andrew Hamilton, Gladstone Water Board Marine Fish Hatchery, PO Box 466, Gladstone, Qld 4680. Mob: 0429 017 301, Tel/fax: 07 4972 9548, email: hatchery@gawb.qld.gov.au As the barramundi broodstock can be up to 18kg only 20 are stocked in a tank.

August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 33

FARM PROFILE

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FARM PROFILE

Longlines of baskets and cylinders for Crookhaven oyster farm 1

Two types of longlines, floating and fences, are used on an innovative oyster farm at Greenwell Point, south coast of NSW. They are also using a mixture of wild caught and hatchery bred single seed to produce high quality oysters.

W

anting a sea change from irrigation farming in the Riverina (south central NSW) Chris and Liz Munn moved purchased in 2000 a 6ha Sydney rock oyster (Saccostrea commercialis) lease and land depot at Greenwell Point in the Crookhaven Estuary some 200km south of Sydney. Since then the operation has expanded to 19.5ha of leases and three depots with their family business – Kingtide Oysters – employing not only both of them but also for two other full time and one part time staff members.

way we chose, not using some one else’s old system.�

“We found that the work wasn’t as hard as we first through,� explains Liz. “When we started we spent a bit of time in South Australia as we had heard that they were well ahead in handling oysters in bulk quantities than many NSW oyster farmers. What we saw there gave us the spirit to carry on and expand our size.

“We use one shed for sales and oyster husbandry (grading, resizing and packing in baskets or cylinders) and also for depuration. One of the other sheds is used as a nursery for our hatchery reared oysters, and the third is kept as a spare (storage).�

“Since then we have spent a lot of time pulling out the old infrastructure, the racks and sticks and old oysters. The oyster shells were used as land fill and the sticks and other rubbish sent off to the local tip. It was quite a job but we wanted to be able to farm the oysters the

2

Land based nursery Chris explains that their land bases were on a purpose built area serviced by a man-made canal. “The land is leased from the DPI (Dept of Primary Industries) by the Crookhaven Oyster Farmers Pty Ltd which is owned by 12 active oyster farmers. In turn the individual oyster farms lease their plot of land from the COF company.

Liz says that they have been buying oysters from the selective breeding business called ‘Select Oyster Company Pty Ltd’ (SOC) which uses a hatchery in southern Queensland and another at the Fisheries Research station at Port Stephens. “We have been buying from them for the past two years. Seed is usually available from

3

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FARM PROFILE

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36 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

FARM PROFILE

September until late March and this season we want to buy at least four deliveries of around 500,000 seed each. We stock them in upwellers in one of 6 x 200L tanks which are supplied with a flow through of river water by a Sea Bass 22 that runs around 6,000L/hr. We have a 3mm PVC screen over the intake to keep larger predators out of the tanks.

However, the odd wild oyster seed might get through which is chipped off the tanks at the end of the runs.”

Each of these upwellers is 96cm diameter x 105cm wide x 50cm deep with an outlet pipe three-quarters of the way up on one size and a mesh screen strung taught over the bottom. Water flows into the tanks, up through the screen and keeps the juvenile oysters in a suspension that allows them ready access to food. The water flows out the pipe and back into the river again.

“We start the oyster seed on a 300um screen,” says Chris, “And then with weekly grades take them through 500µm, 1,000µm, 1,500µm, 2,000µm and 3,000µm upweller screens. During 6 to 8 weeks the oysters are hand graded on sieves ranging in mesh size from 500µm, 680µm, through 1,300µm and 2,400µm and finally onto a 3,000µm (3mm) sieve.

Once they sit on the 3mm screen they are ready to be transferred to the growout lines, ones that fall through the screen go back into the upwellers.”

from the southern regions. “Their oysters seem to grow here pretty quickly, we can get them through to plate size in only 24 months of growout time (following the onland nursery stage),” Liz explains.

“This is faster than the local oysters.

However, although the shell size is good, they don’t seem to fatten as well as the local oysters and have smaller meats. I think with local stocks being bred we will get faster shell growth and bigger

meat growth.”

Chris notes the farm have just marketed (June ’06) its first lot of hatchery-bred oysters that started in the upwellers.

“Within the two year growth period we had more than 90% reach plate size (7080mm shell length). That is faster growth than the local oysters which can take up to another year, but our locals do get fatter.”

The Munns also use wild caught seed.

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The nursery tanks are cleaned twice a day by draining them to remove oyster faeces and the mud which settles in the bottom. “The intake is 30cm off the river sitting on a screen so we can get some of the mud from the bottom (however, oysters do eat a lot of organic matter and it is likely that they gain some benefit from small quantities of particulate mud).”

The juvenile oysters are given a daily spray with freshwater to take off some of the mucous they can produce and each night each of the upwellers is given a shake to wash out any faeces and mud as well as stopping oysters settling into the mesh of the screen.

Chris and Liz both would like to see the selective breeding program undertaken by the SOC include some oyster stocks August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 37

FARM PROFILE

Management Metrics Key Management Decisions for Kingtide Oysters include: • Two types of longline systems and two types of culture units – baskets and cylinders • Hatchery (selectively bred) and wild caught seed • Focus on bulk sales • Use of half bags to reduce OH&S problems • Dryout and boiling water dip for fouling control • Mechanisation and movement of oysters in bulk Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): • Culture System utilised: fences and floating longlines, baskets and cylinders.

• Growth rate (from stocking to market): <24 months (Plate, and Bistro size) • Survival rate: 70% from first stocking to sale size • Av. stocking density: 1,000 Tooltech baskets or cylinders per hectare each holding approximately 10 dozen oysters at maturity (during growing phase to maturity oysters are put into cylinders and baskets at a rate of 6 – 8 L ) • Annual harvest: 20,000 dozen, doubling each year • Productivity: “Haven’t done this exercise as yet as we have only been selling for 28 weeks of the year. Our aim is to be selling for 40 weeks of the year to be achieved by utilising back water leases where oysters stay fatter for longer in the season.“

“We catch this on PVC slats that are put in special catching areas in the estuary from the end of January (usually the long weekend) and left there until the end of September. During this time you can get several settlements so we can have a range of oyster seed sizes from 300um up to 1– 2 cm Any Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) that are found are immediately destroyed as they are a noxious species in this estuary.

“Last year we caught around 1,200L of oyster seed,” says Liz. “We are still not prepared to go completely with the hatchery seed as we know they won’t fatten as well as our local oysters. However, we usually have to hold the locals for another year to get them up to size.

We keep oysters sourced from those two different techniques separate.”

Growout on longlines Both the wild caught and the hatchery oysters are treated in the same way for growout. After being held in floating cylinders for around 12 months, 'finishing' is in Tooltech baskets. “The hatchery oysters take around 12 months for this final stage, the wild caught oysters up to two years,” Chris says. “We have set up the system so we can move baskets or cylinders from lease to lease. The up and down motion of the tides and wave action ensures that the oysters form a good shape and grow well (plenty of access to food).”

The cylinders are made from plastic mesh (either 1mm or 3mm) that the Munns buy off the Melbourne Oysters Supplies as well as plastic end caps. The mesh comes already cut in cylinder shape measuring 91cm long. Holes are then drilled into the end caps using a template and then the caps are attached to the tube using zip ties. Foam floats are put into the cylinders loose to give them buoyancy. The Munns say that one person can easily make up around ten of these cylinders in an hour .

Chris says that they used two types of longlines: one attached to posts like a fence (for the Tooltech baskets), the other strung between fence posts with floats to keep the cylinders off the bottom to avoid mud worm infestations. In

38 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

FARM PROFILE

both systems treated pine posts, usually 3m long and 80mmcm in diameter, are driven into the mud-sand floor of the lease.

For the Tooltech baskets, two posts are used at each end of the fence; one acts as a stainer while the other has a line of plastic clips along it that can be used to adjust the height of the special heavy gauge Bacoline. Other posts are positioned 3m apart along the line which can be from 100 to 150m long depending on the size of the lease. Three cylinders fit in between each pair of posts and they are clipped onto the Bacoline using special shark clips that incorporate a swivel. The lines are position usually across the tide flow and are usually at a height so that they are out of water at low tide(the normal tidal range is from 0.5 to 2m in height).

The finishing stage is undertaken using the Tooltech baskets. For these the floating longlines are strung along the tides so the baskets are line with each other.

These lines can be between 200 and 250m long depending on the size and configuration of the lease. Special 8cm diameter plastic Poly max oyster floats from PM Plastics in South Australia are used. The floats are 45cm long and two of the Tooltech baskets are strung between each pair of floats. The leases are selected so that even at low tide the baskets are still at least 0.5m above the seafloor.

“We can vary the system and finish oysters in either the baskets or the cylinders and move them around to different leases spread over the estuary to get the best growth conditions,” says Chris. “We grade the oysters every three months at the land base using a Johansen Grader (made in South Australia). This octopuslike machine can sort the oysters into five sizes – usually Plate (70 mm – 80mm), Bistro (60mm – 70 mm), Bottle (50mm – 60 mm), Cocktail (40mm – 50 mm) and Regrades for anything that doesn’t fit those parameters.. It can be set up at different speeds but we can do up to 400 dozen oysters in one hour.”

The Munns use two aluminium barges, the main one is 2.4m wide and 6m long

with a 60HP Yamaha 4 stroke outboard; at full load the barge can still plane at around 20-24 knots. “However, there are often speed limits in many parts of the estuary so often we need to go slow,” says Liz. “Even so it is usually only 15 minutes from our shed to the furtherest lease. The second barge (also 2.4m x 8m but with a 30HP Mercury outboard) is mostly just used as a backup for us to get out to the leases if the other boys are already using the main one.”

All of the cylinders and baskets are put on and taken off the lines by hand. However the Munns have a series of cradles in the barge which allows these culture units to be picked up by a forklift onland. “We felt it was important that we mechanise as much as possible to avoid hard back-breaking work.”

Overcoming problems The Crookhaven is probably the only NSW oyster estuary that is free from the QX disease which can cause mass mortalities in the oysters. However winter mortality has caused a number of large losses for farmers in the area, especially with the older, near-market size oysters (little is known about the cause of this disease). “We have had only a few losses from winter mortality,” says Chris.

“Maybe because we are pushing our oysters through quickly we don’t get hit.

Also we spread our oysters out in different parts of the estuary. The winter mortality seems to hit in specific areas only.

“With the Tooltech baskets and the cylinders we don’t have problems with oyster catchers (birds) or with bream and other fish predators. Only once did we lose a basket and that was to an octopus which must have squeezed in at a smaller size and then ate some oysters and couldn’t get out.”

Fouling, particularly barnacles and cunjevoi can be a problem, particularly when the salinity is up during the summer. Also there can be some overcatch with oysters in some areas. To overcome this fouling the oysters are taken back into the land depot and left to dry for 14 days. This kills even the Pacific and Sydney rock oyster overcatch.

1

2

3

1: Kingtide oyster upweller.

2: Intertidal cylinder system at Crow Island.

3: Tooltech basket with shark clips.

“We also have a second system,” says Liz. “This involves having a boiler on the barge and we dip the baskets or cylinders into the water at between 80 and 85°C for three seconds. This also helps with mud worm but having the oysters at least 30cm off the seafloor also helps.

“Like many other oyster farmers, we have also had some problems with theft of oysters. So we all look out for each other and we have a camera on the barge so the boys can take pictures of anyone acting funny around the leases.”

Harvest, depuration and sales Once the oyster have reach market size they are brought ashore and washed through the washing machine which is a potato grading machine adapted by Chris specifically for this purpose. They are then tipped into a hopper and moved

August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 39

FARM PROFILE

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1: Floating subtidal system at Goodnight Island.

2: The intertidal system at Commerong Neck.

along conveyor belts where they are visually inspected to remove any dead or caught-up (double) oysters . They then pass into the OysterTech grader which sorts the oysters into the four market sizes – plate, bistro, bottle and cocktail.

The depuration unit has the capacity to hold ten full bags of oysters every run which lasts a minimum of 36 hours. The oysters are put into plastic crates before being put into the depuration tank. UVsterilised water is exchanged through the oysters for the 36 hours to kill pathogens and other organisms.

The Munns have decided to move away from the full bags and are now using ‘half’ bags as they are easier to lift by one person. A half bag will hold around 45 dozen plate grade oysters, 55 dozen bistros or 65 dozen bottle grade oysters.”

