Shipping ontainers packed with frozen oysters on the half shell are now going to be shipped overseas thanks to a new high-pressure packaging system developed in part by the South Australian oyster marketer OYSA.
Cracking the lucrative export market has been particular challenging for the oyster industry given the perishable nature of oysters, but now this freezing technology will allow for bulk shipments without concern for food safety.
The machinary shucks and opens the oysters before packaging them in Cryovac flexible packaging meant to attract both domestic and international consumers.
The ultra high-pressure freezing facility in Adelaide was opened officialy this week with contracts already in place allowing for the shipment to Japan of at least 12 containers per year.
OYSA manager Ted Pettafor said this contract secured in partnership with Dellas Seafoods in Melbourne would generate AUD$800,000 for the company.
Special testing proved oysters frozen for several months using the process did not exhibit any higher number of bad organisms and 'standard plate counts' fell well below industry food safety standards.
"Bacteria and microbiological counts were reduced by 99.9 per cent," Mr Pettafor said. "This makes a product from pristine waters even cleaner and that confidence is a real benefit for consumers."
Labratory testing completed by the NATA accredited Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science in Adelaide proved the process extended food life and guaranteed safety. Osyters tested one month after being harvested showed a standard plate count of 30 organisms per gram, well below industry standards.
OYSA chairman and grower Richie Baker said the new packaging system would be particularly beneficial for remote West Coast growers.
"Exports have risen by 100 per cent in the past year and we expect this rate to be maintained in 2004 with the implementation of our new supply contract with Fit Trading in Tokyo," Mr Baker said.
Meanwhile the ban on sea shrimp fishing will affect 220 vessels at precisely the time when high temperatures favour shrimp fishing.Shrimp fishermen are protesting against the ban on catching shrimp, which the authorities say will take effect from December 15 through January 31 2003. During the ban all catches, transport, processing and sale of adult, spawning and juvenile shrimp is banned.
As soon as the ban was announced by the National Fishery Development Council, Association of Shrimp Vessel Owners (Asearbapesca) president Juan Carlos Correia criticised the decision saying there is no technical basis to justify the ban.
In the last meeting of the Council, the National Aquaculture Chamber (CNA), Asearbapesca and Ecuador's Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives (Fenacopec) voted against this measure.
Correia says the ban is misguided because it aims to protect white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei), while vessels are trying to catch the Californiensis variety, also called brown shrimp.
"For 13 years these bans have been a failure but since the decision has already been made by irresponsible authorities we have to get on with it, although what we are asking for is to have strict controls at packaging plants, inlets and ports," he said.
