January 15, 2008

 

Largest shrimp farm in Australia's Queensland gains state approval

 

 

Queensland's State Government has granted conditional approval for the construction of a AUS$40 million (US$36 million) prawn farm, said to be the state's largest.

 

The farm, at Guthalungra near Bowen in the north of the state, is expected to boost the state's farmed prawn production by 50 percent and will add AUS$22 million (US$ 19.8 million) to regional and state economies.

 

Proposed by the Pacific Reef Fisheries, the farm would contribute around AUS$13 million (US$11.7 million) annually to the local economy, according to  Regional Development Minister Desley Boyle

 

The Australian Prawn Farmers Association applauded the approval, hailing it as progress after years of stagnation in the local prawn farming industry.

 

Spokesman Scott Walter said the industry has faced rising pressure from imports, adding that the development will increase productivity in the industry.

 

The prawn farm is likely to grow black tiger prawns and banana prawns, which has both export and domestic potential.

 

Black tiger prawns are grown in Asia, especially India while banana prawns are a native species found in coastal areas along New South Wales and Western Australia.

 

The company will have to meet strict environmental and operating guidelines, including a sand filtration system to treat waste water and the rehabilitation of 240 hectares of degraded land.

 

The next hurdle for the project would be approval from the Commonwealth, in which its environmental impacts would be assessed further.

 

Australia's food safety watchdog BioSecurity recently tightened restrictions on Asian shrimp on fears it would bring disease to the country. Asian shrimps make up most of the imports from the country, raising fears of a rapid climb in shrimp prices in Australia.