Aquaculture in Australia
Encyclopedia
Aquaculture
in Australia
is the country's fastest growing primary industry, accounting for 34% of the total gross value of production of seafood
. Mud crabs
have been cultivated in Australia for many years, sometimes leading to over-exploitation. Traditionally, this aquaculture was limited to pearl
s, but since the early 1970s, there has been significant research and commercial development of other forms of aquaculture, including finfish, crustacean
s, and molluscs
.
Australia produces 240 000 tonnes of fish a year with aquaculture contributing a third to this. Over the decade to 2006-07 aquaculture production has almost doubled from 29 300 tonnes to 57 800 tonnes. The gross value of aquaculture production in Australia continued to rise in 2007-08 by $62.7 million to $868 million. The Aquaculture industry directly provides more than 7000 direct jobs and 20 000 indirectly and is the fastest growing primary industry in Australia.
in offshore sea pontoons. Before dawn, feed is loaded on modified fishing boats that travel to the sea pontoons, which can be up to 25 km out at sea. Feeding, maintenance and harvesting operations are performed, as well as monitoring the fish, and undertaking environmental activities that comply with the licence conditions. Weather conditions determine when fish can be fed and pontoon systems maintained. Generally the operation is seven days a week and is undertaken over a six to seven month season. Southern Bluefin Tuna aquaculture was first initiated in Australia in 1990 through a collaborative research and development program involving the Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association (ASBTIA), previously the Tuna Boat Owners Association of Australia (TBOASA), the Japanese Overseas Fishery Cooperation Foundation and the South Australian Government. Southern Bluefin Tuna is the most valuable sector of South Australia’s aquaculture industry and is represented by the Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association (ASBTIA).
industry is based in Tasmania
, Victoria
and South Australia
. The aquaculture sector involves the collection of broodstock and production of fingerlings for grow out in sea cages, which are located in offshore and inshore waters. Feeding and harvesting operations at sea are performed by a specialist fleet of vessels, with the most common operating hours occurring between 4:00am and 8:00pm. The Tasmanian Salmonid Growers' Association Ltd is the peak body representing salmon growers throughout Tasmania.
farming industry is largely based in the tropical zones of Queensland. Prawns are farmed in large-scale pond operations, which operate round the clock and every day of the year. Farms are located in four Australian states - New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia. The farms generally have their own hatchery and the whole operation involves hatching, growing, harvesting and processing in an integrated continual process operation. Unlike most aquaculture species, prawns feed at night, which means that feeding must be performed during the evening or early morning hours. Operational hours extend from 2:30am through to 11pm. The Australian Prawn Farmer's Association (APFA) was formed in 1993 to represent the interests and foster the development of the Australian prawn farming industry. The Australian prawn farming industry now produces over 4,000 tonnes of product annually with a farm gate value in excess of $70 million, providing more than 1000 direct jobs and 1800 indirect jobs. While the Australian industry is one of the smaller volumetric producers in the world, it leads the world in productivity with an average yield of more than 4,500 kg per hectare.
industry is widespread throughout Australia with large-scale operations in Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria. Marine rope systems are used to grow the mussels. As mussels are filter feeders, farms rely upon natural feed including algae, detritus and bacteria, rather than artificial diets or pellets. Harvesting involves the operation of specialised mussel –stripping machinery on purpose-built vessels. Operational hours generally range between 2am and 11pm and are dependent on weather conditions. While farms operate throughout the year, there is a ‘busy season’ of mussel production from January to May.
farms largely operate intensive grow out systems, which are most often based around raceway technologies. While a majority of farms have integrated hatchery and grow-out operations, some rely on purchasing spat from dedicated hatcheries. Broodstock is regularly collected from the wild through diving operations and forms the basis of the hatchery operations and genetic diversity. Most land based abalone farms are 24-hour operations involving continuous monitoring of the water systems and the stock. Any interruption to the water supply and water temperature can be catastrophic with large-scale losses.
Aquaculture
Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
is the country's fastest growing primary industry, accounting for 34% of the total gross value of production of seafood
Seafood in Australia
Australia's GDP in year 2007-2008 amounted to $ 1,084,146 million, while in the same year the sector of Agriculture, forestry and fishing was worth $24,744 million...
