Demand for seafood throughout the world is increasing while landings from capture fisheries are static. In Australia, the growing seafood consumption is being increasingly met by importation (imports of fisheries products have increased by 52%, over the period 19919/92 to 2001/02; ABARE 2002). In Australia, the value of aquaculture production has trebled since 1991/92 representing an annual growth of 14% in nominal terms and 11% in real terms. The Federal Government has committed to an Aquaculture Industry Action Agenda that plans to triple the value of aquaculture production to $2.5 billion by 2010 and create 29,000 new jobs. However, expansion of coastal aquaculture is limited by a shortage of suitable sites with the necessary water quality, depth and proximity to land-based infrastructure that are not either being used or considered for urban and tourist related development or judged to be of too high environmental value for aquaculture. Investigating inland saline aquaculture is a specific priority in this agenda.

Rising saline groundwater is the biggest environmental problem in Australia and currently affects over 2.5 million ha of land. It is estimated that within the next 30-40 years, the affected area will grow more than fourfold. One of the key methods to ameliorate the effects of salinisation is to pump the saline groundwater into large ponds for disposal by evaporation.

Inland saline aquaculture (ISA) may offer a partial solution to the shortage of coastal sites for aquaculture while incorporating aquaculture into saline groundwater interception and evaporation schemes may provide an economic return to the costly business of building and operating these schemes. In other areas, e.g. Qld and W.A., opportunities exist to exploit existing saline groundwater (e.g. from bores in Qld and in saline lakes in W.A.) without having any negative environmental impact.

Preliminary research had indicated that provided potassium is added to saline groundwater from the Murray-Darling Basin it is suitable for farming marine fish and crustaceans. In order to generate enough accurate data to allow the economics of ISA to be evaluated, the Inland Saline Aquaculture Research Centre (ISARC) at Wakool-Tullakool Sub-surface Drainage Scheme was constructed. A research program has been initiated in NSW to evaluate the suitability of saline groundwater for marine and salt-tolerant species. However, other enterprises in other states are also exploring the commercial viability of ISA. In Qld, scientists from BIARC are working with farmers to develop methods for production of black tiger prawns using saline groundwater in ponds where no water is released into the environment. This is leading edge technology which is economically viable, will have enormous potnetial in low saline inland areas as well as on the coast. In W.A., scientists from Challenger TAFE are developing methods to intensify production in saline lakes through the use of in-pond partial recirculation floating tanks in which the majority of suspended solids and uneaten foods are removed. South Australia is also developing technology for ISA that is specific to the region. A key requirement for development of ISA is the expansion of existing facilities to allow them to be used as demonstration centres. The aim is to develop a growout protocol for commercially viable aquaculture in the region and to transfer the technology to the industry and government bodies involved with new salinity control schemes.

Initial studies at ISARC have been completed successfully with mulloway, snapper, silver perch,trout and black tiger prawns. The ISARC at Wakool is the only research Centre mainly focused on proving the commercial viability of ISA associated with groundwater interception and evaporation schemes.

A national network between various State Departments in Australia is needed to improve the quality of research, prevent unnecessary repetition of the research programs, help ensure efficient technology transfer and finally, if the commercial validity is proven, develop an aquaculture industry based on saline water in inland Australia. Several agencies (ACIAR, AFFA, National Aquaculture Action Agenda, Implementation Committee) have committed to or are considering projects to be undertaken at ISARC. The ISARC could act as a focal point for this R&D and communicate progress to stakeholders. This view has been supported by the Aquaculture Committee of the Australian Fisheries Management Forum.

The fragmented nature of inland saline research has also made it difficult for those interested in the field to easily access the collective information available. This will continue and get worse unless there is some coordination of R&D and report production/extension. The ISARC can play a key role here.