The changing marketplace and production profile of rock lobster internationally dictates that the Australian rock lobster industry applies state of the art technology in management, research and development, if we are to maintain a competitive position and grow the value of the limited resource.

At present no vehicle exists to allow industry an effective interchange of ideas or to consider leading edge research and development from around the globe. Essentially the Australian lobster industries operate in isolation, disjointed by State borders.

The Tri-State Southern Rock Lobster Conference has historically seen ad hoc attempts made to bring industry together. The conference has evolved into a quasi national event with representatives from most States and New Zealand in attendance, although the primary focus on the jasus edwardsii lobster remains a deficiency.

An outcome of the most recent Tri-State Conference, was a call for a National Lobster Conference including all States and species not covered, to establish a forum for industry Australia wide to make a start at building a national focus on management, marketing, development and problem solving.

At present information flow in these areas are localised trickles at best and the industry has a responsibility to upgrade its role in information exchange.

Expansion of output from the rock lobster fishery cannot be achieved using traditional fishing methods as most wild stocks are already fully exploited. It is therefore highly desirable to develop an aquaculture technique that can increase the long term production of rock lobster, in a sustainable manner.

It is presently not possible to produce puerulus from eggs on a large scale although it has been achieved in the laboratory in both New Zealand and Japan and there is extensive research being conducted in the USA. Very little information on puerulus production exists in the literature. If the problem of large scale consistent producton of puerulus is to be solved, then it needs a collaborative approach. If Australia is to benefit from the potential market for cultured rock lobster, then it must be in a position to design and import culture technology quickly.

At present there is very limited activity in Australia, the only research being conducted on rock lobster propagation is in Tasmania. However, there are:
a: opportunities for tapping overseas experience; and
b: nodes of expertise in Australia which require better co-ordination

The full collaborative project required to achieve the goal will be highly complex with a number of components and organisations. These organisations control major resources that could be co-ordinated and brought to bear on the problem of rock lobster propagation.

This proposal is seen as a fundamental first step in bringing together the groups and developing the project. FRDC funding is required for this task in order to provide a national focus and better cohesion between groups.