Senator Richard Colbeck has announced that Australia’s aquaculture industry has grown significantly and now accounts for almost half of the country’s fish production.
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) Australian fisheries statistics 2012 annual report shows aquaculture has increased its share of Australian fishery product earnings from 30% to 46% over the last decade.
“Most of this increase can be attributed to the fast growing farmed fish sector. Farmed salmonids became the largest species group produced and increased earnings by 20% in 2011-12. It remains Australia’s highest earning fisheries product at a value of $513 million,” Senator Colbeck said.
Senator Colbeck said the report showed the total gross value of production of Australian fisheries increased 3% to reach $2.3 billion.
Domestic consumption of seafood in Australia has been on the rise for over three decades, and Australians eat more seafood per year than the world average, at 25 kilograms per person.
Other key species of farmed fish include farmed tuna from South Australia, which increased in earnings by 31% to reach $150 million; and farmed barramundi, which rose by $5.3 million to reach $41 million.
The Coalition plans to work with industry to develop a national aquaculture strategy.
