South Australia''s mussel industry is to trial a programme in which hatchery-raised mussel spat will be imported from Tasmania.
President of the South Australian Mussel Growers Association, Andy Dyer, said the industry has always relied on wild spat. But he said if the project is successful, it will ensure growers have other options in the future.
"Last year, we had probably one of our worst spat falls and the industry couldn't actually collect enough spat for what they were actually hoping to achieve," he said.
"With that in mind, we felt that we needed a backup plan for our spat security, and so what we're doing is we're looking at getting some hatchery-reared spat, similar to the oyster industry."
[Source: ABC Online]
