Description

The southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) farmed in Australia is one of two species of bluefin tunas. Its close relative, the northern bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus), is being used to develop tuna farming industries in the Mediterranean, North America and Japan.

Southern bluefin tuna are large, fast swimming pelagic fish found throughout the southern hemisphere mainly in waters between 30 and 50 degrees south. The only known breeding area is in the Indian Ocean south east of Java. The juveniles migrate south down the west coast of Australia and during the summer months congregate near the surface in the coastal waters off the southern coast.

Farming Development

In the early 1960s the annual global catch of Southern Bluefin Tuna reached 80 000 tonnes. However, by the mid-1980s, with catches falling and numbers of mature fish declining, it was apparent that stock management and conservation was needed. From the mid-1980s Australia, Japan and New Zealand, the main nations fishing southern bluefin tuna at the time, began to apply quotas as a management and conservation measure to enable southern bluefin tuna stocks to rebuild.

Individual transferable quotas were introduced into the Australian tuna industry in 1984. Quota was allocated to New South Wales (14 per cent), Western Australia (20 per cent), and South Australia (66 per cent) on the basis of catch history and investment. By 1987 South Australian quota holders had bought up most of the Australian quota. In 1988 the initial Australian quota of 14 500 tonnes was cut to 6250 tonnes, and then in 1989 to its current level of 5265 tonnes.

This large reduction in tuna supply prompted a move away from canning to value adding through farming. The first experimental farm was established at Port Lincoln in 1991 under a tripartite agreement between the Australian Tuna Boat Ownersç Association of Australia, the Japanese Overseas Fisheries Cooperation Foundation, and the South Australian Government. Over the past decade the farmed sector has grown to the point where around 98 per cent of the Australian southern bluefin tuna quota is now farmed.

Farming is undertaken by those operators who have access to part of the Australian quota and who possess the necessary farm lease sites, and the equipment and expertise to catch tuna. There are currently fifteen tuna farms on eighteen sites, which range in size from 20 to 30 hectares.

New areas off Port Lincoln have been opened up from 2003 when there is expected to be twelve farmers operating on twenty-five lease sites.

(Pic 1/2 Photographer: Jose Cort)

( REF. Australian Aquaculture. Industry profiles for selected species)

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