Fishing for big farm funds

A MELBOURNE company developing an environmentally sustainable fish farm at Avalon is looking for investors to inject about

$25 million into the project.

The recirculated aquaculture system proposed by Aqua Partners Australia is being promoted as the first land-based, environmentallysustainable RAS2020 fish farm in Australia and only the fourth in the world.

The planned $65 million Avalon facility, when fully operational, will process up to 2400 tonnes of fresh seafood, including barramundi and ocean trout, with the capacity to expand to 12,000 tonnes a year. A 100-hectare site at Avalon was chosen for its access to seawater and proximity to Geelong and the Avalon airport.

Designed by Aqua Partners founder Dr Bent Urup in conjunction with Danish water treatment technology company Kruger A/S, the RAS2020 technology is operating in Switzerland, Denmark and Norway.

Aqua Partners managing director Dan Callaghan said that while it was an emerging industry, the future of sustainably-farmed animal protein production was with land-based bio-secure aquaculture systems.

“As developing markets such as China, India, and Brazil grow and as consumers worldwide increasingly focus on sustainably-sourced and healthy food choices, average annual consumption will need to increase by at least one million to 2 million tonnes per annum to meet this demand, and that means the RAS industry will need to significantly upscale,” he said.

“That said, we are at a critical point in the growth of this industry where smart investment can mean

Australia becomes a leading supplier and exporter of the best, most sustainable, and environmentally-responsible, land-based aquaculture industry.

“Those investors who jump on board will be grabbing a ground floor opportunity in an emerging industry with enormous growth potential.’’

Mr Callaghan said

Australia was uniquely placed within Asia to develop an entirely new industry.