Aquaculture in Australia
Aquaculture in Australia is the country's fastest-growing primary industry, accounting for 34% of the total gross value of production of seafood.
[1] 10 species of fish are farmed in Australia, and production is dominated by southern bluefin tuna, Atlantic salmon and barramundi.
[6] There is evidence of aquaculture being practised in Australia thousands of years ago by some of the Aboriginal Australian peoples, notably the Gunditjmara's farming of short-finned eels in the Budj Bim heritage areas in western Victoria, and the Brewarrina fish traps on the Barwon River in New South Wales, which were created and used by a number of local peoples.
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 Code includes the following five guiding principles for best environmental practice:[8] The marine finfish industry is an inshore and offshore sea cage-farming sector, which primarily operates in South Australia and Tasmania with some farms in other States.
The principal species grown are southern bluefin tuna, Atlantic salmon, yellowtail kingfish, mulloway and barramundi.
Feeding, maintenance and harvesting operations are performed, as well as monitoring the fish, and undertaking environmental activities that comply with the licence conditions.
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.
A specialist fleet of vessels performs feeding and harvesting operations at sea, with the most common working hours occurring between 4:00 am and 7:59 – 8:00 pm.
Two types of marine abalone systems include sea cage technology and a special converted grow-out vessel.
The ranch is based on an artificial reef made up of 5000 (As of April 2016[update]) separate concrete units called 'abitats' (abalone habitats).
The abalone feed on seaweed that has grown naturally on the habitats, with the ecosystem enrichment of the bay also resulting in growing numbers of dhufish, pink snapper, wrasse, and Samson fish, among other species.
Brad Adams, from the company, has emphasised the similarity to wild abalone and the difference from shore based aquaculture.
As mussels are filter feeders, farms rely upon natural feed including algae, detritus and bacteria, rather than artificial diets or pellets.
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.
