21 April 2011
Australia Source: Port Lincoln Times
Research into Port Lincoln's wild tuna farming industry has resulted in a significant drop in fish mortality rates since the program began in 2008.
The project, which involves investment from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC), has reduced fish losses dramatically for tuna fishers in the first quarter of this season.
Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association chief executive officer Brian Jeffriess said the strategy behind the program was to build a full fish health data base, and then find out individually why each fish was dying during the growout process.
“Substantial progress was made with trials in 2010, and the results were implemented this year,†Mr. Jeffriess said.
“At this stage, the results appear very promising for the longer term, but we will only know the effects fully by mid 2012.â€
Mr. Jeffriess said the changes made in the process should allow farmers to produce a higher quality tuna and increase growth rates, but the industry would not know until the middle of next year if these goals had been reached.
Another hurdle for the project was the fact that Port Lincoln fishermen pioneered tuna ranching technology, Mr. Jeffriess said.
“And it is still the Australian industry and scientists who are pioneering the research. Many industries can look to overseas to find the answers to fish health challenges, but this is unfortunately not the case with tuna. The reality is that modern tuna farming only began in the 1990s, and this compares with hundreds of years of research in livestock and crops for other industries.â€
Research into further reducing the mortality rates will be scaled up next year, with the industry hoping to expand on its future prospects and gains in productivity.
“The industry has always run on the continuous improvement strategy, and we will not stop until fish mortalities are minimized,†Mr. Jeffriess said.
