Bribie Island Aquaculture Research Centre
Street address: 144 North Street, Woorim
Qld 4507
Postal address: PO Box 2066, Woorim Qld 4507
Phone: +61 7 3400 2000
Fax:
+61 7 3408 3535
Email: bribie@dpi.qld.gov.au
Background
The Bribie Island Aquaculture Research Centre (BIARC) was one of the first dedicated multi-functional aquaculture research facilities to be built in Australia. Commercial scale production facilities enable research teams to conduct research that can have direct, industry-wide application. The Centre plays a significant role in technological development and extension to the aquaculture industry in tropical and subtropical Queensland.
Primary activities
- Conduct research and development into areas of significance to aquaculture in Queensland.
- Liaise with other government agencies on sustainable aquaculture in Queensland.
- Encourage development of local support industries to aquaculture.
- Provide information on new and existing technologies to prospective aquaculturists.
- Conduct contract research and consultancies for industry.
- Advise government and regulatory authorities on aquaculture.
Location
BIARC covers an area of 15 hectares on the ocean side of Bribie Island and so had access to the good quality seawater that is essential for this facility. The Centre is about an hour's drive from four major universities based in Brisbane and on the Sunshine Coast, and from Brisbane domestic and international airports. The state electorate is Caboolture and the federal electorate is Longman.
The Centre has access to the adjoining Joondoburri Conference Centre, with accommodation and lecture/workshop rooms.
Usage of the site is solely for aquaculture research, development and extension.
Facilities detail
- Specialist PC2 certified biotechnology laboratory, with capacity to carry out a range of moleclar techniques.
- Controlled environment and wet laboratories.
- Extensive good quality seawater supply, and filtration and aeration systems.
- Commercial size nursery and growout ponds.
- A variety of tanks (from 40 tonnes to 100 litres) for holding and carrying out replicated experiments on live marine organisms.
- A wide range of scientific equipment for carrying out biological research.
- Offices, workshop and boatshed.
Achievements
In its short history, BIARC has achieved significant recognition for its role in technological development and extension within the aquaculture industry in tropical and subtropical Queensland.
Areas of excellence in past research have included prawn nutrition and maturation, live transport of Kuruma prawns, genetic improvement of prawns, assessment of the potential for eel aquaculture in Queensland, larval rearing of snapper, and finfish production aimed at restocking the Maroochy River.
Many of these projects involved collaboration with researchers from local and interstate universities and from other scientific institutions. BIARC continues to source additional specialist and technical knowledge through centralised departmental facilities and a growing network of collaborative expertise.
Current projects and activities
Profitable aquaculture systems
Prawns
Over the last 4-5 years, BIARC has been assisting the $45 million aquaculture prawns industry in Queensland via a number of selective breeding programs.
A state government funded program for 'Improved Genetic Strains' demonstrated BIARC's ability to initiate and run a selective breeding program for marine prawns. This enabling technology, initially honed on banana prawns, was then able to be applied to the more difficult but lucrative black tiger prawn.
This second prawn genetic program commenced 5 years ago through funding support from the FRDC to "Understand and remove the barriers to black tiger prawn domestication". After many failed attempts both locally and internationally, this program aims to now successfully produce a reliable supply of domesticated black tiger prawn broodstock. BIARC is continuing the first successful multi-generational, multi-family prawn selection program in Australia. In collaboration with CSIRO, AIMS, the Australian Prawn Farmers' Association and two commercial prawn farms, the program hopes to eliminate the need for wild caught broodstock, reducing fishing pressure and increasing reliability of broodstock supply to prawn farmers.
Several other research programs at the centre are focusing on improved profitability and sustainability for the prawn farming industry. These include waste treatment technologies (see later section) and marketing tools, like organic certification. The demand for certified organic foods, including organic prawns, continues to increase with a number of countries looking towards this type of product diversification and paying a premium.
A DPI&F led project, supported by RIRDC, is currently looking at the technical aspects of organic prawn production. This has involved farm-based trials with banana prawns, feed trials at BIARC, investigations of newly available organic ingredients with the black tiger prawn and extending the shelf life of product with modified atmosphere packaging; a joint effort with the department's Innovative Food Technology group. The project is laying a strong foundation for organic aquaculture research and development in Queensland.
