Aquaculture

Strengths:

world's fastest growing food producing industry
current NSW aquaculture production is around A$50 million per year
expected to grow to A$100 million by 2010.

Major products:

Sydney rock oysters (Saccostrea glomerate)
Black tiger prawns (Penaeus monodon)
Silver perch (Bidyanus bidyanus)
Pacific oysters (Crassotrea gigas)
Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
Barramundi (Lates calcarifer)

Aquaculture is the fastest growing food producing industry in the world, and is a significant growth industry in NSW with production increasing by more than 10 per cent per annum over the past decade. Currently NSW aquaculture production totals some A$50 million annually.

Aquaculture accounts for about 35 per cent of the State's seafood production, and with wild fisheries stocks approaching their biological limits, and the world's appetite for seafood continuing to grow, the growth in farmed seafood production is expected to continue. By 2010 it is expected that half of all seafood eaten will have been farmed.

Oyster production, particularly of Sydney rock oysters, accounts for nearly three-quarters of the NSW industry, while black tiger prawns grown in the Northern Rivers region provide the State's most valuable land based aquaculture product.

Production of barramundi, silver perch, mulloway, snapper, trout, freshwater crayfish (yabbies), and other freshwater and marine species is also expanding. NSW also boasts a well-developed freshwater fin-fish hatchery sector, worth more than $2 million annually.

With NSW at the forefront of applied research aimed at accelerating the development of aquaculture in Australia, the State is well placed to capture an increasing proportion of this burgeoning industry, which is expected to be worth A$2.5 billion to the Australian economy by 2010.

NSW's competitive advantages include:

a temperate climate without the extremes of many tropical and sub-tropical regions
a clean, green growing environment for both coastal and land-based aquaculture
strict State and national controls, eliminating many of the exotic diseases that have caused serious losses among aquaculture industries overseas
reliable supplies of good quality water
a favourable investment climate, and a government supportive of continued development of the industry
a strategic location close to lucrative Asian markets
Australia's largest domestic market for seafood – Sydney
key physical infrastructure for marketing and distribution of product
a skilled workforce supported by quality training and education services
a strong research and development infrastructure

A diversity of opportunities
Species considered to have maximum potential for commercial production in NSW include oysters, prawns, trout, silver perch, mussels, freshwater crayfish (yabbies), barramundi, Murray cod, snapper, abalone and mulloway. These species:

can be bred
will grow in managed environments
have scientific backup and readily available farming technology
have market and consumer acceptance.

Research and development
Development of the aquaculture industry is supported by an extensive research infrastructure that aims to overcome scientific and technical challenges to the commercial production of a range of other species, and to achieve world's best practice in operations.

Major aquaculture research bodies include: