| In
the middle of National Science Week, Mr McGauran said some
of Australia’s leading researchers were bringing world-class
science to the dinner table.
"This is science everyone can
understand," Mr McGauran said.
"Working together to develop
innovative solutions to problems that impact on the daily
lives of all Australians. Under this project we can expect a
higher quality and more reliable supply of farmed prawns in
future years."
The $5.5 million project is
being carried out by the Australian Institute of Marine
Science (AIMS), two divisions of CSIRO and the Queensland
Department of Primary Industries. It’s being funded over
three years by the Fisheries Research and Development
Corporation (FRDC) with support from the Australian Prawn
Farmers Association (APFA) and the country’s leading prawn
farm enterprises.
"This is a great example of
how collaboration between key agencies and industry can
bring together the best minds and resources across the
sector to provide real solutions that will provide for the
long-term sustainability of Australia’s seafood industry,"
Mr McGauran said.
Sustainable aquaculture is an
issue that was raised at the eighth meeting of the Prime
Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council in
May, with an independent working group presenting a paper on
the issue.
"The rapidly expanding prawn
farming industry has identified the domestication of black
tiger prawns as critical to its future competitiveness," Mr
McGauran said.
"Currently the black tiger
prawn farm industry relies on harvesting wild broodstock
from the ocean to supply eggs. This is a major bottleneck
because broodstock of the black tiger prawn is rare in the
wild, and supplies already may be threatened in many
countries due to over-harvesting, destruction of nursery
habitat, seasonal variations in abundance and disease
problems.
"The Australian collaboration
will focus on overcoming this weak link in the prawn farming
industry. This is the largest and most coordinated research
project done on the black tiger prawn in Australia and it
will have major implications for the development of the
prawn farming industry in this country."
For further information,
contact Darren Chester (Mr McGauran’s office) on 6277 7440
or Theresa Millard, Australian Institute of Marine Science
(07) 4753 4250 |
