Aquaculture is essential for meeting growing consumer demand for fresh, high-quality seafood, both domestically and internationally.
Global seafood production is currently about 170 million metric tons, with an additional 44 million metric tons estimated by 2030.
Australian aquaculture operations produce more than forty species – with salmonids, prawns, Barramundi, abalone, tuna, kingfish, oysters and pearls accounting for the bulk of the total production value. Murray cod and seaweed aquaculture are also developing rapidly in Australia.
Maximising the sector’s potential requires secure access to the land and water resources that underpin production. Maintaining and enhancing effective biosecurity and disease-management policies and practices, developing and adopting innovative technologies, attracting and advancing staff and developing resilient supply chains, are also essential.
Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. It includes rearing processes to enhance production, such as regular stocking, feeding and protection from predators.
A place for innovation
The aquaculture sector often features innovative companies, with larger enterprises processing, packaging and branding their own produce.
Increased consumer demand for Australian-produced seafood is driving industry growth and creating opportunities to integrate production from the 'hatchery' through to consumers. Aquaculture is on course to be the major provider of Australian seafood.
To ensure that aquaculture continues to develop in a sustainable manner, we need significant investments to secure appropriate land and water resources, improve production technologies, supply chain development, value-added products, marketing and promotion, and people development.
Australian aquaculture is capitalising on progress in selective breeding and disease management, and from associated technological advances that can increase yield while reducing environmental impact. Improved aquaculture production and management techniques have the potential to 'grow' seafood with the smallest use of environmental resources of any primary production sector.
Seaweed aquaculture in Australia is a promising industry with a wide range of potential uses such as food, animal feed, biofuels, and fertilizers. Seaweed can be grown both on land and at sea, with minimal environmental impact. The commercial seaweed farming industry in Australia is rapidly expanding, with companies harvesting Asparagopsis from marine and land based farms for agricultural use in Tasmania, South Australia, Southern Western Australia, Southern New South Wales, Northern Australia and regional Queensland.
Future
Of major consideration for Australian aquaculture is its ability to make its end product affordable and economical, both domestically and internationally. The cost of production can be relatively high in Australia compared to other countries. Advanced techniques and technologies have the potential to reduce how much it costs to make seafood produced by Australian aquaculture increasingly more competitive for consumers.
A major impediment to the increase of aquaculture is access to suitable production areas (both land and water). This is mostly a concern in coastal regions. Further research to understand and evaluate aquaculture systems that make more efficient use of available sites, increase land based production and allow production in off-shore waters, is ongoing.
Certification processes are being used in aquaculture to promote environmental and production credentials and build consumer and societal trust. Those in aquaculture believe that achieving such credentials will improve public perceptions of this sector.
ABARES Australian fisheries and aquaculture outlook report contains ABARES forecasts for the value of Australian fisheries and aquaculture production and exports, including for the key species rock lobster, salmonids, abalone, tuna and prawns. For detailed historic data of fisheries and aquaculture production, consumption and trade see Australian fisheries and aquaculture statistics.
The growth of Australian aquaculture has been largely driven by an increase in salmonid production and a decline in wild-caught production. In recent years the aquaculture sector has been broadening the composition of species produced – with an increased emphasis on prawns, abalone, oysters and finfish varieties, including barramundi and kingfish.
The GVP of aquaculture is forecast to increase by 11% to $2.29 billion in 2022–23, driven by higher production values of salmonids, tuna, abalone and prawns. Aquaculture GVP is projected to stabilise over the medium term, easing to $2.21 billion in real terms by 2027–28. Prices for salmonids, prawns and abalone are expected to ease over the medium term, with lower growth in production volumes for these species. The significant expansion of the Tasmanian aquaculture industry in the previous 2 decades is anticipated to slow as Australia’s broader aquaculture sector matures.
