- Cook Government investing in Western Australian aquaculture research
- $2.7 million research project to boost sustainable local saucer scallop fishery
The Cook Government is investing in aquaculture research to help grow a more resilient, productive, and sustainable saucer scallop industry for Western Australia.
The $2.7 million project includes a $431,000 investment by industry partner One Sea who harvest scallops off the coast of Rottnest Island, $702,650 from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC), and a $1.6 million research contribution from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD).
The two-year project is being led by DPIRD researchers at its Hillarys aquaculture research facility, which was upgraded last year with improvements to the small-scale hatchery for shellfish research.
WA's wild scallop fisheries are located off the coast of Shark Bay and the Abrolhos Islands, where they live on the sandy ocean floor. There are also smaller South West and South Coast scallop fisheries and one off the coast of Rottnest Island.
Harvests can vary dramatically year to year, with survival rates of scallop larvae strongly influenced by environmental factors, including climate change and marine heat waves.
The research aims to reduce the variability in scallop numbers, and catch rates by developing innovative propagation techniques to navigate through the delicate, and vulnerable larval phase in the controlled hatchery environment, before growing the spat in large numbers in hatchery.
Researchers will then determine the best way to release the juvenile scallops along the WA coastline, to increase fishery yields and improve consistency of catches.
As part of the project, Macquarie University - through FRDC - will develop molecular identification techniques, similar to the technology used in maternity/paternity tests and relative tracing, to allow hatchery-produced scallops to be identified when harvested in the wild months, or even years later.
This will enable researchers to assess survival and fishing rates and develop a better understanding of how long it takes for the scallops to grow to market size.
One Sea Pty Ltd, with support from DPIRD and FRDC, will use the outcomes of the research to investigate and assess the feasibility of developing a commercial scallop stock enhancement program, which will benefit the wider industry in WA.
Rottnest Island Scallops are a premium domestic product, mainly found in high-end restaurants around Australia.
Comments attributed to Fisheries Minister Don Punch:
"The Cook Government is committed to supporting sustainable and productive fisheries through initiative approaches, enabling WA's fisheries to grow and flourish, increase resilience and remain sustainable.
"Scallop meat is a delicacy, and in high demand in local and international markets. By investing in research to help the scallop industry to grow and become more sustainable, we can support industry to capitalise on market opportunities.
"DPIRD shellfish researchers have already been able to successfully produce scallop spat in small numbers in the hatchery, and will now build on this work as part of the two-year project working closely with commercial partner One Sea."