Clean Seas to raise A$24 million to breed bluefin

Australian aquaculture firm, Clean Seas Tuna Limited, will raise about A$23.9 million from equity issues to fund the commercialisation of aquaculture-bred Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBT).

The fish will be reared at Clean Seas' onshore breeding facility at Arno Bay in Spencer Gulf, South Australia, and the project will commence this December.

Clean Seas' successful spawning of the fish over 35 days from March 12, and its subsequent production of fingerlings had opened the door for commercial aquaculture production from the company's next scheduled spawning in October/November 2009, said Chairman Hagen Stehr.

The capital available from the equity raisings will be primarily used in infrastructure and working capital related to Clean Seas' SBT business, allowing development of Australia's first onshore SBT larval rearing facility at Arno Bay.