Kingtide Oysters are sold into Sydney and Canberra plus some local sales. “We decided to sell only to wholesalers or processors as we wanted to focus on bulk sales rather than worrying about small five or ten dozen orders,” explains Liz. “We ship all of our oysters in the hessian bags and last year we sold our entire crop, more than 20,000 dozen.

We plan to double that this year and

40 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

again the following year as we have sufficient infrastructure in the water to do a lot more. Our first few years were mostly involved in cleanups, then with sourcing the right equipment and stocking the longlines, now we are where we wanted to be with good sales. We are getting returns on all our hard work.”

The Shellfish Growing Areas assessment undertaken by the NSW Health Department has classified the waters in the Crookhaven so there is no direct harvesting (i.e. all oysters must be depurated before sale). “To be perfectly honest,” says Liz, “Chris and I don’t mind that.

We are used to having the depuration stage in our production process and as we are moving bulk quantities through it is very routine. We will be looking to incorporate a new counting system so we can count our oysters by the dozen.”

Both Liz and Chris are pretty proud of their progress they have achieved to date and are looking to continually improve their systems. “We are looking for a computer program which will help us with the stock movements,” says Liz. “We are also pushing that right through the industry standard sizes are used. We see that the grade names seem to ‘increase’ even through the oysters are the same size as they move from farmer to wholesaler or processor to retailer to the customer. It is important that the customer gets what they think they are paying for.

“We also think that more time needs to be spent with training chefs and restaurants on how to hold the oysters properly. The Sydney rock has the best shelf life of any oyster in the world and should be able to still be fresh tasting after 10 or even 14 days in cool storage. We have a unique oyster and it should always be served in the best condition.”

By Dos O’Sullivan For more information contact Chris and Liz Munn, Kingtide Oysters, PO Box 9, Greenwell Point, NSW 2540. Tel/fax: 02 4447-1394, Mobile: 0427 640-006, Email: munnelizabeth@hotmail.com

The extensive beer garden has enough room for even the largest of family events.

FARM PROFILE

Fish and fun for the whole family Who could have imagined that a rejection of a barramundi license application 11 years ago would lead to the rise of a fun park that can only be described as a family paradise? A diversification into tourism has proven to be very successful for a trout farmer on the Murray River.

H

arvey’s Fish and Fun Park has something for all the family to enjoy from rides to a licensed beer garden. Located on the Hume Highway between Albury and Wodonga the park has an average of 55,000 vehicles pass by each day. By maintaining an attractive roadside frontage the Harvey family are able to ensure that quite a number of those vehicles will stop for a break at the park.

“Originally our idea was to open as a barramundi (Lates calcarifer) farm,” explains Darren Harvey, owner of the park. “We had the first licence application in Victoria for barramundi. When it was first reviewed by Fisheries they indicated that there wasn’t going to be a problem with

it so we proceeded with the setup. A little later on Fisheries had a change of heart and told us we couldn’t have the licence. So there we were halfway through completing the setup of our fish farm and having no licence! We did some research, decided to work with rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and have been growing them now for 11 years.”

With 2ha of land right next to the Hume Highway the park has a superb location.

“Rather than just doing the trout we decided to look into other avenues of income so we bought Aussieland Adventure Park which was closing down. We fixed everything up and opened the farm up as our own tourist attraction.”

Now, as well as having the fish farm the park also boasts: • Water slides • Train rides • Playgrounds • Castle • Maze • 27 holes of mini golf • Video room • Conference and function centres.

“We are always modifying and reinventing the park and the attractions. It’s important to keep the appeal of coming back so we get repeat visitors. We don’t like visitors to come once and think they’ve seen it all. Over winter we will be putting in a new water fountain garden.”

August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 41

FARM PROFILE

the entire place. There are fish farms which rely on an income only from fish that have significantly higher power bills, often $40,000 a year.”

Water quality The water for the farm is all sourced from bore water that runs 45m below the farm. “The beauty of using the bore water is that it has a stable temperature of 16.75°C all year round so we have no need for any cooling treatments for the water. We use less than the 2 ML per annum which we are licensed for.”

Another major benefit is the purity of this water. “When we first started we invested in about $8,000 of water quality testing equipment and for the first month or so we did regular water quality testing with no problems ever showing up. The bore water has no salt and a little iron oxide but that was all we found. We started out doing hourly water quality testing and then we were only doing on a daily basis. Now it’s been five years since we did the water quality testing. I wouldn’t even know where the equipment is now.”

Jack shows how easy it is to catch a fish in the enclosed fishout area.

Trout operations The trout farm facility includes a commercial scale hatchery and growout tanks in addition to a fish out pond. “We do offer tours of the farm and the hatchery as well as the chance to catch your own fish in the indoor fish out facility,” Darren explains.

The trout are all kept in an indoor recirculating system which Darren and Garry (his father) designed and built themselves. “We did extensive studies before we designed the systems, visting most of the farms between here and Darwin and spent weeks in Canberra researching facilities overseas.

It was a very busy six months gathering information before we designed the system. But it did pay off – we have a system that runs well and at minimal cost.”

Darren credits part of this to the use of airlift pumps for all the pumping requirements. “We have been able to have a power bill of only $1,000 a month for

The use of bore water has others advantages for the farm: • The supply doesn’t run low; • As the water isn’t drawn from a river system the farm doesn’t have to confirm to any EPA requirements; • the waste water doesn’t need to be returned to any water system so it is used around the park for irrigation; and • by drawing from underground water and having all of the fish kept indoors, predation is eliminated.

The bore water is only pumped with off peak power and is stored in a 240,000 L holding tank. From there it is gravity fed to the culture system of 20 tanks – all 2.5m wide, 5m long and 1.8m deep (a volume of 22.5m3). The tanks are divided into two rows with biofilters running through the middle. “We also have windows in all the tanks so that people in the tours can see the fish easily. We have 10 biofilters so we only have 2 tanks per biofilter.”

The Harveys discovered a new material that can be used as the main substrate in the biofilter. “The substrate we use in the

42 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

biofilters wasn’t a commercial substrate.

When we were setting up the biofilters we looked at some of the substrates available and found that they were quite expensive. Then we found some black plastic that is used in horticulture for making pots. We tried it in our biofilters; that was nine years ago and we’ve had no problems.”

The system has a 10% water exchange per day which helps keep the tanks running at a good water quality and with out any problems.

An airlift pump is used to transfer the water between the tanks and the biofilter and each tank is fitted with an additional airlift pump to help circulate the water around the tank. This helps with solid waste removal from the tanks. “The tanks have a sump in the centre where the solid waste is drawn with the water flow. Then we can empty the sumps everyday to maintain a good water quality.”

Stripping trout According to Darren the park maintains its stock by not only stripping its own broodfish but also buying in extra eggs.

“We do this for a couple of reasons. By stripping our own stock we need to purchase less eggs and it’s great for tourism during the breeding season from July to August. We would strip around a couple of hundred thousand eggs from around 400 fish. By purchasing additional eggs it means that we can sell some of our larger fish (>1kg) and it’s better to expand the gene pool. We keep quite a few larger fish for display stock as people like to be able to see the larger fish.”

Once the eggs are stripped from the fish they are mixed with the milt and put in the incubators. “We have ten incubators which we made from the large blue water bottles which hold about 20L.” When the eggs are ready to hatch they are transferred to troughs which contain a mesh. This allows the eggs to hatch and the fry to swim down and feel protected. “The fry will swim up after about 10 days when they have their first feeding. We just use the Ridleys commercial feed and once the fish are weaned on to the diet they are transferred to the concrete system.”

FARM PROFILE

Management Metrics Key Management Decisions for Harvey’s Fish and Fun Park include: • Several incomes streams from fingerling, fresh and smoked fish, fish out, functions and online sales.

• Use of bore water to ensure high consistent water quality.

• Hand feed fish at least twice a day to ensure their health and behaviour can be regularly monitored.

• Fish out fish are priced on an individual basis ($5@ 450-500g fish) which makes it easy for families to determine how many fish to buy).

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): • Culture System utilised: RAS tanks, around 22.5m3 each.

• Survival rate: >95% from first stocking to sale size • Av. stocking density: low to medium • Annual harvest: 10tonnes (fish out and sales) and 100,000s of fingerlings • Water use: <2mg L per year • Power use: $1,000 per month.

The indoor recirculating system is supplied entirely by borewater with only a 10% exchange daily.

All the fish feeding is done by hand. “We manually go around every morning and afternoon to feed the fish. We aren’t currently using any automated feeding system although we do plan to automate our system next year. I’ve been working on a computer program which I hope will be finished in the next 6-8 months to control the system, feeders, oxygen levels and pumps.”

car and some plastic. We aimed to do everything as cheap as possible as many of these products are developed overseas and can be very expensive.”

Darren says that the feeding system is flexible so it can be used for any fish farm. “We designed it with the view to sell the system both Australia wide and overseas. The beauty is it can be linked to any feeder so you don’t have to buy both the feeder and system. We will be able to supply the feeders or they can make their own if they don’t already have feeders. The system will simply involve putting in a code for the feeder and the feed rate into the system can use other feeders or build their own – we’re even happy to supply a design. The system is nice and cheap as it only involves a motor from the windscreen wiper for a

Doing all the feeding by hand does have its benefits – all the fish are checked a couple of times a day. “We don’t use high stocking densities. I’m not sure of the stocking densities but after 11 years, stocking tanks is generally by rule of thumb and not any precise measurement.

We do have an oxygen generator on site but due to the low stocking densities we don’t really have the need to use it.”

Ridley’s salmon diet is used. “We can get it from Corowa (just 20 minutes away) which means that it’s convenient and we don’t need to keep large quantities of feed on site. If we get low we don’t have to wait long periods to get more.”

As the fish grow and the stocking densities increase the fish are graded by hand and transferred to different tanks. “We did have two ponds for fish out, one with fish up to 450g and the other had

fish up to 700g. However, we closed the pond with the larger fish so we could put in the water slides as we found that people generally preferred to catch a few small fish than one large fish. This is especially so for family groups as this means that every member of the family can catch a fish and not cost a fortune.”

Darren explains the very user-friendly pricing system for the fish out facility: “We don’t have a set kilo price because it makes it too hard for a family to figure

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August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 43

FARM PROFILE

The park is able to run with only three permanent staff; extra casual help – such as waitressing and bar staff for functions – is brought in when required. “The large conference and function centre can cater for meals, corporate functions, weddings and coach tours. It is also fully licensed so visitors can enjoy a nice glass of wine with their fresh catch.”

Darren says that the function centre gives their products great exposure to people from all over the region “We not only sell fresh and smoked rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) but we have expanded our range to include fresh opened and unopened bistro oysters (Sydney rock oysters, Saccostrea commercialis) from the south coast (of NSW). We shuck about 400 dozen a week but near Christmas we shucked 1,000 dozen in just two days!”

They also take orders throughout the year for fingerlings for people stocking their own dams and ponds. In addition to the fresh and smoked trout and salmon, the online shop (on the easy to navigate website www.hffp.com.au) holds more temptations with smoked rainbow trout pate, Nature’s Flavour Salmon Dipping Sauce, Chicken salt, Chilli salt and meat seasoning. “Nature’s flavour is the trademark we use for our products are we use no preservatives, colour, MSG or flavourings,” explains Darren.

Holly and Jack try out the mini golf course with the park offering activities for all the family.

out how much they have spent after catching a couple of fish and if the fish are too big that can break the budget for a family day out. We have a set price of $5 per fish but we do reduce that price if the fish is small (<400g). This price includes fishing reel, bait, fish cleaning (gill and gut) and ice if they want to take it home. Otherwise it can be cooked on the BBQ for them to enjoy on the day. By taking the guess work out of the fish out prices, it ensures a return trade since there are no nasty surprises at the end of the day.”

And to ensure a pleasant day of fishing regardless of weather the fish out pond is under shelter. “It is landscaped with trees and plants but it has a roof for weather protection. Also there is seating around the ponds for people who would rather watch than catch their own fish.”

Other fish products Around ten tonnes of fish are produced at the park, of which 50% are taken from the fish out. Additional fish are sold fresh and smoked as well as pate to hotels and restaurants in the region.