. Mud crabs
Scylla serrata
Scylla serrata is an economically important crab species found in the estuaries and mangroves of Africa, Australia and Asia. In their most common form, the shell colour varies from a deep, mottled green to very dark brown...
have been cultivated in Australia for many years, sometimes leading to over-exploitation. Traditionally, this aquaculture was limited to pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
s, but since the early 1970s, there has been significant research and commercial development of other forms of aquaculture, including finfish, crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, and molluscs
Mollusca
The Mollusca , common name molluscs or mollusksSpelled mollusks in the USA, see reasons given in Rosenberg's ; for the spelling mollusc see the reasons given by , is a large phylum of invertebrate animals. There are around 85,000 recognized extant species of molluscs. Mollusca is the largest...
.
Australia produces 240 000 tonnes of fish a year with aquaculture contributing a third to this. Over the decade to 2006-07 aquaculture production has almost doubled from 29 300 tonnes to 57 800 tonnes. The gross value of aquaculture production in Australia continued to rise in 2007-08 by $62.7 million to $868 million. The Aquaculture industry directly provides more than 7000 direct jobs and 20 000 indirectly and is the fastest growing primary industry in Australia.
The National Aquaculture Council
The National Aquaculture Council (NAC) is the peak industry body representing aquaculture in Australia. NAC provides the industry with a credible voice at the political level, and strives for greater influence of issues of national significance for Australia's aquaculture industry. Since its establishment in 2001, NAC has developed a reputation amongst key Australian Government Ministers and agencies with an interest in aquaculture, primarily the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The NAC is governed by a Board of Directors, which is responsible for determining the strategic direction of the NAC’s work program. In addition to these industry members, are other NAC members including a variety of aquaculture organisations and groups.Southern Blue Fin Tuna
The aquaculture component of the Australian Tuna sector involves the culturing of tunaTuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
in offshore sea pontoons. Before dawn, feed is loaded on modified fishing boats that travel to the sea pontoons, which can be up to 25 km out at sea. Feeding, maintenance and harvesting operations are performed, as well as monitoring the fish, and undertaking environmental activities that comply with the licence conditions. Weather conditions determine when fish can be fed and pontoon systems maintained. Generally the operation is seven days a week and is undertaken over a six to seven month season. Southern Bluefin Tuna aquaculture was first initiated in Australia in 1990 through a collaborative research and development program involving the Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association (ASBTIA), previously the Tuna Boat Owners Association of Australia (TBOASA), the Japanese Overseas Fishery Cooperation Foundation and the South Australian Government. Southern Bluefin Tuna is the most valuable sector of South Australia’s aquaculture industry and is represented by the Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association (ASBTIA).
Salmon
The Australian salmonSalmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
industry is based in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
and South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. The aquaculture sector involves the collection of broodstock and production of fingerlings for grow out in sea cages, which are located in offshore and inshore waters. Feeding and harvesting operations at sea are performed by a specialist fleet of vessels, with the most common operating hours occurring between 4:00am and 8:00pm. The Tasmanian Salmonid Growers' Association Ltd is the peak body representing salmon growers throughout Tasmania.
Prawns
The Australian prawnPrawn
Prawns are decapod crustaceans of the sub-order Dendrobranchiata. There are 540 extant species, in seven families, and a fossil record extending back to the Devonian...
farming industry is largely based in the tropical zones of Queensland. Prawns are farmed in large-scale pond operations, which operate round the clock and every day of the year. Farms are located in four Australian states - New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia. The farms generally have their own hatchery and the whole operation involves hatching, growing, harvesting and processing in an integrated continual process operation. Unlike most aquaculture species, prawns feed at night, which means that feeding must be performed during the evening or early morning hours. Operational hours extend from 2:30am through to 11pm. The Australian Prawn Farmer's Association (APFA) was formed in 1993 to represent the interests and foster the development of the Australian prawn farming industry. The Australian prawn farming industry now produces over 4,000 tonnes of product annually with a farm gate value in excess of $70 million, providing more than 1000 direct jobs and 1800 indirect jobs. While the Australian industry is one of the smaller volumetric producers in the world, it leads the world in productivity with an average yield of more than 4,500 kg per hectare.
