With aquaculture production increasing rapidly in South Australia, as well as several other states including Tasmania, there is an increasing level of concern about the trade-offs between economic returns and environmental sustainability. In Australia, most aquaculture, particularly in-sea aquaculture, is undertaken on a single species basis. For finfish, which are fed a diet based on either baitfish or pelleted feeds, this means that a considerable amount of nutrients are released into the environment. For example, for the two main species farmed in Spencer Gulf in South Australia, southern bluefin tuna and yellowtail kingfish, for every tonne of production, as much as 500 and 200 kg respectively of nitrogen is released into the environment. In areas of high production, these wastes have the potential to stimulate plankton blooms and/or smother the benthos. As a consequence, stocking levels are closely regulated to reduce the potential for environmental harm, and there is considerable interest in methods for removing wastes and/or mitigating their impacts. IMTA thus has the potential to be utilised in Australia to both decrease the environmental impacts of finfish farming, and increase financial returns to the aquaculture industry. If successful, IMTA could be used to reduce nutrient inputs from farming into the marine environment, giving industry the flexibility to maintain higher stocking levels, leading to more optimal use of resources. Before IMTA can be undertaken on a commercial scale in the warm temperate waters of southern Australia, however, there are a number of questions that need to be addressed. These include what species and farming systems are suitable, what is the potential for the species used to act as an intermediate host for parasites of other species in the system, and are their any food safety issues that need to be addressed.
Project number:
2010-201
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure:
$448,868.00
Principal Investigator:
Jason E. Tanner
Organisation:
SARDI Food Safety and Innovation
Project start/end date:
31 Aug 2010
-
29 Aug 2013
Contact:
FRDC
SPECIES
1. Review available published and unpublished literature and databases, and liase with international research teams, to assess potentially suitable species and farming techniques for use in IMTA
2. Trial selected macroalgae species in tanks to improve understanding of their biology and develop appropriate propagation techniques for later open-water grow-out, based on knowledge gained from Objective 1
3. Undertake a field trial of IMTA, to assess macroalgal growth rates, determine optimal spatial configuration to maximise growth, and commercial potential
4. Assess the potential for macroalgal species trialled to act as reservoirs for parasites/pathogens of other species used in the system
5. Provide improved parameter estimates for biogeochemical modelling of IMTA, enabling its consequences for regional nutrient enrichment to be determined
6. Provide recomendations to industry on what species to farm, with what culture systems, and in what densities, to optimise both nutrient extraction and economic returns
ISBN:
978-1-921563-86-7
PROJECT NUMBER
•
2024-014
PROJECT STATUS:
CURRENT
National coordination of access to agricultural and veterinary chemicals in the Australian seafood industry
1. Provide national coordination of agricultural and veterinary (AgVet) chemical products in aquaculture
ORGANISATION:
Seafood Industry Australia (SIA)
PROJECT NUMBER
•
2023-206
PROJECT STATUS:
CURRENT
Blue Economy Zone - Australia's first aquaculture research trial in Commonwealth waters
Commercial in confidence
ORGANISATION:
Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre Co-Ltd
PROJECT NUMBER
•
2023-051
PROJECT STATUS:
CURRENT
Ecologically sustainable aquaculture growth through Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture (IMTA) – Incorporating IMTA nutrient modelling into regulatory frameworks.
1. Review current literature on IMTA, including existing models and data requirements.
ORGANISATION:
Flinders University