Clean Seas develops multi-million dollar feeding station

Australia's Clean Seas Tuna has developed an innovative A$2.5 million feed station to help its kingfish farming operation become more efficient.

The feed station can carry up to 600 tonnes of dry feed - the equivalent of up to a month's food supply for kingfish and southern bluefin tuna.

Clean Seas Tuna managing director Marcus Stehr said that dry pellets are distributed in strictly controlled portions via a floating network of flexible pipes connected to up to 30 sea pens holding about 3,000 tonnes of fish.

Stehr said that once a sea cage has received its portion, a valve automatically shuts off the pipe to the pen, and feed is then directed to the next two pens. Portion sizes vary to meet the individual needs of fish in each sea cage. 

He said the feeding station also assisted with bio-security by ensuring the feed was stored securely and not contaminated by any foreign matter.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation said global demand for fish is growing at about 1.1 percent annually due to high demand from Asia and other emerging markets.

The feed barge also has the flexibility to feed southern bluefin tuna once Clean Seas begins commercial production of its aquaculture-bred southern bluefin tuna later this year.