Fishing boats, sea pontoons (a kind of sea towing cage for the tuna), stationary pontoons (cages), nets, pontoons for bait fish and harvest gear. That is the short list.
Tuna farming began as a result of a declining wild fishery. Australian catch peaked in 1982 at 21,500 tonnes. In response to increasing concerns about sustainability, Australia, Japan and New Zealand formed the International Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) in 1984, to limit and manage the total allowable catch (the Australian share has been 5,265 tonnes since 1990). As a result, the Australian tuna fishers investigated the potential for value-adding their catch through aquaculture.
The tuna are mainly caught from December to March when they are present along the continental shelf in the Great Australian Bight region. The schools are found, seined and transferred through underwater panels between nets to specialised tow pontoons, and then towed back at about 1 knot to the farm areas. The total process takes several weeks.
On arrival at the farm sites, the tuna are swum from the tow pontoons into 40-50m diameter farm pontoons. They are then fed bait fish six days per week, twice a day. This is done by feeding fresh local Sardines or placing frozen blocks of bait fish in a mesh cage within each pontoon
Fishing boats, sea pontoons (a kind of sea towing cage for the tuna), stationary pontoons (cages), nets, pontoons for bait fish and harvest gear. That is the short list.
Tuna farming began as a result of a declining wild fishery. Australian catch peaked in 1982 at 21,500 tonnes. In response to increasing concerns about sustainability, Australia, Japan and New Zealand formed the International Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) in 1984, to limit and manage the total allowable catch (the Australian share has been 5,265 tonnes since 1990). As a result, the Australian tuna fishers investigated the potential for value-adding their catch through aquaculture.
The tuna are mainly caught from December to March when they are present along the continental shelf in the Great Australian Bight region. The schools are found, seined and transferred through underwater panels between nets to specialised tow pontoons, and then towed back at about 1 knot to the farm areas. The total process takes several weeks.
On arrival at the farm sites, the tuna are swum from the tow pontoons into 40-50m diameter farm pontoons. They are then fed bait fish six days per week, twice a day. This is done by feeding fresh local Sardines or placing frozen blocks of bait fish in a mesh cage within each pontoon