A helping hand from Australia
Science Centres: Fisheries
The aquaculture industry is growing faster in Australia than in most countries in the world. Andrew Jeffs went across to find out why.
Australia’s aquaculture industry produced over 30 000 t of seafood and products valued at over A$680 million in 2000. Over the last decade, the industry has grown in value by a compounding average of 16% a year, keeping well ahead of the global average. Forecasts for production are for continued growth, with a projected value of A$1.4 billion by 2005 and A$2.5 billion in annual sales by 2010. These are easily achievable if the current level of growth is maintained. The factors involved in fuelling the phenomenal growth of this industry are complex, but there are some obvious key ones.
The most striking feature of the aquaculture industry in Australia is the overall positive attitude towards this sector of the economy, especially in government circles. This translates into a remarkable level of state and federal government support for the development of aquaculture businesses, much of it targeted at industry weakness in attracting capital investment, as well as developing business and technical expertise. The Australian government has also recognised the importance of an emerging aquaculture industry, and has invested in national strategic initiatives to help plan and encourage the continued growth of aquaculture. These initiatives have included working to access offshore markets, developing better management of marine animal health issues, and encouraging aquaculture research and development groupings for faster development of new species and products. Many of these successful initiatives have great potential for helping the New Zealand industry to continue to grow rapidly. They should be looked at locally.