Kingfish Farm Article
Submitted by SARFAC Tuesday, 22nd January 2003

Kingfish Farm
Reference : Ceduna Sentinel - Kingfish Farm
By Aimee Dunbar
Thursday, 16 January 2003

South Australian Aquaculture Council chairman Bruce Zippel believes recent criticisms of the aquaculture industry, particularly kingfish farms, have been unfounded.

West Coast Professional Fishing Association president Allan Suter last week said he was opposed to the proposed site for kingfish farmers at Goat Island, for the fear of kingfish escaping and devastating local fish stocks.

Mr Zippel believes such comments are lacking in foundation.

"Each sector of the industry, including marine finfish farming, is operated in an ecologically sustainable manner and to the very best standards of marine stewardship," Mr Zippel said.

"All the available scientific evidence on the South Australian aquaculture industry has consistently and clearly demonstrated that aquaculture is conducted in a responsible manner and has a negligible effect on the marine environment," he said.

Mr Zippel believes every time a new aquaculture venture is introduced, certain reserves are made, often turning out to be unsubstantiated, using the example of the tuna industry in Port Lincoln.

"The question Ceduna people have to ask is do they want the significant benefits and produce that this could bring, including employment, economic stimulation, increase in local population and flow on benefits for the local district, shop traders and school," he said.

PIRSA Aquaculture General Manager Ian Knightingale said kingfish escapes are unacceptable in any circumstance, a problem they have been spending countless hours and dollars to lessen the impact of.

"In particular, we have been researching the strategies and approaches to minimise the impacts if an escape does occur," Mr Knightingale said.

"We have been meeting with existing kingfish growers, and looking at putting more codes of practice on top of the already existing licence conditions," he said.

When an escape does occur, the kingfish generally stay close to the net, allowing kingfish farmers time to catch the fish and put it back in.

"One point that many people forget is that kingfish are a native species to Southern Australia, they have not been introduced," Mr Knightingale said.

Mr Knightingale explains the increase in kingfish numbers due to the ban on kingfish netting in the late 1980's and early 90's.

"The fishing industry put a ban on netting kingfish to protect the stocks, now many areas are experiencing a natural build up of kingfish," he said.

PIRSA believes the Eastern Seaboard is also experiencing a dramatic build up of kingfish, and unlike South Australia, there are no kingfish farms on the Eastern Seaboard for the fish to escape from.

"From Aquaculture SA's point of view, we are not saying there are no escapes, but the level of sightings of kingfish is low," he said.

PIRSA will continue to study kingfish escapes and patterns of behaviour over the next few years, which includes researching the interaction between wild kingfish and farmed kingfish.

The District Council of Ceduna will be holding a public meeting tomorrow at the Ceduna Memorial Hall to discuss the proposal.

The proponents of the Yellowtail Kingfish Aquaculture Developments Project, Hamachi Ocean Culture Pty Ltd, will be in attendance to discuss their plans.

All interested persons are invited to attend, starting at 12pm.