44 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

“You can’t beat the experience of catching your own fish and enjoying it at the park. It’s an amazing place to be. It’s been 11 years since my father and I opened Harvey’s Fish and Fun Park and he retired last year so we decided to put the park up for sale. What more could anyone want fun and fishing in a beautiful environment that can be shared with everyone?”

by Andrina Fay with Dos O’Sullivan For more information contact Darren Harvey, Harvey’s Fish and Fun Park, PO Box 1260, Wodonga, Vic 3689.

Tel: 02 6021-2070, Fax: 02 6021-8118, email: hffp@hffp.com.au, www.hffp.com.au

F E AT U R E

Tassal’s MD engineers a Lazarus-like recovery T

urnaround specialist Mark Ryan’s career progression begat a global sojourn that began in Hobart in 1987, took him to Melbourne, Toronto, New York and Auckland and landed him back in Hobart by 2002.

“The great thing about working with numbers is that they talk the same language the world over,” he explains. And as the assignments and the locations changed, so did his employers – from PricewaterhouseCoopers, to Arthur Anderson and then KordaMentha – the latter as a partner (Mark Korda and Mark Mentha were the Administrators of Ansett).

Mark enjoyed it all but when the ANZ – a secured creditor to Tassal Limited – went looking for a Receiver and Manager to extract maximum value out of the failed salmon farmer, he jumped at the chance to return to Tasmania.

ANZ’s approach to Korda Mentha was no accident. Both Mark Mentha and Mark Ryan had successfully completed a number of assignments for the bank in previous years. “You just build up that level of trust,” Mark says.

It was certainly needed. “Before the bank appointed us we had detailed discussions on how to maximise the realisable value,” he continues. “And those discussions indicated from Day 1 that a strategic and innovative approach was required.”

At the time, Mark estimated that the industry as a whole was turning over $130 million a year whilst groaning under $80-90m of debt. “You can see the difference between revenue and debt wasn’t much and the margins weren’t great. So at June 2002, the collective industry was probably making an EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) loss of between $40-45m.

“Because of the level of debt and the reality that bank’s actual want their respective debt to be repaid; the industry needed to sell fish urgently – and therefore accept

Mark Ryan

lower prices for fish. What was required was the industry, not one company to be restructured, however one company had to tip over before that industry restructure could be commenced.”

How times had changed. In 1997 Tassal didn’t even have an overdraft but had then overcapitalised on new plant and funded an ever expanding working capital deficiency, bleeding cash at $1m a month. It collapsed owing around $40m of which $18m was due to funding negative cash flow.

Despite the bleak outlook, Mark could see still see substantial value, not only in the business, but also the salmon industry as a whole. “The key to industries like this one is scale. But here we had a relatively small market being serviced by five companies trying to do the same thing – with five sets of labour, infrastructure, corporate overheads and marketing costs.”

“No-one was getting the benefit from a premium product except the consumer as prices kept on falling. The industry was self-imploding.”

The conclusion was inescapable. In order for the ANZ to get its money back Tassal had to be sold as a going concern. That meant that potential buyers looking at the health of the core business and ultimately, the underlying EBIT. And the only way to transform Tassal would be to not only take a machete to its costs but also to those of the industry as a whole.

So Mark set about doing just that.

Rationalising the industry meant, in this case, buying other industry participants and then restructuring the underlying business. “Normally Administrators sell businesses,” Mark says. “Buying businesses instead is the completely opposite approach.” And a first for corporate Australia. Hence the need for steady nerves at the ANZ and the foundation of trust that had been built up with the KordaMentha partners.

The five industry players at the time were Tassal, Aquatas, Nortas, Huon Aquaculture and Van Diemen Aquaculture. All marketed their product separately. Mark began his rationalisation by separately sounding them out, seeking an opening for Tassal in their plans for the future.

First domino to fall was the smallest producer – Van Diemen Aquaculture – the only salmon farmer to grow their fish in the north of the State, specifically the Tamar River near Launceston. Mark signed them up to a long term contract growing arrangement. “We guaranteed them a price which means that they can put in place the right infrastructure to make their farm profitable.”

It got the momentum going, but was just a start. Mark really needed a major player to roll over. “The reality was that any good plan is only as good as it’s execution and the key here was finding the “right” someone to sell.” At the right price, of course.

Soon the choice narrowed to Nortas and Aquatas. And then to Nortas (owned by salmon pioneer Richard Doedens) alone.

“The challenge was to find a price that not only Richard was happy with but that also provided an appropriate return to us given the synergies to come out of the transaction,” Mark continues. No doubt the fact that the ANZ was banker to both helped convince all of the merits of the deal.

As a stand-alone entity, Tassal had been expected to generate an EBIT of $6 million a year – which meant it was worth $25-$30m– much less than the $40m it

August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 45

F E AT U R E

was owed. Nortas brought with it $2 million of EBIT, and prospective synergies of $4-$8m a year, half of them “hard” or cost synergies.

Combined EBIT for the new Tassal of $11-$15m brought its valuation up to perhaps $60m. And it boosted Tassal’s harvest to 8,000 t onnes, 65% of the industry’s total.

Nice work. But Mark was not yet finished. Not by a long shot.

As Receiver and Manager, he needed to sell the business. A five month sale process flushed out interest from 80 local and international bidders. Mariner Corporate Finance Pty Ltd, granted preferred bidder status on 19 August 2003, promptly raised $31m in an IPO that – such was the demand – closed before the Prospectus was even printed (applicants had downloaded it from the web).

Whilst Mark had initially agreed to stay on for another 12 months, the role of Chief Executive Officer of Tassal Group Limited ultimately became too tempting.

Aquatas was now in his sights.

“We had worked out that, for a 11,000 tonne company, $1.1m can be added to the bottom line for every 10c a kilo taken out of the costs,” he explains. It was a compelling argument given the close proximity of Tassal’s and Aquatas’s sites.

“We knew that we could quickly rationalize the labour, infrastructure, corporate overheads and marketing cost.”

No surprise then that Tassal signed a merger agreement with Aquatas’ owner Webster Limited on 1 February 2005. By late March, with the merger complete, Mark had his cost reduction plan ready to go.

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“On the farming side there were a number of redundancies we had to do. We did them quickly so that no-one was left wondering. In the past year we’ve taken out 250 full-time equivalents. At a $40,000 average salary, that’s a $9m saving.”

The five processing plants have also been rationalized to three – at Dover, Huonville and Margate. No redundancies were necessary there given the high degree of staff turnover, which is characteristic of that activity. “We simply didn’t replace those who left.”

But Mark’s invested in his staff too. “The reality is that our industry is a young one in world terms,” he says. “We’ve committed ourselves to bringing ‘best practice’ into Tassie. Other producer countries have gone through the rationalization process and so we’ve sourced experts from Canada and Chile to run our farms and our processing plants.”

Marketing efforts to market the premium fish have also been redoubled. “The salmon market continues to grow,” Mark says. So it should. There are so many health benefits for conditions such as arthritis, heart disease and Alzheimers. In a dietary sense, you need only eat around a 180 gram portion of salmon to get the same protein as 350 grams of white fish.

“The colour’s also just right. It presents very well.”

He says that at the time he took on Tassal, Australians were eating 350 grams of salmon per capita, the US was eating a kilo and the French 3.5kg. “So was plenty of room for growth.” So it proved.

Over recent years the market has grown at around 20%.

Looking at the restaurant market, Mark concluded early on that year-round supply of fresh, large fish was a necessity.

Having in place effectively a big chessboard of fish now offered by a multitude of sites allowed just that.

So does the recent move to putting the young fish to sea under lights. “By equipping our cages with underwater lights, we’re creating a better in-pen environment, providing excellent growing conditions and making sure that the fish do not mature before they are supposed to,” Mark explains.

46 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

Another boost will come from ensuring all pens are automatically fed to make sure no feeding opportunities are missed.

Pens can be towed from one site to another to ensure full benefit of best growing conditions. It also allows multiple response options should a site or two suffer from short-term deterioration in water quality conditions, a swarm of jellyfish or such like. “Geographical diversification provides risk mitigation which in turn drives our profitability,” says Mark.

Even better, the company has enough water under lease to effectively double the harvest.

An expanded range of salmon products is on the drawing board. Mark is particularly keen on an upcoming range of ready-toeat- meals, with a variety of products to be marketed under a “twiceaweek” brand to allow the consumer the ability to cook and serve salmon without the necessity of touching the fish. “Many people still don’t feel confident preparing salmon. So we’ll take all the worry out of it.”

Whilst that approach has been tried before in Australia, Mark believes the focus and presentation weren’t up to scratch. “We’re coming out with new packaging and new labelling. And we’ve made sure we know exactly what people want by conducting extensive trials.”

Such meals are certainly very popular in the UK for example.

Helping the program along, Mark says, will be a rebranding exercise. “‘Tassal Pure Tasmania’ will focus on all the clean, green connotations that Tasmania musters in the minds of consumers.”

Yet, in the final analysis, the judgement of how successful Tassal’s creative transformation has been will be in the numbers. And Mark Ryan wouldn’t have it any other way.

So how does it look so far. “For FY2006 the market is expecting us to do an EBIT of around $19m,” Mark says. “That’s a $50m turnaround on the 2002 position.”

The numbers have spoken and, apparently, they will get even more outspoken!

by Tim Walker

RESEARCH

Mollusc team at Bribie kick goals for commercial beginning The QDPI Bribie Island mollusc team headed by Dr Liz O’Brien is thrilled with recent achievements in saucer scallop (Amusium balloti) and tropical abalone (Haliotis asinine) research that have forged a solid beginning for a promising commercial harvest in a few years time.

L

ocated 70 kilometres north-east of Brisbane on the ocean side of Bribie Island, the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) Bribie Island Aquaculture Research Centre (BIARC) covers an area of 15 hectares. Employing about 30 scientists the centre’s research includes an impressive range of projects (see Table).

Facilities at BIARC include: • General purpose biology laboratories; • A comprehensive biotechnology laboratory, with three dedicated rooms and capacity to undertake a range of molecular techniques; • Boats (1x5.7m SeaJay, 130Hp, 1 x 5.2m Sea Jay, 70Hp); • An extensive seawater supply and filtration system, including UV sterilised water for larval rearing; • A variety of tanks (from 40 tonnes to 100 litres) for holding and carrying out replicated experiment on live marine organisms; • A wide range of scientific equipment for carrying out biological research; • Offices, workshop and boatshed; and • Ponds (4 x nursery ponds, three of those are covered, 4 x growout ponds).

As part of a collaboration with the University of Queensland, Dr Duncan and Mr Wang commenced work with Dr Wayne Knibb (DPI&F) and Dr Bernie Degnan (UQ) in 1999 to develop the technology to be able to culture A. balloti in the hatchery. During his studies, Sizhong successfully conditioned wild broodstock and stimulated them to spawn on cue. He also determined the optimal rearing temperature and undertook preliminary nutritional trials to increase larval survival. At settlement he was able to achieve 30% survival and then begin to understand the settlement process through detailed experimentation. This included testing cues for settlement including chemical and tactile stimuli.

The research team also described the attachment process and discovered that there is a byssal attachment but it is very weak compared with other bivalves. His-

Abalone broodstock held at the Bribie Island Research Centre.

Table 1: Projects underway at Bribie Island Aquaculture Research Centre • sand (Portunus pelagicus) and mud crab (Scylla serrata) culture, • soft shell crab trials, • selective breeding of tiger prawns (Penaeus monodon), and banana prawns (Penaeus merguiensis) • culture of marine prawns (P. merguiensis) in inland saline water, • use of existing inland water, such as ring tanks and water used for agriculture, for aquaculture, • production of organic prawns, • marine biotechnology projects such as identifying genes involved in the moulting process in crabs and maturation in fish.

• developing molecular markers for aquaculture species for selective breeding (parentage identity) and aquaculture management.

An interest in culturing saucer scallops (Amusium balloti) was sparked following a massive drop from $23 million to $7.5 million in Queensland’s wild scallop fishery (from 2001 to 2003). The BIARC was quick to respond to the industry’s woes and first cultured the saucer scallop in 1999. Thus the ‘mollusc team’, as Dr Liz O’Brien affectionately calls it, was born. Consisting of just three people, Dr Peter Duncan as the team leader, Jan Rose, the algal technician, and Sizhong Wang, a PhD candidate from the University of Queensland they succeeded in a world first culturing of saucer scallops.

