04/02/2020
At Toomulla Beach near Townsville, in Queensland’s north, a former prawn farm is being given new life, farming two crustacean species that are emerging onto the Australian aquaculture scene: Moreton Bay Bugs (Thenus australiensis) and Ornate Tropical Rock Lobsters (Panulirus ornatus). While it will not be Australia’s only Moreton Bay Bug farm, it will be a world first for Tropical Rock Lobster aquaculture.
Tasmanian aquaculture company Ornatas is behind the effort to establish a new aquaculture industry for these species in Australia, establishing a hatchery in Tasmania and grow out facility at Toomulla Beach, respectively.
“We aim to grow a whole new industry for Australia, bringing jobs and economic growth to this regional community and supplying the world with healthy and high-value lobster to meet market demands” says Scott Parkinson, CEO Ornatas Pty Ltd.
Scott says he expects the first farmed Tropical Rock Lobsters to be available to Australian consumers and the lucrative China market, where the premium product is in high demand, by 2022.
"The plan is to produce about 150 tonnes of this delicacy over the next five years to sell to local restaurants and retailers," he says. Approximately 800 tonnes of the highly prized Tropical Rock Lobster is expected to be available by 2029.
A long-term partner with the University of Tasmania (UTAS) in the research and development of both Moreton Bay Bugs and the Ornate Tropical Rock Lobster, Ornatus has invested over $25 million into commercialising lobster breeding, knowledge and grow out technology developed by the University, to help develop the emerging industry.
Greg Smith is leading the research team at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), which is part of UTAS, as director of the ARC Research Hub for Commercial Development of Rock Lobster Culture Systems. The first phase of the research has included completing the full life cycle of broodstock through to the egg, larval and adult stages, and breeding from the offspring of the Southern Rock Lobster (Jasus edwardsii) and Eastern Rock Lobster (Sagmariasus verreauxi), as well the Ornate Tropical Rock Lobster and Moreton Bay Bugs. The next phase will focus on optimising the rearing of juveniles for market using onshore grow-out facilities, initially using raceway systems, and selection of the best-performing animals.
“We need to work out the best way to transport juveniles from the hatchery to grow-out facilities, and their feed requirements. There are no feed formulations for these species. Elsewhere they use trash fish, but that won’t fly in Australia,” Greg Smith says, “we will also evaluate the potential social and economic impacts of production and the development of a new aquaculture industry for Australia.”
The hub has welcomed a second round of funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC), a $5 million grant over five years from 2020, which will support world-leading IMAS research into lobster aquaculture and the development of the world’s first sustainable onshore lobster aquaculture industry. As industry partner, Ornatas will meet the $5 million grant and in-kind support from its Tasmanian and Queensland facilities. The hatchery technology that has been developed at UTAS over more than 15 years, with early work funded by the FRDC, will be overseen by Rock Lobster hatchery manager Anna Overweter, a UTAS graduate with over eight years with the University as a live feed technician.
While production is expected to begin in Queensland within months, Ornatas will also invest in a purpose-built, pilot-scale lobster hatchery co-located at the IMAS Taroona research facility.
Find the story at FISH Magazine: https://www.frdc.com.au/media-publications/fish/FISH-Vol-27-4/make-way-for-farmed-bugs-and-lobsters
