Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I saw this while visiting Albany today and figured I'd go and have a look... No, not the salmon holes...

Hmmmmmmmmm........

A small empty shed and a few bits of pipe, an old electrical switchboard and bits of junk. Those buildings in the background are the old whaling station and totally separate.
Further up the street is an abandoned building which at some stage was a hatchery.

There was only one other building on the street and something was happening there as the gate was open and a car was parked outside. It looked to be in a fair state of disrepair though, shed rather rusty, drums and tanks lying around...


So whats going on? A few years back I had heard that aquaculture was one of the fastest growing industries, yet I only ever seem to hear about places going bust and then find sites like this. Are cheap imports destroying any local industry?

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And that was likely back when folk sought government grants for all soughts of uneconomical "green ventures"

I think that i saw a cynical report about that project and how the operators lost interest when the hand outs ceased..
It suggested the guys sold off the parts of value and then there was nothing left to call an industry and thewhole thing was value-less
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Talking to a local today and he told me that there used to be a large Barramundi Farm just south of us in Bargo, which was a complete surprise to me, I had never heard of it before. He used to go regularly to get fresh Barramundi but the last time he went, no fish, apparently they all died of some virus and they closed up shop. This was the only reference to it I could find
http://www.angling.com.au/angling-articles/2007/5/10/breakthrough-brings-bargo-barra-bounty/
Its tough out there I guess

EB that has been closed for about 6 years was only open for one or two years but they kept getting sick and many died, was supposed to be albany's version of sea cage aquaculture

It's been that way as long as I have been interested in Aquaculture. Almost every single enterprise I have ever seen is now closed.

When you compare aquaculture to almost any other agribusiness, aquaculture requires so much more control or you lose. I don't know if the beef industry would survive if you had to scrub the air they breathe or they die, keep them within a narrow range of temps or they die, oxygenate their paddock/stalls/barn or they die, all while keeping them from eating each other.

I also think aquaculture is a different animal because you can compare the food to a natural source. Remember the scare with farmed salmon picking up pesticides from the grain (Same stuff fed to cows?). It's easy to compare farmed to wild, but not too often can you compare farm beef/turkey/chicken to wild harvested.

Lastly, many third world countries don't have the environmental regulations that exist in developed nations. throw some non-native species in a pond in Vietnam and you have aquaculture. Do the same in the US and you have an environmental disaster.

OK, not so lastly.... then there's the permitting. Here in Massachusetts the permitting for aquaculture is so convoluted that they actually have a guide to permitting. Using surface water? one permit. Using ground water? another. Using more than X gallons? another. and where are you discharging? couple of more depending how you want to do that. Oh, you want to sell the product? a couple more there. Importing broodstock?? Selling broodstock?? selling to out of state?
ad nauseum...

I have nothing against regulations and permits... just have them in place to be realistic, serve a purpose other than revenue (like taxes on profits isn't enough) and be enforceable. (Starting to sound like a rant!)

I agree that most Aquaculture businesses found that they needed massive subsidies or they weren't viable. They always seemed to have some "Educational' aspect that they received research grants. IT never seemed to be able to get out of that mode. Couldn't compete with wild caught.

But it's still a fun hobby!

There is this one in Werribee, Victoria just outside of Melbourne http://www.mainstreamaquaculture.com

Poppa summed it up pretty well,there is a farmer not that far from me that has some lakes on his property and has been growing trout in them for a few years.He said sheep and cattle are easy compared to fish.If you are lucky with them you might see a few sick ones and have time to do something about it or find a few dead and do something about it to save the rest.With fish you can feed them in the afternoon and everything is fine,come to feed them tomorrow and the whole lot are belly up and you may not even know what caused it.

All of what you guys are saying is true of operators that don't know what they are doing.

The biggest impediment to expanding the aquaculture industry is expertise.

The guys in Tassie have mostly got this sorted which is why they are growing. Tassie AQ output is set to double over the next couple of years.

I would have thought its a simple case of the smaller facilities not being able to be competitive with the larger ones, much like every other business.

That is an issue as well for the business but the reason they keep on having fish kills is because they don't know what they are doing and/or don't have a well designed system with an appropriate level of redundancy built into it given their level or skill, knowledge or dedication to supervise the operation.

here's how much of our tax dollars went down the toilet

https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/P ... lbany.aspx

Gt Southern Aquaculture Park to be set up in Albany
16/06/1997 12:00 AM


Fisheries Minister Monty House today helped the Great Southern region take another major step towards increasing its involvement in the aquaculture industry.
Mr House today announced his decision to proceed with the establishment of the Great Southern Aquaculture Park adjacent to the Whaleworld complex in Albany.
The Minister's proposal consists of four serviced sites which provide facilities for aquaculture activities including abalone and other shell fish and fin fish.

"Aquaculture has now become one of Australia's fastest-growing primary industries and I am keen to see the Great Southern benefit from this progressive industry," Mr House said.

"This project represents a significant step forward in the development of aquaculture and seafood production in Western Australia.

"There is already major interest from parties in Albany and we are confident that the park will develop into one of the premier aquaculture facilities in the State."

Mr House said the project was funded by the State Government's recent $900,000 allocation to develop the South-West aquaculture industry.

Earlier this year the Minister announced nearly $200,000 would be spent on a new aquaculture development at Pemberton.

In total, the Government has committed $8 million to aquaculture in WA over the next four years.

The State Government has received support for the Great Southern project from the Albany Shire Council and the Jaycees Community Foundation, which leases the land, for the site to be used exclusively for aquaculture.

Preliminary design of the park and its one hectare serviced sites has been completed. More than $460,000 has been budgeted for site preparation, roads and drainage, power and a seawater discharge line.

Mr House said the proposed park would complement an existing oyster and mussel hatchery operated by local company Ocean Foods International.

The Fisheries Department would advertise for potential park tenants soon.

Media contact: Nicole Trigwell (08) 9481 2044

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And if you think that it is easy, then consider that the even the BEST... Are not exempt from the unexpected, the unplanned, with devastating industry results, eh Rendang...
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Looks like its had plenty more cash thrown at it along the way too..
https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/P ... lture.aspx
https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/P ... lbany.aspx

Surely if the fisheries are involved, it would at least be under advise from professionals in the field? Seems there may have been issues with juvenile abalone? But Im making assumptions. Couldn't be from a lack of funds, surely.

Not necessarily. Some (basically all) of the advice farmers got on how to integrate aquaculture into their irrigation dams was woeful.

I looked into training for aquaculture a while ago.

It's a tafe course, and then when you're done, the pay rates aren't that great. If you completed a certificate IV in aquaculture, then the medium pay is $1000 per week, for a job that you'll be working irregular hours including weekends, and up of 50 hours a week. So with one of the higher aquaculture certificates, you'll be earning $20 an hour. So a supermarket checkout chick can earn more per hour.

http://www.tafesa.edu.au/xml/profile/pr ... .aspx?src=\xml\course\aw\aw_TP00170&S=AWD&Y=2015

What I mean by all this, is that you probably don't get masses of qualified people into the industry, and the smart of the group will move onto a better paying field, or get a fishing boat or something.

Also, as somebody who orders/budgets/cooks for 240 people daily, price is the first thing we look at. I thought, great, I can put some trout on the menu, it should be cheap considering it grows quick and well, shouldn't be too tricky. For fillets, it was $26 a kg, imported barramundi was $10 a kg.

And yes, I'm explaining the problem in two separate ways, people don't want to pay for more expensive than they can get imported, and people here understandably don't want to work hard crappy hours for a pay that isn't fantastic considering the training needed.