August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 47

RESEARCH

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torically it was thought that this species were unable to attach.

Because of the promising results of Sizhong’s research Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) invested into another project to determine whether scallop restocking was feasible in Australia. The feasibility project was led by Mike Dredge. The study included biological, economic and social analysis and concluded that searanching A. balloti was feasible. In particular the rapid growth rate and high value of the product was an advantage.

The FRDC project ‘Enhancement of Saucer Scallops (Amusium balloti) in Queensland and Western Australia – Genetic Considerations 2003/033’ was completed in 2005. Dr Duncan and Ms Rose have since left the team but Dr O’Brien, who has led the team since 2001 and expanded the research to also focus on tropical abalone, is thrilled that their work to date has played a large part in industry development.

The FRDC report listed the following outcomes achieved by the research: • Equipped management with a resource to make more informed decisions regarding the management of scallop sea ranching ventures in Queensland and Western Australia.

• Increased industry and management awareness and understanding of the value of genetic management in aquaculture, particularly sea-ranching ventures.

• Collected baseline genetic microsatellite data for the Amusium balloti sea-ranching areas prior to significant restocking for post-stocking comparison over

time.

• Development of polymorphic microsatellites for Amusium balloti that can be used in genetic management of the hatchery.

• Clarified taxonomic status of Australian Amusium balloti.

Following analysis of the data, Dr O’Brien explains that the distribution of genotypes was similar between the areas sampled, which paved the way for maintaining genetic diversity while reseeding.

“The research aimed to understand the genetic make up of the animals in the wild so broodstock selection could be managed for responsible reseeding. The data indicates that the genetic information of saucer scallops is shared between animals within Queensland waters. In other words, there must be movement of larvae up and down the coast because the adult scallops we sampled are related based on their DNA.” Dr O’Brien says the BIARC encouraged industry to try commercial scallop aquaculture following the centre’s success culturing the scallop. “It was very satisfying for us that our research has directly helped industry. It is a testament to the value of the research that it was only four years between concept and commercialisation. We maintain a very close research relationship with the company Queensland Saucer Scallop Ltd and are developing and undertaking new projects with them.” (QSS is a private company formed by seafood processors and trawler owners to commercially farm scallops in Queensland.)

Broodstock and spawning “QSS is using intensive landbased hatchery technology to

1: Cultured tropical abalone juveniles.

2 and 3: Saucer scallop shells.

4: Aerial view of Bribie Island Aquaculture Research Centre.

48 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

RESEARCH

produce millions of 4mm saucer scallops to release into its sea bed lease in Hervey Bay in areas known to support good scallop growth,” Dr O’Brien explains. “Usually a year later the scallop are harvested by trawling, not dredging, at about a size of 90mm.”

Not wanting to share QSS’s techniques, Dr O’Brien was guarded about the specific details of seedstock production.

However, she says the broodstock used for the research at DPI&F – about 300 per season – were collected from Harvey Bay or Gladstone before being transported back to Bribie Island in chilled sea water. Broodstock were assessed for gonad status and spawned at a 1:1 ratio.

To induce spawning the scallops were kept in cool static seawater and then given a heat shock with warmer water; a common practice to induce spawning in a bivalve. “The scallops spawn very quickly, usually within a two hour period. After fertilisation and then hatching, the free-swimming larval stage lasted for about 18 days before the minute molluscs settled. The scallops were grown in tanks for another 2 months and when they reach about 4mm they were used for experiments.”

Marking method Dr O’Brien says the next and most vital problem to overcome was to mark the scallops to differentiate the hatcheryreared scallops from the wild stocks so the farm could confidently claim the stock as its own. This tagging had to meet several criteria including: • Ability to mark small individuals; • Can be detectable in the adult; • Unique to the cultured population; • Suitability for identification of individuals or cohorts; • Inexpensive to apply and detect; • Harmless to the tagged animals and subsequent consumer and • Acceptability to the public.

“Based on the criteria, chemical tags (dyes) in the shell, invisible to the naked human eye, are being trialled. The juvenile scallops, provided by industry partner QSS, were immersed in a seawater bath containing one of three dyes, which made it inexpensive to apply and suita-

ble for small individuals. After staining for two days the bands are visible under a hand-held UV light – although some may require some level of magnification – making it relatively inexpensive to detect.”

Marked scallops were held in a simulated seabed system for a year to determine if the dyes would be visible in the adult.

“Scallop survival is recorded to ensure the dyes were harmless and, if required, multiple application of the dye could occur.”

Dr O’Brien says the dyes bind to the calcium in the shell and did not affect the animal on the inside because exposure time to the dye was limited and the animals grew significantly from 4mm to 90mm before harvest. “The process is harmless to the subsequent consumer.”

The first stage of the marking research was nearly complete. “All dyes have successfully been incorporated into the juvenile shell and are detectable under UV light. The next stage is to optimise the marking methods and then document retention of the dye in the growing shells over time.”

The marking project (FRDC 2005/016) was co-funded by the FRDC, QDPI&F and QSS and was collaboration between QDPI&F scientists, mollusc expert Rick Scoones from Western Australia and QSS staff.

An additional saucer scallop project involves investigating the reproductive status of broodstock throughout the season to better understand impediments to spawning and larval survival.

has worked for the past six years on biotechnology of tropical abalone. The information gathered by the University presented a positive future for tropical abalone farming.”

BIARC, together with industry partner Coral Sea Mariculture in Bundaberg, are undertaking a research project ‘Aquaculture of the tropical abalone: identifying and selecting for factors promoting high settlement, survival and growth’. Dr O’Brien says the research was funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage grant. “We plan to commence commercial trials of tropical abalone culture as well as looking at the genes involved in settlement and growth.”

To complement this research Dr O’Brien is also organising a feasibility study to investigate the suitability of tropical abalone aquaculture for Queensland. This aims to provide potential investors with the background to make an informed decision about investing in tropical abalone aquaculture.

The DPI&F mollusc team are also working to develop technical expertise to assist the edible oyster (Saccostrea commercialis) and Akoya pearl (Pinctada imbricata) industry as research requirements develop for these industries.

by Emma Rudge and Dos O’Sullivan For more information contact Dr Liz O’Brien, Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Bribie Island Aquaculture Research Centre, PO Box 2066, Woorim QLD 4057, Phone: 07 3400-2019, Fax: 07 3408-3535, email: liz.obrien@dpi.qld.gov.au

Tropical abalone With the scallops research under control the mollusc team turned their attention to another interesting mollusc the tropical abalone (Haliotis asinina). Dr O’Brien thought that the tough little creature had an exciting commercial future. “They’re amazing, they live on a coral reef where temperature can vary from 17 to 38°C. The species naturally spawn in synchrony every two weeks during summer and grow to a market size of 55mm in a year.

“The University of Queensland, a source of technical information for the BIARC, August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 49

TECHNOLOGY

From shell shocked to 'World’s Best'

W

allis Lake is one of Australia’s most picturesque and popular seaside holiday resorts and is located in New South Wales on the east cost of Australia approximately 300 km north of Sydney. The Wallis Lake system, with its permanent opening to the sea, comprises approximately 73 square km of marine dominated tidal waterways, which includes some 31 square km of seagrass beds.

Wallis Lake has a history of commercial oyster production reaching back over a 100 years and is one of the largest of the 32 commercial oyster producing estuaries in New South Wales. In 1997, the local oyster industry was brought to its knees when a number of people became

ill after consuming locally harvested oysters. The resultant statutory oyster harvest closure and subsequent negative publicity had a significant financial impact on the local oyster and tourism industries and was a bitter pill for a coastal community that prided itself on its pristine water quality.

Remedial action was swift and the Wallis Lake event is now regarded as a catalyst for fast tracking the implementation of the New South Wales Shellfish Program which is one of the world’s most stringent public health safety shellfish harvest programs. This statutory and rigorously enforced program applies to all oyster harvest areas in New South Wales and is managed by the New South Wales Food

50 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

Authority.

In 2006, the Wallis Lake oyster industry is now well and truly back as the leading producer of the famous Sydney Rock Oyster (Saccostrea glomerata), a native oyster of the east coast of Australia and arguably one of if not the best raw eating oysters in the world. The Wallis Lake oyster industry now injects around $ 11 million annually into the local economy and markets its product with confidence.

Well worthy of mention is the exceptional relationship that exists at Wallis Lake between oyster industry and the general community which extends from the provision of employment and business opportunities to close cooperation to ensure the protection of the local envi-

TECHHNOLOGY

ronment. Mayor of the Great Lakes Council John Chadban says: “Given the economic, social/cultural and environmental significance of the oyster industry in Wallis Lake, the Great Lakes Council and local Oyster Growers have established and maintained strong working partnerships.

“This partnership is based on the overriding objective of ensuring that oyster production in the Lake is managed in perpetuity in a sustainable manner. In this regard, Oyster Growers are strongly and consistently represented on the Wallis Lake Estuary Management Plan where they work constructively with the Council, agency staff, other industry representatives and the community to implement the Wallis Lake Estuary Management Plan and sustainably manage and protect Wallis Lake.”

Objective O.1 of the Wallis Lake Estuary Management Plan serves to “ensure that oyster aquaculture leases operate in a sustainable manner” and outlines nine specific actions to achieve this, including support for the phase out of tar-based oyster growing products.

Council and the Wallis Lake Oyster Growers have therefore a very strong platform on which to work together into the future for the sustainable and best practice management and protection of Wallis Lake and its viable and important oyster industry. Wallis Lakes’ Graham Barclay, Australia’s largest intertidal oyster grower, describes the relationship which goes back over 100 years “a long, firm and loving marriage”.

Unfortunately such a relationship is not always enjoyed in a number similar holiday and residential resort communities where problems arise as a result of selfinterested groups “pushing their own barrow”, without respecting the needs and wishes of the majority, and really to the detriment of their own business and community relationships.

An Australian aquaculture industry servAugust/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 51

TECHNOLOGY

ice company that has established a rapport with almost all the growers in the area, is Tooltech the product design and plastic moulding company who produce the internationally used Aquatray and Aquapurse shellfish grow-out Systems under the Ploma brand name.

Spokesman for the Company, Marketing and Export Manager Reg Breakwell, said that it is the only area in the world where the full range of the products that make up their shellfish grow-out systems, is collectively used. He credits the farmers’ innovativeness and considerable farming diversity on Wallis Lake to be the reason.

Tooltech’s environmentally-friendly polymer 3ft Standard Aquatray, together with the XL6 (6ft) Aquatray the XL8 (at 8ft x 3ft – perhaps the largest oyster grow-out shellfish tray anywhere) and all versions of the Aquapurse, are being used in both intertidal and subtidal modes. Because of their design, the units lend themselves to diverse methods of use, and other framing methods are currently being trialed.

It is in Wallis Lake where the innovative Aquapurse wave barrier was first used.

Apart from acting as an economical and easy to use predator-proof grow-out cage, it also performs as an extremely effective protection for oyster farms from excessive boat traffic wash. (Reported in FFI August 2005.)

Many thousands of the timber and mesh trays that have been the main growout product in the area for several generations, are rapidly being replaced by the far more visually enhanced, environmentally friendly and easily handled Aquatray and Aquapurse.

For more information on the Aquatray and Aquapurse Systems call Reg Breakwell on 07 3271 1755 or email: tooltech@tooltechservices.com.au Web: www.ploma.com.au 52 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

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ABALONE GREAT LAKES COUNCIL REVERSES DECISION, FARM A GOER The Great Lakes Council has overturned its own decision of only a month ago not to allow development of an abalone farm at Pindimar. Approval was given following an at-times heated debate and a 7-5 vote for the farm.

It will take four years for the farm to reach maximum productivity. Product will be sold live and there'll be no on-farm processing. Fully operational the farm will produce 30 tonnes annually, employing six full-time and three part-time workers. Operations will be subject to a broad set of conditions.

Source: Great Lakes Advocate (28/6/2006).

DEAL FOR KANGAROO ISLAND ABALONE Smith Bay's Kangaroo Island Abalone has signed for a deal to ship 12 tonnes of abalone to Sydney each month, with product from the first consignment to become available in restaurants in July. Previously the business has focussed on Asian markets. The arrangement presages a rapid expansion in production in SA, with abalone farming output expected to grow over two years from 200 tonnes annually to 500 tonnes.

