Australian farmed fish production 'set to double'

The Sydney Morning Herald 3 Aug 08;

Fish farmers will push to double Australia's aquaculture output by 2015 to meet growing international demand for quality seafood, an industry leader says.

Craig Foster, chairman of the National Aquaculture Council, said regional areas would stand to benefit from the industry's expansion though increased investment and jobs.

The industry will begin its bi-annual forum of the Asia-Pacific aquaculture industry in Brisbane.

Mr Foster said the planned doubling of production came after a decade of investment in research and the environmental sustainability of aquaculture.

"We believe it's readily achievable and we're well on the way to getting there," he said.

"While most of Australian aquaculture's $793 million value is produced in South Australia and Tasmania now, opportunities are clear for Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory where access to suitable farming sites is available," Mr Foster said.

Species which will drive this increase in fish production include Tasmanian salmon, yellowtail kingfish, barramundi and southern bluefin tuna. New performers mulloway and cobia are also establishing quickly.

Mr Foster said targets of 100,000 tonnes of fish production by 2015, set by industry were realistic and achievable.

He said Tasmanian salmon production would need to double, yellowtail kingfish to increase its output five-fold and barramundi to triple to meet these targets.

The produce of aquaculture is varied and also includes the staples of prawns and oysters. Prawn growers in Queensland are also gearing for major expansion in the next five years.

"Apart from our own local market, it is the Asian, European and American markets which are hungry for quality Australian seafood," Mr Foster said.

"Aquaculture will play a major role in meeting this demand."

He said aquaculture was necessary to ease pressure on wild-catch fisheries which were increasingly depleted, particularly in Europe and Asia.

"The wild-catch sector cannot meet demand for this premium product so farmed product will step up to fill the gap.

"Farming fish can also be done year-round and so is not restricted to seasonal cycles, as in the wild."

Mr Foster said Tasmanian salmon was a good example of solid business growth in that it had gone from being worth nothing in the early 1980s to more than $272 million per annum today.

Federal Fisheries Minister Tony Burke will open the conference at Brisbane's Convention and Exhibition Centre at 9am (AEST) Monday