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RMIT University and East Gippsland Institute of TAFE (EGIT)
are building a marine teaching and research facility on
Bullock Island at the entrance to the Lakes with a $4
million infrastructure grant from the Victorian State
Government. The facility will be used for teaching and
research in aquaculture, fisheries and environmental
research in the Lakes and offshore waters. The research
critical mass at the facility is expected to provide R&D
support for the important tourist and fishing industries of
the region, and to assist with the emerging aquaculture
industry. The facility will have classrooms, laboratories,
fish tanks with filtered sea water on tap, and provision for
algal. larval fish and shellfish culture. The new facility
is in the planning stages, and is expected to be completed
in 2003.
The marine teaching and research facility is part of a
larger strategic plan by RMIT University to increase its
presence in the Gippsland region in order to improve access
to tertiary training and research opportunities. As part of
this strategic plan, RMIT committed $1 million in PhD
research projects in 1999 for work on environmental issues
in the Lakes region. The University also developed a
temporary fish holding facility at the South East Australian
Maritime Education College (SEAMEC) site at Lakes Entrance.
The temporary site is currently being used for studies on
the effects of blue-green algal toxins on black bream and
zooplankton, and for studies on stress in black bream. The
latter studies will have implications for the aquaculture of
this species.
The scallop grant will provide staffing and operational
money for a trial of a hatchery at the new marine facility.
If seed scallops can be produced economically with either
untreated seawater drawn from below the sands of Bullock
Island, or with highly filtered seawater, then the research
will next investigate the economic viability of re-seeding
of scallop beds. Overseas studies have shown that re-seeding
of scallop beds can reduce catch variability for the wild
catch fishery from year to year. For East Gippsland, this
could mean an average increased catch value of between $1
and $4 million, and multiplier effects for the region of
around $10 million.
If State and Federal Government jurisdiction complications
can be resolved, and a suitable marine aquaculture site set
aside by the respective governments, the scallop research
could move to investigations on the aquaculture of scallops.
Tasmanian Scallops have reported the production of “grit
free” scallops using cages suspended off the bottom, which
enables the whole scallop to be eaten instead of just the
adductor muscle and roe. Brian Leonard has worked previously
with students of the Department of Mechanical Engineering,
RMIT, to design a long-line suspension system suitable for
use in rough waters. These systems, or others, may have
application for the open offshore waters if government
allows their use.
RMIT University will be able to assist
the local tourist, fishing and aquaculture industries in
many ways. The University has skills in biology,
biotechnology and genetic improvement, environmental
research, food value-adding to fish, shellfish and
crustaceans, hydrology and water waste treatment, mechanical
engineering for design of ponds, sea cages, long-line
systems, etc., and business studies directed to marketing
and export. The new marine facility, therefore, will be a
substantial key asset which will bring a large number of
skills into the region.
For further information, contact Brian Leonard at
brian.Leonard@rmit.edu.au
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