Call to Ban Kingfish Farms
Submitted by SARFAC Tuesday, 28th November 2002

SA Country Hour Summary Wednesday 27/11/2002

Call to ban kingfish in SA waters - Suzy Grosser

There's been a call to ban Kingfish farming in South Australian waters.

The call comes from fishers on the West Coast who claim they will fight a proposal to set up a kingfish farm at Goat Island near Ceduna. Yellow tailed kingfish, some say, will become the next tuna industry - Australia's biggest aquaculture success story. But there's been recent unrest from recreational and commercial fishers who claim that escaped kingfish from aquaculture farms are fierce predators on other fish like the coveted whiting.

Such is the feeling that Alan Suter, President of the West Coast Professional Fishermen's Association, who's called for a total ban of sea-based kingfish farming. He's described the industry as an ecological disaster, "they shouldn't be located anywhere in the sea, they should be located on land-only because the danger of escape is unacceptable. The danger that [established kingfish farms] represent to our environment is too great to ignore - they should be removed."

The call for a ban has alarmed the South Australian Marine Finfish Farmers Association Chairman, Dr Simon Stone who has a PhD in ecology and is the Managing Director of SA Aquaculture.

He says the reason why there seems to be more kingfish in the waters is because of natural cycles and the industry simply couldn't afford to lose the fish which would cost the industry $20 a piece.

"I've got records, because we count all our fish, and in the last two and a half years we've lost a total of 1,991 fish - hardly enough to change the ecology of the gulf. To move kingfish on-shore would make it way too expensive. We understand that if we impact the environment in a negative way, we won't be allowed to continue to farm."

Alan Suter: President, West Coast Professional Fishermen's Association
Dr Simon Stone: Chairman, South Australia Marine Finfish Farmers' Association

SA Govt urged to ban kingfish farms

There is a call for the South Australian Government to immediately ban the construction of yellow-tail kingfish farms across the state's coastline. Ceduna's west coast professional fishermen's association president, Allan Suter, says there have been too many escapes from kingfish farms in Spencer Gulf already.

The Department of Primary Industries and Resources SA has confirmed that fish in what it calls the low hundreds escaped from one farm in May.

Mr Suter says his organisation will fight plans for the construction of a new kingfish farm at Ceduna.

"I think there's a united front from the recreational and professional fishing sectors - we will oppose vigorously any attempt to force a foolish farm in this area...that's all we can do," he said.

"But the Government will hear loud and clear, we don't want an ecological disaster, we don't want these farms, until they can adequately convince people that these farms aren't as dangerous as we all believe they are."