The Kangaroo Island Abalone Island farm's success has been supported by the introduction of a new freezing technique to help ensure no loss of quality. The farm was started 10 years ago and produced 75 tonnes last year. In 2005 the business received awards for its innovative technology.

Source: Nigel Austin in the Adelaide Advertiser (24/6/2006).

SOUTH EAST ABALONE PTY LTD PROPOSE FARM FOR ROBE An on-shore abalone venture has been proposed for the Hundred of Waterhouse near Robe. The farm, to be within the area managed by the District Council of Robe, has been assessed as a 'category three' development, and public comment is invited. Closing date for comment is June 14. South East Abalone Pty Ltd are the proponents.

Source: South Eastern Times (8/6/2006).

TASMANIAN ABALONE FARMERS ASKED TO WATCH FOR DISEASE With virus disease affecting Victorian abalone farms and wildstocks, Tasmanian farmers are being asked to watch for symptoms. The disease â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ganglioneuritis â&#x20AC;&#x201C; has been found in four Victorian farms and in wildstock off Port Fairy. Controls and monitoring procedures have been introduced, and there have been calls for Biosecurity Australia to address the issue of abalone imports.

Source: Emily Bryan in the Launceston Examiner (19/6/2006); Bill Meldrum in the Portland Observer (9/6/2006).

54 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

FISHENEWS

PINDIMAR ABALONE FARM TURNED DOWN An application to develop an abalone farm at South Pindimar has been rejected by the Great Lakes Council. By a narrow vote – six to five – councillors didn't follow a council planner's recommendation to approve the plan for a 5ha farm at Carruther Street subject to 60 conditions. The arguments were that there the proposal was not in the best interests of the community, and there were environmental concerns. It appears the proposal won't simply fade away, with suggestions of an appeal to the Land and Environment Council or submission to the State Government, and the Mayor advising of the possibility it could be back on the agenda. The farm was expected to produce 30 tonnes of broodstock-sourced abalone annually, and at maximum production the value would be $1.5 million, by which time it would be employing six full-time and three part-time workers. The abalone would be sold as live product, with no on-site processing. Approvals for the venture have been sought since October 2002. Graham Housefield, proponent for the development, says he was amazed by the councillor's aboutface. “They obviously forgot that they had given me approval subject to those conditions and overturned their own decision.”

In later news, a recession motion has been lodged with the council and will be debated this month.

Source: Newcastle Herald (30/5/2006); Hayley Seeney in the Port Stephens Examiner (1/6/2006); Peter Baker in the Great Lakes Advocate (31/5/2006); Peter Baker in the Myall Coast Nota (1/6/2006); Port Stephens Examiner (8/6/2006).

ABALONE VIRUS NOW AFFECTING WILDSTOCKS A virus which recently damaged production on south-west Victorian abalone farms has been found to have killed wild abalone in the past four weeks, in reefs to the west of Port Fairy.

The reefs are near infected farm sites, and there are fears the $300 million wildstock fishery is now threatened. The coast is being surveyed, and patrols will be put in place to stop the spread of the disease, which is most likely to occur through human contact. A brochure describing the disease and its management has been released by Fisheries Victoria. Divers are being asked to disinfect themselves before entering and after leaving ocean waters to help control the spread of the infection.

Source: Liz McKinnon in the Warrnambool Standard (3/6/2006 & 7/6/2006).

DISEASE PROBLEM HAS NO EFFECT ON ABALONE PRICES Port Fairy's SouWest Seafood – the only seller of abalone in south-west Victoria – advises abalone prices haven't been affected by the recent outbreak of viral disease in the farmed species. The reason is the aquaculture industry isn't a large proportion of the abalone production effort. Two farms in the area, Southern Ocean Mariculture and Coastal Seafarms are restocking following an outbreak of ganglioneuritis. Two other farms in Victoria have also been affected.

Source: Warrnambool Standard (22/5/2006)

BARRAMUNDI OPPOSITION TO BARRAMUNDI SEA CAGE FARMS Plans to introduce barramundi sea cage farms in Bynoe and Darwin Harbours are meeting opposition from the Amateur Fishermen's Association (AFANT) and the Australian Marine Conservation Society NT, with arguments against the farms including the effluent load developed, disease threats, interferences with recreational activity, and the unsustainability of feeding the farmed fish with food sourced from wildstocks. There are claims large numbers of fish have escaped from the barramundi sea cage farm at Point Hurd, with consequent threats to wildstocks from disease and gene pool contamination. AFANT has suggested a proposal for a sea cage farm at Snake Bay is a matter for the Aboriginal community in the area to consider. An AFANT representative observes the body is happy to see the industry go ahead but not on Darwin's doorstep. In later news Marine Harvest Australia General Manager Lance Hubbert provides some insight on the situation: He observes the company is proposing to invest $15 million in three fish farms and within three years to be exporting as much as $50 million worth of barramundi annually, providing 40 jobs on the farms. Independent monitoring of the original fish farm at Port Hurd shows no measurable adverse environmental impact. Tests on oysters supplied by Paspaley Pearls have shown no measurable impact on oysters hung on the fish sea cages. The proposed new sites are a nursery near Channel Island, close to the Darwin Aquaculture Centre, a sea cage farm at Port Patterson near Bynoe Harbour, and a sea cage farm at Snake Bay near Milikapiti. The company has high environmental standards for its farms. It can only recoup investment if high-quality fish are produced from disease-free stock living in a natural environment. Any nitrogen and phosphorous production would be minimal compared with natural inputs into the harbour. Fish stocks are bought locally and disease-free. Advice from scientists is there should be no impact on wild stocks from escaped farmed fish – however, it's not in the company's interests to have fish escapes, simply from a financial perspective. Advice is being sought on ways to avoid the farm having an impact on the wreck of the Ellangowan. Submissions can be made on the company's Environmental Impact Statement. The company will respond to all matters raised.

Source: Chris Makepeace in the Sunday Territorian (2/7/2006); Lance Hubbert, General Manager of Marine Harvest Australia in the Sunday Territorian (9/7/2006).

CHILDERS FISH FARM APPROVED Farmer Colin Taylor has had his proposal for a fish farm development on 4.8ha of his Childers Road property approved by the Isis Shire Council. The fish farm, initially to be producing barramundi and silver perch, is on a farm which has a history in growing sugar cane, mangoes, lychees and avocados. There's trial pond operating and now four more will be developed, with another six in 2007.

Source: Sophia Browne in the News Mail (28/6/2006).

August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 55

FISHENEWS

AUSTRALIS AQUACULTURE FOUNDER DEPARTS Stewart Graham, who founded Australis Aquaculture and is the company's biggest shareholder, has resigned as managing director of the company, with US-based chief executive Josh Goldman taking his place. Mr Graham advises he was happy to move on and become a non-executive director with the business now more established, especially in the US. Source: Cathy Bolt in the West Australian (7/6/2006).

RESPONSE TO 'BARRAMUNDI ENDANGERED' CLAIM In a letter to the editor of the Cairns Post responding to an article in which it was claimed that barramundi and mud crabs where endangered species and should be taken off the menu, Neil Hallagan, president of the Australian Barramundi Farmers Association, makes the following (edited) comments: “Such calls are designed to generate cheap headlines and publicity for the environmental movement. The story has little basis in fact, but, unfortunately, is damaging and will be felt by businesses in the Cairns region. Farmed fresh barramundi is produced in strictly regulated and licensed conditions with regular monitoring by the Environmental Protection Agency. The barramundi is not taken from the wild. The reality is it's as endangered as the dairy cow.”

Source: Neil Hallagan, President, Australian Barramundi Farmers Association, in a letter to the editor of the Cairns Post (12/6/2006).

HAWKER SCHOOL SELLS BARRAMUNDI Barramundi grown by students at the Hawker Area School are being sold to local restaurants, with proceeds absorbed back into school's aquaculture program. Students from Reception to Year 10 are involved, and the fish are sold for $5 each when they reach 500gm.

Some 130 fish were sold last year. The barramundi are also used in Home Economics education, to teach filleting and fish cooking.

Source: Cara Jenkin in the Adelaide Advertiser (13/6/2006).

GEORGE W EATS AUSTRALIA BARRAMUNDI Barramundi produced at the Australis Aquaculture plant in the US was on the menu at a recent White House dinner. The dinner was attended by the President, Prime Minister John Howard with wife Janette, publisher Rupert Murdoch and golfer Greg Norman.

Source: Peter Gosnell in the Daily Telegraph (20/5/2006).

NEW FOREST BARRAMUNDI Thousands of juvenile barramundi are being flown to England to be grown out on a farm in Hampshire. Director of New Forest Barramundi, Campbell Mitchell, is confident the fish will be a big hit in England. The $14 million farm has 48 tanks holding 600,000 fish at 28 Celsius. 100,000 fingerlings are flown in each four weeks. The aim, says, Mr Mitchell, is to produce 400 tonnes this year – and establish a brood hatchery by December.

It's the right time for the venture, with Asda, one of the big supermarket chains, stopping selling North Sea cod because the species is facing commercial extinction. The chain has already removed shark, skate wings and Dover sole. Other supermarket businesses are expected to follow the Asda's lead Source: Sunday Telegraph (21/5/2006).

56 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

SEAFOOD BIZ IN THE MOJAVE DESERT Paul Eden, who runs Seafood Biz, a Gold Coast-based company, has launched a high-tech fish farm in the Mojave Desert in Nevada, US. Barramundi hatchery fingerlings flown out from Australia are to be grown out in the Cumminscorp C-Box Recirculating Aquaculture System. The first of 56 C-Tanks has been established at a Las Vegas industrial centre, and Mr Eden is negotiating for a 20ha site in the desert close by. He expects to be producing 50 tonnes of barramundi from each set of seven tanks annually by the end of next year. He's already arranged substantial markets. One prestigious casino has agreed to take barramundi worth $1 million each year, and has begun building aquariums in one of its restaurants, for live fish display.

Source: Ann Watson Moore in the Gold Coast Bulletin (19/5/2006).

F I S H H E A LT H AQIS DIRECTOR REPLIES In a letter to the editor of the Weekly Times, the executive editor of AQIS, Peter Yuile, made the following (edited here) comments on the articles titled 'Fish Flaws' and 'Noxious Fish Flow In', which appeared in the publication on 21 June: He wrote, “Your stories...contain a number of errors regarding Australia's quarantine management of ornamental fish imports. First, all such imports must meet stringent health requirements. Consignments must be certified as being sourced from healthy stocks, must spend time in pre-export quarantine and must be held in post-arrival quarantine in Australia, where they are inspected for signs of disease or unusual mortalities. Second, there is no evidence linking the identification of iridovirus in a Victorian aquaculture facility with imported fish because gourami are not used as fish food. Third, the story claims disease outbreaks have been linked to ornamental fish imports. Imported fish that show signs of disease...are not released. Australia has one of the most stringent quarantine systems for fish in the world.

Source: Peter Yuile, executive director, AQIS, in a letter to the editor of the Weekly Times (5/7/2006).

VETS & SCIENTISTS CANVAS ORNAMENTAL THREATS Speaking at the Australian Veterinary Association Annual Conference in Hobart recently, Professor Richard Whittington, Chair of Animal Health at the University of Sydney, warned it's unlikely current controls over the importation of exotic fish will prevent the establishment of new pathogens. He believes imported ornamental species are posing a serious threat to Australia's aquaculture industries and the environment. Evidence shows disease from ornamentals is spreading across Australia.

Another source advises that despite the issue being raised with the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service nearly a year ago, no action has been taken. The number of ornamental fish imported over the last six years has increased from 3.4 million in 1999 to 15.5 million. AQIS has indicated fish consignments are tested for disease only if there are an 'unusual number of deaths' – when approximately 25 per cent of the fish have died during the quarantine period, and if the consignment owner is

FISHENEWS

willing to pay for the test. Another issue is that, under Australian import protocols, whole genera (species groups) of ornamental fish can be imported without a risk assessment, which increases the risk of establishment of invasive exotic species. The Federal Agriculture Department is conducting a review of the management of ornamental fish in Australia. The Department of Environment is undertaking a review of several freshwater genera.

Source: Danielle Le Grand in the Weekly Times (21/6/2006).

