The culture of marine finfish in offshore cages has been increasing in popularity in South Australia since the early 1990’s. Initially, Snapper (.PDF 53KB) was the species attracting most interest, however, more recently, mulloway and yellowtail kingfish have taken over as the latest South Australian research is put into practice.

Major species

Atlantic Salmon (.PDF 29KB) (Salmo salar), a species traditionally grown in colder climates such as Tasmania, is currently being cultured in the South East region of South Australia. Cool water upwellings, which only occur in this region, have allowed a small industry to develop around the production of this species. In the future, production of Atlantic salmon should increase as management is improved and farms are fully developed. However, the absence of suitable sheltered sites means the industry will only ever be a small contributor to the State’s overall production of marine finfish.

Mulloway (.PDF 45KB) (Argyrosomus japonicus) aquaculture is a new industry in South Australia, with the first successful mass spawning and high juvenile survival occurring early in 2001. Initial grow-out results in sea cages (.PDF 30KB) have shown the fish to be hardy, fast growing and accepting of artificial feeds. Additional work is required on marketing of mulloway to receive sufficiently high prices to economically grow the fish, and to raise the profile of this species that has traditionally been sourced from wild-catch fisheries.

The Yellowtail Kingfish (.PDF 70KB) (Seriola lalandi) industry has huge potential in both domestic and export markets. This fast growing fish has replaced the culture of other slower growing fish such as snapper. As operators become more experienced and farm management improves, the supply of fish should increase dramatically.

For more information on yellowtail kingfish, download the Frequently Asked Questions (.PDF 284KB) document produced by PIRSA Aquaculture. Also available is the report produced by SARDI: Discriminating between cultured and wild kingfish in South Australia (.PDF 6.1MB).

Production

Whilst small quantities of Atlantic salmon and snapper have been produced in South Australia over the last few years, the species that shows the most potential, and is the focus of most marine finfish development is yellowtail kingfish.

Economic Impact

The impact of marine finfish farming in South Australia is set to increase with substantial quantities of yellowtail kingfish ready for harvest. Industry estimates that South Australia will be producing over 5,000 tonnes of yellowtail kingfish valued at around $40M by 2005/06, employing nearly 300 people directly and many more in related industries.

For more detailed information on the impact of marine finfish aquaculture to the South Australian economy, download the Economic Impact report 2002/03 (.PDF 242KB).

Markets

Yellowtail Kingfish presents an opportunity for growers in a number of different markets. The fish delivers a premium light beige flesh that can be used in a variety of ways. Most typically:

400-600gm - Plate size whole fish
1-1.5kg - Baked / BBQ fish
4-7kg - Fillets or Sashimi
Above 7kg - Sashimi

The yellowtail kingfish is considered by some growers to be among the top 30% of all white flesh fish in terms of its appeal, presentation and taste. The challenge from a marketing perspective will be to seek out those markets that place a high value on the species and importantly have the means to pay reasonable prices for top quality fish. Currently, the markets which present the most significant opportunities are those Asian or western markets that have a high Japanese population and / or have adopted the Japanese cuisine. The fish will be most valued as a 4-7kg (or above) fish produced specifically for Sashimi.

Industry Development

The South Australian Marine Finfish Association is progressing with a plan to have the industry market its produce in a consistent manner and approach. The strategy is to market and showcase yellowtail kingfish under the umbrella of a consistent market position, underpinned by a “total industry” commitment to an agreed set of “ verifiable standards” communicated via joint marketing efforts. For example:

The industry would agree to implement “worlds best practice” quality control systems (currently ISO 14,000) together with environmental and resource sustainable farming, feeding and harvesting practices that would enable the industry to clearly position itself as a “world class” provider of produce.

This approach strongly aligned to a “clean & green” Australian position will help establish true points of difference with the major seafood buyers around the world. This strategy only calls for the players to promote, showcase and market in a collective and consistent manner. Importantly it does accept that the major players operate in a competitive environment and each company does require the flexibility to negotiate with key buyers on an individual basis. The important issue here is to establish and market the “marketable advantages” to ensure the companies are able to negotiate from a position of quality, consistency, environment sustainability and food safety.

For more information on market opportunities for marine finfish, download the following reports: Aquaculture Industry Market Assessment 2002 (.PDF 3.4MB) and South Australian Aquaculture Market Analysis 2002 (.PDF 3.5MB).

For more technical information on yellowtail kingfish covering attributes for culture; hatchery production/seed supply; hatching and larval, juvenile rearing; growout; nutrition and feeding; water quality and environmental factors; economics of production and the latest research and development, contact Rural Solutions SA using the following email address: jeffrey.mathew@saugov.sa.gov.au.

The Future

The future of the marine finfish sector in South Australia is very promising. Previous experience in the tuna industry shows South Australia has the ability to produce fish to suit a variety of markets, including overseas, where the latest push for yellowtail kingfish is currently underway.

Contact Details

For further information on the marine finfish industry in South Australia, please contact:

SA Marine Finfish Farmers Association
PO Box 2099
Port Adelaide SA 5015
Phone/Fax: 08 8303 2790