Molluscs
Researchers are investigating restocking waters off the Queensland coast with saucer scallops to counter the effects of fishing and unreliable larval recruitment. Supported by FRDC, a project investigated the genetic population structure of the wild populations of the saucer scallop in Queensland and Western Australia in order to manage restocking ventures in both states. A follow-on project now is developing a chemical marker in saucer scallops to enable discernment of hatchery reared scallop from wild scallop after stocking on the sea bed.
Other work includes genetic and culture investigations for tropical abalone and research in support of moves towards pearl oyster production in Queensland.
Marine worms
Investigations into innovative marine wastewater treatment technologies have led to the concept of worm assisted sand filtration. In a world first for DPI&F, prawn pond wastewaters are being filtered by constructed sand beds housing cultured populations of these benthic omnivores. Preliminary work with two local species at BIARC in a low-power, low maintenance approach, appears to have addressed many of the necessary operating conditions, has provided encouraging nutrient removal and worm biomass as a valuable byproduct (for fish bait and high-value prawn feed). This concept is now being trialed at commercial scale in a National Landcare Program.
Crabs
The Crab team is extending methods to industry for hatchery production of blue swimmer crab juveniles for production of soft-shelled crabs. Additional research is focusing on fine-tuning crab hatchery techniques to reduce labour costs, improving yields when crabs are grown in ponds and investigating individual growth of crabs as a solution to cannibalism. Behavioural studies are under way into crab cannibalism, as is a study of the molecular control of moulting.
In collaboration with scientists at QUT, and partners in Vietnam and Indonesia, BIARC researchers are also developing pelleted feeds specific to mud crabs in an ACIAR funded project. Recently, in partnership with Northern Territory researchers, with support from FRDC, BIARC has developed commercial methods for hatchery and nursery production of mud crabs, leading to increased availability of mud crab juveniles for on-farm trials.
Biotechnology
Microarray technology is being used to identify genes of importance during moulting in crabs, puberty in fish and pearl formation in oysters. Researchers are developing genetic markers to differentiate between different families of prawns in a selective breeding program. We are hoping to gain understanding of the genetic population structure of barramundi populations in Queensland. Researchers are also cataloguing the bacterial fauna in culture systems of crabs, fish and molluscs using DNA sequences, and looking at identifying genes involved in sexual differentiation in pearl oysters.
Integrated aquaculture
BIARC researchers are investigating the potential for integrating aquaculture with other agribusinesses, particularly water intensive industries such as the irrigation and mining industry in Queensland. Current research, funded by the Cotton Catchment Communities Cooperative Research Centre (Cotton CRC) is looking at the potential to integrate aquaculture into cotton growing regions either utilising groundwater, the large water storage dams (ring tanks) already existing or exploring the potential to use other water sources such as coal seam gas mining in the region. The work focuses on improving water use efficiency through resource use optimisation, multiple water use strategies and the use of marginal resources.
The introduction of aquaculture into cotton growing regions has also seen the need for development of suitable intensive production systems capable of operating in environments not specifically designed for aquaculture. The development and refinement of cost effective In-Pond Floating Raceways (IPFR) has overcome this issue. It also integrates well with a current CARD/AusAid project looking at intensive in-pond production of marine finfish both in Australia and Vietnam. This CARD project has achieved greater than 100 kg/m3 of finfish production without supplemental aeration.
The FRDC is continuing to support, through its Inland Saline Aquaculture program, a DPI&F/industry collaborative inland prawn demonstration site at Bauple. Additional benchmarking trials to compare the productivity of redclaw and inland prawn farming are also planned.
Sustainable intensive systems
The Wastewater Remediation Team at BIARC is helping industry to develop production methods that meet new environmental regulations by limiting wastewater discharge, particularly for the marine prawn and barramundi sectors. This research has tested a variety of wastewater treatment technologies, ranging from autotrophic (plant-based) and heterotrophic (bacterial/animal-based, for example, polychaete worm) systems, mechanical devices and enhanced pond design to allow economical on-farm water treatment.
While appropriate treatment methods are often site-specific, the goal is to achieve zero wastewater discharge from aquaculture production systems, and ideally glean profits through the sale of secondary crops used as nutrient sinks in the treatment process.
Fisheries
Specialist extension staff work closely with the aquaculture R&D team. They provide advice on state aquaculture licensing requirements to new entrants to the industry, also provide information on site selection, species suitability and technical production issues.
Extension staff assist existing marine and freshwater aquaculture clients with production and disease issues through individual contact or training workshops. Staff also play an important role in linking research opportunities with industry needs and capabilities, and in disseminating research results.
Last updated 5 June 2007