VETS SPEAK ABOUT FISH WELFARE, ORNAMENTAL THREAT Speaking at the Australian Veterinary Association Annual Conference in Hobart recently, Drs Matt Landos and Richmond Loh commented on managing fish. Welfare of fish is now regarded as a serious consideration. Fish demonstrate the range of physiological responses present in higher-order animals, such as behavioural changes, cardio-circulatory changes and hormone changes. Vets are encouraged to provide advice to their clients and the public on the welfare of fish. There are indications that fish have a cognitive understanding of the future and also have a memory span much greater than previously thought.

The veterinarians have produced a paper discussing a strong market failure on the availability of veterinarians with experience in aquatics, and which lists areas where veterinary advice is available. There are also guidelines for parameters such as water quality, protection from predators, feeding, and stocking density. On another subject, Professor Richard Whittington, Chair of Animal Health at the University of Sydney, warned it's unlikely current controls over the importation of exotic fish will prevent the establishment of new pathogens. He believes imported ornamental species are posing a serious threat to Australia's aquaculture industries and the environment. Evidence shows disease from ornamentals is spreading across Australia. The professor produced several case studies illustrating his argument.

Source: Western Cape Bulletin (25/5/2006); Esperance Express (6/6/2006).

The Eyre Regional Development Board (ERDB) received the funding for its Eyre Food and Export E-Commerce project. Forty businesses will take part in workshops around the area over the next 18 months, learning how to develop a website, keep it up to date, and deal with online transactions. Interested business people can learn more by contacting the Stacey Fallon at the ERDB. Source: Port Lincoln Times (20/6/2006).

SEAFOOD LABELLING The country of origin must now be shown on all labelling for retail seafood. Previously, the word 'imported' was all that was required to indicate product came from overseas. There are minimum print size requirements for the labelling. More information at www.foodstandards.gov.au.

Source: Lea Isles in the Innisfail Advocate (10/6/2006).

MUSSELS FLINDERS SEAFOODS MUSSEL FARM TO EXPAND Bruce Koller is company director of Flinders Seafoods. He recently announced that, following very successful growth trials at the company's Wallaroo site, 200 more lines will be placed.

Currently there are only 9 110-metre lines installed at the 10ha farm, which lies 5 kilometres off-shore from Wallaroo. The company harvested its first tonne of mussels last year and sold them under the brand name 'Walleroo Blue'. The company is now raising funds. As part of the expansion there'll be an onshore cleaning and packaging facility which would ideally be located near the berthing docks at Walleroo marina. The changes will result in full-time jobs for 10 or more people, and other part-time opportunities. When at full capacity, the venture has projections of 2,00 tonnes annually â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Australia's current annual production of mussels is 3,000 tonnes. More details available from Bruce Koller at email bruce@nimmo-bell.co.nz or Michael Nance Properties at email mnprop@bigpond.net.au.

Source: Yorke Peninsula Country Times â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Kadina (14/6/2006).

MARKETING SEAFOOD & AQUACULTURE TRAIL VERSION 3 LAUNCHED The third edition of the Seafood and Aquaculture Trail brochure was launched at the Adelaide Central Market on 16 and 17 June. Shoppers were delighted to experience Eyre Peninsula prawns, kingfish, mussels and tuna. The brochure brings new emphasis to opportunities for seafood dining experiences while on the trail. There'll also be a number of workshops during the coming year, at which participants can learn how to prepare seafood. More than 70,000 tours have been sold on the Trail since it commenced in 2001.

Source: Whyalla News (3/7/2006).

FUNDING FOR WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT Seafood and aquaculture operations form the majority of Eyre Peninsula businesses sharing in $66,750 from the Federal Government to develop websites providing for worldwide marketing.

PLANS TO EXTEND MUSSEL FARM Tomerong businessman Andrew Harvey is to invest around $100,000 to help fund studies for environmental assessments which, if the results they show are appropriate, will be a step towards more aquaculture industry in Jervis Bay. Mr Harvey, of Jervis Bay Aquaculture, wishes to increase his mussel farm area from eight ha to 11, and change the growing technique from rafts to a longline system. Prompted by Mr Harvey's application, the Shoalhaven City Council will seek funds to pay for the studies needed before aquaculture development can proceed.

Although Mr Harvey is providing most funding, subsidies from the Federal, State and local governments will mean the council will own the information produced from the work. It will thus become available to others wishing to establish an aquaculture venture in the area.

Source: June Webster in the South Coast Register (22/5/2006).

August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 57

FISHENEWS

O R N A M E N TA L S AQUARIUM FISH FARM FOR SALE An aquarium fish hatchery with a 2.7ha seabed lease at Fitzroy Island is up for sale. A six-bedroom house and business infrastructure is part of the deal. It's 17 kilometres from Cairns, in the Great Barrier Reef. The Crown lease expires in 2026, and permits and licences are in place. More information from Colliers International.

Source: Cairns Post (1/7/2006).

O T H E R C R U S TA C E A N S COURT SQUASHES MINISTER'S APPROVAL The NSW Land and Environment Court has found that Planning Minister Frank Sartor's second attempt at approving a Moreton Bay Bug farm at Chinderah is invalid because he wasn't the consent authority. Mr Sartor approved the development of the $40 million farm on 21 December. The successful legal challenge was brought by a landholder adjacent to the proposed development and has been welcomed by members of the 22 Combined Community Groups of the Tweed. The same court declared Minister Sartor's first approval, granted on 30 Jun in 2005, invalid on 7 December. The development proposal has been surrounded by controversy for some time.

Source: Colleen Davis in the Tweed Sun (29/6/2006).

CORAL COAST MARICULTURE NEWS Doctor Clive Keenan advises that Coral Coast Mariculture Pty Ltd received Sustainable Regions Funding in November last year and then acquired the old Mandarin Trawlers site at Buss Street, Burnett Heads near the Bundaberg Port Authority. Since March this year the company has been rebuilding and improving facilities in order to produce quality soft shell crabs for locals and local restaurants to purchase. In the longer term the business will extend to exports, into huge markets. The company is interested in investors, especially local investors. From an fishing industry perspective there'll be opportunities to take advantage of infrastructure such as cold stores, a marina, fuelling, lifting equipment and so on. 'The Crab Trap' restaurant is to re-open in conjunction with the company, which is planning to cater for tourists, school students and locals visiting the operation.

Source: Stacey Payne in the Bundaberg Bugle (30/6/2006).

RESTAURANT AT EAGLE SPRINGS MARRON FARM A restaurant is now operating in conjunction with the marron ponds at Eagle Springs Marron Farm at Pemberton, run by the Mills family. Currently the business is building in order to supply the local market. Email marronblue@westnet.com.au for more information.

Source: Farm Weekly (15/6/2006).

BOWEN MUD CRAB FARM Work continues on what is intended to be the world's largest mud crab farm, at Bowen. Director of the Bowen Aquaculture Centre (BAC) Vance Painter advises the company intends pro58 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

ducing 860 tonnes of crabs annually. Total cost of the development will be more than $23.5 million, with some $4.5 million already invested. Barramundi, blue swimmers and mud crabs will be grown. Commenced in 2003, it's expected the first stage will be completed by the end of 2007.

Source: Stefanie Eschenbacher in the Daily Mercury (1/6/2006).

MUD CRAB BREEDING PROGRESS AT BRIBIE ISLAND Scientists at the Bribie Island Aquaculture Research Centre have successfully bred the first generation of mud crabs raised from eggs to mature adults. They're now breeding the next generation, which will help lead to the production of farm-reared broodstock for the commercial industry â&#x20AC;&#x201C; estimates are that commercial mud crab farming is now only about one year away.

Currently in Queensland, crab farms must source juveniles from wild stocks. The ability to breed from cultured stocks will allow selection to breed out bad traits, such as aggressiveness.

The scientists have discovered that aggression towards males by large female crabs is moderated if the females are provided their own retreat, with access from a single male.

Source: Geoff Orr in the Courier Mail (19/5/2006); Brian Williams in the Courier Mail (26/5/2006).

FOREST FRESH MARRON Forest Fresh Marron is a company focussing on marketing and exporting marron to countries including Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Europe. Only live marron are bought and sold.

The sales break up is one third international, one third to eastern states and one third local. Twenty-five tonnes of product from 90 farms is processed each year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; some 42 farmers make up the private company owning and running Forest Fresh, which is the biggest marketing body for marron in the world.

The company commenced operations in 1997 and began exporting two years later.

Source: Mary Goode in Farm Weekly (25/5/2006).

O T H E R F R E S H W AT E R F I S H SELF-SUSTAINING TROUT COD POPULATION EMERGING Over the past 10 years some 300,000 trout cod fingerlings have been released into the Ovens River. Researchers from the Sir Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research and the Department of Sustainability and Environment have found the population appears to be becoming self-sustaining. The program has been funded by the National Heritage Trust. The trout cod is Victoria's only endangered listed fish under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act. Source: Caitlin Dell in the Wangaratta Chronicle (9/6/2006).

GRANT FOR BOOMA HYLAND AQUACULTURE Booma Hyland Aquaculture has been awarded a $64,000 Commonwealth Government Commercialising Emerging Technologies grant. The Sydney-based fish hatchery plans to export eastern freshwater cod fingerlings to the Japanese market.

Source: South Coast Register (31/5/2006).

FISHENEWS

OTHER MARINE FISH NEW SEAHORSE FARM A seahorse farm has opened at Steiglitz near Jacobs Well. Phillip Gunter breeds four tropical species of seahorse, and clown fish.

Stock will supply aquariums worldwide and take some pressure of now-endangered wildstocks. There are plans to open the farm to the public, and provide other visitor attractions.

Source: Melanie Pilling in the Gold Coast Bulletin (28/6/2006).

CLEAN SEAS BUYS SAAM Clean Seas Tuna has signed a deal to buy the SAAM Group of Companies for $5 million. Assets to be acquired include a hatchery, grow-out facility in the Spencer Gulf and some 600 tonnes of growing fish. Issue of 2.050 million ordinary shares and 2.050 million converting notes will meet the purchase price. The deal will help lift Clean Seas kingfish production from 400 tonnes in 2005-2006 to 2000 tonnes in 2006-2007, which is more than 80 per cent of SA's total production. Clean Seas Chairman Hagen Stehr advises the company is aiming at a production target of 8,000 to 10,000 tonnes by 2011. The company exports to the United States, France, Russia, Italy, Denmark and Germany. Currently consideration is being given to making Whyalla headquarters for aquaculture operations.

However, some are expressing concerns at the Whyalla City Council spending funds on building a commercial harbour for use by a multi-million dollar company. The Mayor advises the Council will continue the work and negotiate a fee for its use by Clean Seas.

Source: Anthony Keane in the Adelaide Advertiser (5/7/2006): Verity Edwards in the Australian (5/7/2006); Eyre Peninsula Tribune (6/7/2006); Whyalla News (6/7/2006).

CONFERENCE IN AUGUST Don't forget the 2006 Skretting Australasian Aquaculture conference to be held in Adelaide late in August. Speakers with specialist knowledge on shellfish will be available. Paul Taylor, a member of the Taylor Family, employing around 300 people, and the producers of 100 million shellfish annually. Joel Gautron is one of Europe's most prolific specialist oyster and mussel machinery manufacturers. Ian Jefferds will discuss innovation in mussel production in the USA. New Zealand's Callum McCallum will speak about integrating oyster farming, processing and international distribution. Rob Pooley, also from New Zealand, has direct experience in attempting to establish an off-shore mussel industry.

Source: West Coast Sentinel (22/6/2006).

FISH FARM FOR GEORGE TOWN Aquaculture entrepreneurs have indicated their intention to convert the former Low Head Road sewage works into a $13 million snapper farm, providing 9 jobs. A company – Clean Marine – has been formed to buy the 4ha site from George Town Council. It's hoped the $13.3 million in funds will be sourced from investors in August. Development and environmental proceedings will be launched with the Council in October, with construction to commence in March April 2007. Fish

will be grown in tanks in a 170m by 30m growing shed. There'll also be a 70m by 20m fish nursery. The culture system will be based on closed loop technology, with no waste reaching the sea. Some 600 tonnes of fish will be produced annually.

Source: Michael Lowe in the Launceston Examiner (5/7/2006).

CLEAN SEAS KINGFISH GOING TO RUSSIA Clean Seas Tuna is sending trial exports of kingfish to Russia.