Mussels
The musselMussel
The common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalvia mollusca, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The...
industry is widespread throughout Australia with large-scale operations in Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria. Marine rope systems are used to grow the mussels. As mussels are filter feeders, farms rely upon natural feed including algae, detritus and bacteria, rather than artificial diets or pellets. Harvesting involves the operation of specialised mussel –stripping machinery on purpose-built vessels. Operational hours generally range between 2am and 11pm and are dependent on weather conditions. While farms operate throughout the year, there is a ‘busy season’ of mussel production from January to May.
Abalone (sea based)
The two types of marine abalone systems include sea cage technology and a special converted grow out vessel. Broodstock is sourced from the wild and juvenile abalone grown in hatchery complexes. The stock is then transferred to special sea cages with unique grow out plates and the stock is managed and harvested on a continuous basis by groups of commercial divers. Operations are performed round the clock, seven days a week.Abalone (land based)
Land-based abaloneAbalone
Abalone , from aulón, are small to very large-sized edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae and the genus Haliotis...
farms largely operate intensive grow out systems, which are most often based around raceway technologies. While a majority of farms have integrated hatchery and grow-out operations, some rely on purchasing spat from dedicated hatcheries. Broodstock is regularly collected from the wild through diving operations and forms the basis of the hatchery operations and genetic diversity. Most land based abalone farms are 24-hour operations involving continuous monitoring of the water systems and the stock. Any interruption to the water supply and water temperature can be catastrophic with large-scale losses.
Yabbies, Red Claw and Marron
There are many small land-based crustacean farms in Australia. Yabbies are most common and are typically an incidental aquaculture operation to general land-based farming. Red Claw farms are also scattered throughout Australia but mostly in Queensland and New South Wales. Marron farms operate mainly in Western Australia and South Australia and tend to be larger scale pond operations.Pearls
The Australian pearling industry is based on the Pinctada maxima pearl oyster species. Since the mid 1950’s the industry has focused on the production of cultured pearls. The first stage of culturing pearls requires fishing for wildstock pearl oysters, which are then used to manufacture cultured pearls through an aquaculture process. Western Australia is the main pearl-producing state, with The Pearl Producers Association (PPA) acting as the state’s peak representative body for the Pinctada maxima pearl oyster culture industry. The Northern Territory is the second-largest pearl-producing state.Marine Finfish
The Marine Finfish industry is an inshore and offshore sea cage-farming sector, which primarily operates in South Australia, with some farms in other States. The principal species grown are Kingfish, Mulloway and Barramundi. Marine Finfish Aquaculture operations are similar to those of the tuna industry. Operations involve pre-dawn loading of vessels and delivering feed to the sea cages. Cleaning and maintenance duties are performed, with divers undertaking net repairs and cleaning in most farms. A second run is undertaken in the afternoon and early evening.Freshwater species
There are many small to medium freshwater fish farms throughout Australia, growing a wide range of species including Murray Cod, Silver Perch, Jade Perch and eels. Systems vary from intensive tank rearing systems to automatic systems to pond and dam systems.Pacific Oysters
The Pacific Oyster industry mostly operates in Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. The industry is a marine based industry (apart from the hatchery complexes) with most farms accessed by commercial vessels which are used to maintain the grow out sites and harvest the oysters. The industry operates seven days a week every week of the year. Operations are generally performed before dawn, through to sunset with some unloading, bagging operations extending the work hours into the evening.Sydney Rock Oysters
This industry operates in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia and farms a single oyster species (Saccostrea Glomerata) in a number of estuarine and ocean settings. Operations involve small vessels engaging in daily trips to the oyster beds for checking, sorting, grading and harvesting the oysters. The farms operate in daylight hours with relatively short trips to the farm sites each day. Once ashore, the operations grade and clean the oysters and prepare them for dispatch to markets on the East Coast.Further reading
- The National Aquaculture Council and its constituent bodies, "Submission to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission for the Aquaculture Sector of the Seafood Industry: Retention of the Industry's Award Free Status Under the Award Modernisation Process," http://www.airc.gov.au/awardmod/databases/aqua/Submissions/nac_aqua.doc 24 July 2009, retrieved 25/08/09.