Some hundreds of kilos of product has been delivered to determine whether there's a market for the kingfish in a region affected by declining wildstock fisheries.

Source: Cara Jenkin in the Adelaide Advertiser (21/6/2006).

DEDICATED SHELLFISH PROGRAM FOR CONFERENCE A dedicated shellfish program forms part of the 2006 Skretting Australasian Aquaculture conference to be held in Adelaide over 27 to 30 August. A keynote speaker will be Paul Taylor, a member of the Taylor Family – producers of the most shellfish in North America. There'll also be Joel Gautron one of Europe's most prolific specialist oyster and mussel machinery manufacturers, mussel farmer Ian Jefferds from the USA, Callum McCallum from New Zealand and Rob Pooley.

Source: Port Lincoln Times (22/6/2006).

CLEAN SEAS BUSINESS ACTIVITY Financial activity in the Clean Seas Tuna business is reflecting the company's operations over recent months. The share price of $0.50 when the company listed in December rose to $0.55 following an $18 million float, but came down to $0.38 in May. It's known that investment in a $6 million tuna breeding facility would likely result in a first-year loss for the operation, although strong export sales could offset this. With exports taking 80 per cent of production, the company can't meet the strong current demand for fish. Monthly production is 15 tonnes and is expected to reach 30 tonnes by the end of 2006. There's also been a 25 per cent increase in prices. There's a new partnership between Cleans Seas Tuna and the Danish aquaculture technology expert Uni-Aqua which could result in specially-bred SA fish reaching people's dining tables within 10 months. Recirculation systems could support production of kingfish and southern bluefin tuna, halving the growing time of kingfish and doubling exports.

Source: Chris Milne in the Australian Financial Review (30/5/2006); Adelaide Advertiser (6/6/2006).

SPONGE FARMS AT PALM ISLAND Construction is expected to begin in October on several 4ha sponge farms at Palm Island. With cooperation between the Australian Institute of Marine Science and the Coolgaree Aboriginal Corporation, there are hopes operations will be under way by the end of the year. The Queensland Government has provided $80,000 to train workers, and Palm Islanders are being sought for the project. They will train as divers and work hands, study for a Certificate 3 in Aquaculture through Tropical North Queensland TAFE, and be employed by the Coolgaree Aboriginal Corporation.

Source: Daniel Bateman in the Townsville Bulletin (3/6/2006).

August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 59

FISHENEWS

RESEARCH INTO TUNA HEALTH Tal McGowan is an honours student at the University of Tasmania. Following field work on tuna at Port Lincoln, he's found that farmed tuna have a greater haemoglobin content in their blood than do wildstock fish. He's studying tuna blood and its relationship with the parasites which exist on the fish gills. Haemoglobin is the main respiratory component of blood, responsible for oxygen transport in vertebrates. Mr McGowan's work is a component of the tuna health research being conducted under a partnership between the University of Tasmania and Aquafin CRC. Source: Raffael Veldhuyzen in the Port Lincoln Times (1/6/2006).

TUNA QUALITY UP, PRICES DOWN Tuna Boat Owners Association president Brian Jeffriess advises more tuna have been harvested for the fresh export market this year than last because of the outstanding quality of the fish – but exporters are being hurt by the strength of the Australian dollar. Six out of 11 companies focussing on fresh fish are harvesting at a substantial rate. The large amounts of good-quality bait available in the Australian Bight have meant the tuna were already in good condition when captured. Freezer boats are expected in June or July to take frozen product.

Source: Port Lincoln Times (16/5/2006).

CLEAN SEAS FISH AT THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL Kingfish produced at the Clean Seas facilities at Arno Bay were served during the Cannes Film Festival, at the Australian Film Corporation Gala Dinner. And chefs in Chicago will also be preparing the company's product for consumption at a US trade fair. Clean Seas has recently secured contracts to supply restaurants across the US, while European markets are also interested.

Owner Hagen Stehr advises there's unprecedented demand for Australian seafood in overseas markets.

Source: Eyre Peninsula Tribune (25/5/2006).

HALF-WAY MARK FOR SOUTHERN BLUEFIN TUNA HATCHERY May 25 was the day on which construction of the $10 million Clean Seas southern bluefin tuna breeding facility at Arno Bay reached the half-way mark. It's expected that, when the hatchery is completed and in full production, it will provide jobs for more than 200 people. Plans are for tuna broodstock to be producing eggs in the hatchery by March or April 2007, leading to commercial production within 18 months. Analysis of Bureau of Rural Sciences data shows that southern bluefin tuna have been over-fished every year since the first fishery status report was produced in 2002. Success of the breeding facility would mean that Australia's southern bluefin tuna quota could double in 10 years without affecting wild fish stocks. Clean Seas has been breeding kingfish and mulloway successfully for several years.

Source: Matt Williams in the Adelaide Advertiser (26/5/2006).

'MAKE ALL AQUACULTURE LAND-BASED' In the wake of another escape of kingfish from farms on the Eyre Peninsula, the recreational fishing sector has reinforced calls for all aquaculture to be conducted on the land. Primary Industries 60 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

and Resources SA (PIRSA) has listed an escape of 10,000 kingfish on 5 May 2006. Hagen Stehr, a representative of the aquaculture operator Clean Seas, advises more than 8,000 of the 10,000 fish have been recovered. He points out that Clean Seas is the only aquaculture operator in the southern hemisphere meeting ISO 14001 environmental management standards, and notes if fish do escape they're recovered because they remain near the cages.

Source: Eyre Peninsula Tribune (25/5/2006).

MULLOWAY AT WISAC With some 3000 advanced mulloway placed as the first stock in the $900,000 Waikerie Inland Saline Aquaculture Centre (WISAC), the facility is operational. The project is a SA Resources & Development initiative jointly funded by the State and Federal Governments. It aims to attract private investment and, by 2013, to facilitate the development of a seafood industry within the Riverland valued at more than $20 million annually.

There are to be another 20,000 juvenile mulloway supplied to the facility, with first harvests in 2006. It's expected that, largely because of the more constant temperature of the ground water, the fish will grow to market size twice as quickly as they would in the wild The 0.6ha site has three tanks each holding 70,000L, a laboratory for water quality monitoring, settlement ponds and staff amenities. There a plans for a new system which will be capable of handling 100 kilos of fish per 1000 litres – an advance on the current 40 kilos per 1000 litres. Another advantage will be a daily 10 per cent water change, rather than a 200 per cent change.

Source: River News (17/5/2006).

OYSTERS KEEP FUNDING WATER TESTING, SAYS COUNCIL GROUP Environmental Health Officer for Bellingen Council Bill Fisher advises the Council is currently preparing a submission to put to the NSW Government urging the maintenance of funding for water quality testing. The Mid North Coast Group of Councils has already called on the NSW Government to do so – funding has fallen from $900,000 to $400,000 in the past year. Most water testing is paid for by local oyster farmers. The Bellingen River was closed to oyster farming three months ago, and while testing is continuing, it has failed to disclose the source of pollution which resulted in the closure. Analysis of many samples has not indicated high readings. It's hoped experts from Southern Cross University will help in identifying the pollution source. Meanwhile oyster farmers are obliged to move their stocks from the Bellingen River to other watercourses for a month prior to sale. There are preparations in the oyster industry to mount a protest if funding for the NSW Shellfish Program is cut. It's subject to a NSW Treasury review. Following discussion with growers the opposition has pledged to provide $1.5 million annually rather than the $400,000 from the current government. The discussion also covered planning and the way in which changing farming practices impact surrounding industries.

Source: Dennis Driver in the Bellingen Courier Sun (21/6/2006).

Port Macquarie News (28/6/2006).

FISHENEWS

MOXHAM TRIO IN BUSINESS Moxham brothers Rob, Paul and James were determined to remain in the seventy-year old oyster business started on the Hawkesbury by their grandfather. The industry in the area was badly damaged by the QX virus. The State Government-provided $2.7 million program to help clear up the damaged oyster beds was a boon and now, following months of cleanup work, the trio are farming Pacific oysters, along with specially-bred disease-resistant Sydney Rock oysters. The Moxhams have sold 500 dozen Pacific oysters a week for the past three months – though that's still a very small proportion of what they produced prior to the QX outbreak. The brothers have moved from their infected site at Brooklyn to a newly-cleaned-up one at Mooney Mooney.

Source: Heather Tyler in the Hornsby Advocate (29/6/2006).

entrance has never previously been artificially dredged. A licence to open the entrance was granted by the Department of Lands. Lake Tuross is the site of the sixth largest farmed array of Sydney Rock oyster beds.

Source: Vesna Andric in the Narooma News (7/6/2006).

DUNALLEY SHEEP FARM PRODUCES OYSTERS TOO The Gray family at Dunnalley began investigating oyster farming seven years ago after experiencing persistent low prices for their sheep's wool. They're now well into the oyster farming business, with production increased to more than a million annually. The family has three 30-year leases – 9ha intertidal and 20ha and 5ha subtidal. The leases are near the coastline bordering their 1200ha property. Some $300,000 was invested in establishing the farm diversification. One family member works on oysters with two full-time staff and some casuals.

NAMBUCCA RIVER CLASSIFICATION PENDING IN 2004 the NSW Food Authority began creating a quality assurance program for oyster production in the Nambucca and Bellinger Rivers. Growers are still waiting for classification of the Nambucca, which will determine how they operate in the watercourse. Safe Food regulations require that under certain classification types, harvested oysters must be depurated to meet national microbiological standards. Outcomes from a recent meeting of the Nambucca Shire Council are expected to help clarify issues surrounding the classification.

ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGATION INTO PEARLING The environmental performance of Australia's pearling industry is to be investigated by the University of Newcastle. An environmental monitoring system will be developed for the farms in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, using $450,000 in funds from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. The work will be overseen by Geoff MacFarlane and Maria Schreider from the University's School of Environmental Life Sciences.

Source: Guardian News (29/6/2006).

Source: Greg Wendt in the Newcastle Herald (14/6/2006).

ALLIANCE BETWEEN MG KAILIS AND PASPALEY Pearl companies MG Kailis and Paspaley have formed an alliance to cut costs in their far north pearl farming operations. The longterm strategic arrangement is intended to increase production efficiency and expand the market for Australian pearls. While sharing infrastructure, service and technology associated with pearl farming operations, the companies will remain independently-owned and continue marketing jewellery under their existing brands. The move is the latest in a series of industry rationalisations responding to market downturns and rising costs.

HARD TIMES FOR PEARLERS There are rumours the pearling companies Paspaley and MG Kailis may form an alliance in response to a prolonged market downturn and other economic pressures. Both companies made losses in 2004-2005. Speculation is that Paspaley will take over the marine-based seeding and harvesting of Kailis pearls, returning a component of the harvest to Kailis. Kailis' Exmouth operation will supply Paspaley with spat.

Source: Cathy Bolt in the West Australian (14/6/2006)

OYSTER FARMER CALLS FOR WETLAND PROTECTION Oyster farmer Audrey Thor asserts the heritage wetland behind the Bay's industrial zone should be protected through the Bateman's Marine Park. The Bateman's Bay Industrial Park is being developed at the end of Cranbrook Road and she's concerned sediment and pollution could be washing into McLeod Creek as a consequence. While dams and sediment traps have been constructed as required under the development conditions, Ms Thor contends clay-coloured water visible in the wetlands indicates the presence of pollution. Research has suggested Clyde River oysters are not reaching their traditional growth levels partially because of sedimentation.

LAKE TUROSS ARTIFICIALLY OPENED Oyster farmers have been lobbying for creation of a dredged entrance to Lake Tuross for more than five years. The lake recently to be artificially opened by Eurobodalla Shire Council workers after it became closed naturally for some weeks by sand and silt deposits. Lake water levels were rising to the point that businesses and farm land were being encroached upon. Oyster farmers are hoping the normal tidal range in the area, essential for oyster and mangrove growth, will be re-established. The entrance is normally kept scoured by periodic flood events – however, there hasn't been such an event for around 10 years.

The NSW Government has indicated it will not pay for the dredging, though it has helped fund an environmental assessment in the area. The assessment indicated dredging would not benefit the environment and possibly would not provide longterm benefit to oyster growers. Council records show the

Source: Fiona Davis in Stock & Land (15/6/2006).

Source: Cathy Bolt in the West Australian (10/6/2006).

Source: Diana Cozadinos in the Bay Post (2/6/2006).

OYSTER GRADING MACHINE FOR BATEMANS BAY Batemans Bay farmers have taken advantage of a Federal Government $60,500 Regional Partnerships Program grant to help purchase a $135,000 oyster grading machine. The machine, August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 61

FISHENEWS

installed at the Batemans Bay oyster sheds, is available to all farmers. It cleans, photographs, and grades 17,000 an hour – the equivalent of a day's work by hand.

Source: Bega District News (30/5/2006).

ODYSSEY OYSTERS Bill and Jackie Stenson took on their oyster farming business in 2004, and now produce more than four million oysters annually. Odyssey Oysters is in Coffin Bay at the tiny community of Wangaray. Previously, Bill was a Port Lincoln fisher – he made the move to farming oysters to spend more time with his family.

Source: Natascha Mirosch in the Courier Mail (13/6/2006).

problem. BSA advises it is 'working hard' to finalise the draft report of the Import Risk Assessment, begun in 1998, while current testing systems are 'continually revised'. Chairman of the Australian Seafood Importers Association Harry Peters defends BSA's testing system. He states, “This is more about a turf war between Queensland DPIF and BSA than a real issue.

Every shipment of raw prawns into Australia is tested 13 times.

There is no chance whatever of WSSV (White Spot Syndrome Virus) getting into the country.” A number of industry representatives have requested banning of raw prawn imports, without effect. There are claims relations with Asian countries are being placed ahead of the safety of the Australian industry.

Source: Ken Vernon in the Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin (1/7/2006).

NSW COALITION PROMISE TO OYSTER FARMERS The NSW coalition has promised to fund $1.1 million to fund an oyster industry healthy waterways program if it wins the next State election. Spokesman Duncan Gay claims the $400,000 contributed to the NSW Shellfish Program in last year's budget is inadequate, and asserts the responsibility for healthy waterways must rest with both the State Government and the oyster industry.

There have been a number of river closures to oyster harvesting in recent times as a consequence of river health-related issues.

FEARS FOR DERBY PRAWNS Ian Crimp, owner of the Kimberley Prawn Company, has expressed fears the 660,000 tiger prawns placed into ponds near Derby on 1 June may have been killed by unseasonably cold weather. Temperatures have been as low as 14 Celsius, considerably less than the usual mid-twenties. Harvest isn't due until October-November. A Fisheries spokesman has suggested the prawns are most likely still alive, but not moving around.

Source: AAP Newswire (25/5/2006).

Source: Eloise Dortch in the West Australian (17/6/2006).

MEETING FOR OYSTER GROWERS Around twenty local oyster growers recently attended a meeting at the Merimbula RSL club to discuss industry-relevant issues.

Guest speaker was New South Wales Farmers Association president Jock Laurie. A major discussion point was the oyster farmer's campaign to have government funding of water quality testing increased. Mr Laurie also spoke about the draft NSW Sustainable Aquaculture Strategy.

TESTS SHOW 25 PER CENT OF IMPORTED PRAWNS INFECTED AQIS tests show that up to 25 per cent of raw prawns imported into Australia carry the white sport syndrome virus. There are claims if the infection spreads in Australia it could devastate the wildcaught and farmed prawn industries. Another claim is that the only action taken by the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries is to post a website warning for fishers not to use the prawns as bait. There are also suggestions that prawn 'meat' sold in supermarkets is not tested at all by AQIS, while no imported prawns are being checked for another virulent virus – taura syndrome virus. However, a Biosecurity Australia spokesperson has stated the department is aware of the issue, but that import risk assessments were that the measures in place are strict enough to deal with the risk. In 1987 an outbreak of white spot syndrome affected prawn fishing grounds in the Gulf of California such that prawn numbers became so low that commercial harvests weren't viable for seven years. In 1995 and 1996, US commercial prawn farms affected by the virus lost 50 to 70 per cent of production, precipitating a 75 per cent reduction of prawn imports to the US from China, thought to be the source of the disease. A source in the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries has stated the Department has been trying without success for some time to have AQIS stop the import of prawns from areas were the virus is highly endemic. There's also an incidence of another disease – yellowhead virus. While all three infections are destroyed in the process of cooking the prawns, imported stock is so cheap that recreational anglers are using it for bait. There's also infection risk from the disposal of shells and other prawn parts.

Source: News Weekly (17/5/2006).

STATE GOVT SHOULD CHECK WATER QUALITY Oyster farmer Clayton Harrington says the Department of Lands owns the State's waterways and estuaries and it should really be up the State Government to monitor water quality. In common with other oyster farmers in NSW, He's concerned that the withdrawal of Government funds for water quality testing will cripple the industry. And, he points out, the results of the investigations on water samples collected by farmers and paid for by them, are also of great benefit to the public.

Source: Cheryl Chenevier in the Milton Ulladulla Times (10/5/2006).

PRAWNS THE IMPORTED PRAWNS ISSUE Requests to the Federal Government for the banning of imported Asian raw prawns because of the risk of bringing in disease have been turned down – even though tests have shown that as much as 25 per cent of the imports carry viral disease dangerous to both the wildstock and farming prawn industries. Biosecurity Australia (BSA) claims that 'interim' measures to prevent the entry of diseased product are adequate to deal with the 62 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

Source: Ken Vernon in the Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin (3/6/2006); Katie Ots in the Gold Coast Sun (7/6/2006).

MARKET PLACE

H A R V E Y ’ S F I S H & F U N PA R K – F O R S A L E Situated in Albury / Wodonga with Hume Highway and Murray River frontage on 5 Acres of freehold Indoor Growout System – Rainbow Trout Fun Park – waterslides, mini golf, fish-out, train rides, kiosk, playgrounds, BBQ areas, licensed beer garden.

Conference Centre – 150 seat downstairs and 60 seats upstairs.

Price $1.6 m neg • View at www.hffp.com.au • Tel: 02 6021 2070 (Darren Harvey)

C O M P L E T E A Q U A C U LT U R E PA C K A G E – F A R M & E Q U I P M E N T Hesy Recirculation System: Producing 500 kg of Murray Cod per week or would be ideal for farming eels.

Could produce 30 to 40 tonnes a year. This system works & carries 200 kg per cubic metre.

• Plus 1 fully insulated shed & all fish farm equipment. Includes power back up generator, fish tanks, drum filter, upflow & trickle filters, ultraviolet & oxygen reactor, and oxygen generator.

Fish Farm: 66 HA with 30 acres of irrigation, 2 km Goobang Creek frontage.

1 4BR air-conditioned brick house with 3 bathrooms and 2 separate units.

• Plus large shed. 27km from Condobolin on the Parkes Rd • Plus 2 water licenses to be sold separately For more information call Bruce on 0418 278 838.

Property can be viewed online at www.forbesforpropertyforbes.com.au

22,000 LITRE RAD AQUA-DESIGNED RECIRC SYSTEM FOR SALE Including: 3 x 4,000 litre A.R.I grow out tanks (with mortality boxes) • 3 x 1,000 litre A.R.I. juvenile rearing tanks. (Conical bottom with base) • 1 x 7,000 litre A.R.I. grow out tank (with mortality box) • 2 x 700 litre raceways • 1 x Grundfos pump • 2 x UV units (full flow) • 1 x carrier heat chill unit • 3 x A.R.I. Combination trickle & submerged bio filters with rotating arms • 1 x 2500 litre submerged bio filter with bio block media • 1 x Waterco sand filter • 1 x Waterco activated carbon filter (chlorine removal) • 1 x A.R.I 2000 litre conical bottom sump with base • 2 x OGSI 15 cfm oxygen generators • 1 x oxygen contact vessel • 2 x 750 litre insulated transport tanks (gauges and fittings) • 1 x Oxytech hand held oxygen meter

SEA CUCUMBER Business & hatchery / Aquaculture (shortly expanding into soft shell crab and tropical abalone) wish to double capacity & buy block next door, separate title suitable for joint venture operation, 5 ac block on seafront, 5 min drive from Hervey Bay. Marine scientists live on site on existing block.

Everything there, huge potential & interesting lifestyle.

Investment approx $1.5mill AUD Reply Bluefin Seafoods P/L PO Box 426 Hervey Bay, Queensland 4655 Australia Email: bluefins@optusnet.com.au

Full alarm system and back up oxygen system all pipe work and many extras.

Priced to sell at $25,000 neg

Phone Jamie on 0417 012 470

To advertise in Market Place contact Megan on 03 6245 0064 or by email austasiaaquaculture@netspace.net.au

August/September 2006 | Austasia Aquaculture 63

MARKET PLACE

SECOND-HAND RECIRC EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

UNIQUE FINFISH AQUACULTURE OPPORTUNITY

4 complete recirc systems plus laboratory, water testing, system monitoring and fish processing equipment.

• Cowell – Franklin Harbour. 2 X 5 h/a lic for 150 tonnes • 5 approved species. No further leases allowed.

• Tractor / FE loader / PTO / 3 fork lift attachments etc • 30 ft boat w/ canopy, 2 o’board motors, 2 t crane etc • Cages, nets, stanchions, net weights & ropes etc • Est. 7 tonnes of Mulloway worth $70,000 Call Des Hutchens – 08 8344 4746 or 0408 816 450

Everything needed to commence operations For a full list of items and further information please contact Ph: (02) 6771 2723 Fax: (02) 6771 2233 E-mail: sales@freshaqua.com.au

GLADSTONE WATER BOARD AND PORT AUTHORITY FISH HATCHERY • Suppliers of barramundi, mullet and mangrove jack fingerlings • Quality, disease-free stock • Large order discounts

Ph/fax (07) 4972 9548 Lord St, Gladstone, Qld

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

Contact: Dr Steven Nearhos 446 Enoggera Rd, Alderley QLD 4051 aquacult@baseline.com.au Phone (07) 335 66 111 Fax (07) 335 66 833

Baseline

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.

Prawn Grading Machines and systems for the prawn farming industry.

• • • •

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in lots of 30

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$3.75 each in lots of 90+

K.M. Fish Machinery A/S Tel: +45 98 86 46 33 Fax: +45 98 86 46 77 Web Page: www.Km-fish.dk Agent in Australia: Terry Gorman & Associates Tel: (02) 9979 7269 Fax: (02) 9997 4203

Orders of 100+ POA All prices ex tax/ex store Melbourne

Ph: 03 9817 3043

Polar ™

Plastic Thermal Insulated Box

• Made of 1st grade meltcompounded raw material • Highest attainable PE plastic quality • non toxic food grade • high impact strength (tensile and elongation) • competitive pricing • excellent insulation • one piece seamless moulded • 60 to 1000 litre capacity

64 Austasia Aquaculture | August/September 2006

For more information contact Terry Gorman Terry Gorman & Associates Tel: 02 9979 7269 • Fax: 02 9997 4203 Email: terry.gorman@people.net.au

Aquaculture Services Australia Pty Ltd 30 Cecil Street, Kew 3101

Monday Alert Feeder

Feeder

Alert

Feeder

MULTIPLE TANKS

REPORT DATA

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Feeder

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Feeder Alert

WIDE AREA NETWORK SM S Feeder Report

a unique, highly-specialised process control system which has been developed to meet the specific needs of the burgeoning aquaculture industry world-wide.

MAIN SERVER

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delivers complete control…

FEEDER

…of all aquaculture processes by linking real-time data with process control technology and corporate software systems.

CONTROLLER

• provides robust, accurate data in easily interpreted reports • can be fully integrated into existing control equipment and management systems

TANK

FEEDING OPTIONS

• primarily monitors and manages critical data

DEMAND FEED

• eliminates undesirable fluctuations and accurately maintains required constants

MANUAL FEED FEED TABLES

• delivers increased efficiency and reduces overheads • is extremely user-friendly allows full quality control compliance • is flexible and expandable

aquacu

ntrol l t u r e co

system

INPUT/OUTPUT ENCLOSURE

OPTIONAL EXPANSION ENCLOSURES aquacu

ENVIRONMENTAL SENSORS eg. AQUA ASSIST

W.A. Cromarty & Co Pty Ltd Ph: +61 3 6344 9110 79 Howick Street Fax: +61 3 6344 1221 Launceston Tasmania Australia Email: info@wacco.com.au

www.wacco.com.au www.2ndsea.com

AQ1 - AUTO FEED SENSOR

ntrol l t u r e co

system

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