Australia: Clean Seas Tuna has become the first company to successfully transfer a batch of Southern Bluefin Tuna fingerlings from onshore nursery tanks to a sea cage for controlled grow-out trials.
Some 90 fingerlings, now ranging in length from eight to ten centimetres, and weighing up to 15 grams, have been transferred to a 25-metre-diameter cage offshore. The transfer followed the successful weaning of the fingerlings onto a manufactured diet. A similar number of fingerlings will remain in the onshore nursery tanks at the company's Arno Bay facility in Port Lincoln, Australia, while the at-sea development is assessed.
These two batches of fingerlings are the result of the Southern Bluefin Tuna broodstock spawning and larval rearing that commenced late in January.
"This is the world's first transfer of Southern Bluefin Tuna fingerlings to the ocean," said Mr Clifford Ashby, Managing Director of Clean Seas Tuna.
"It is another significant step forward for us. It is not only a critical stage for Clean Seas Tuna but also places Australia at the forefront of technological initiatives being undertaken in global marine aquaculture," he said.
"The pioneering nature of the breeding program means that every stage produces a challenge for our skilled production, research and development and grow-out teams, and we are closely monitoring these fingerlings with great anticipation.
"It is a credit to our staff and research partners that this significant step forward has been taken in the company's quest to commercialise production of propagated Southern Bluefin Tuna. It is also a credit to the passion, perseverance and determination of our visionary founder, Hagen Stehr."
Broodstock spawning cycle recommences
Mr Ashby said the recommencement of the broodstock spawning cycle last week was a further development in the Southern Bluefin Tuna programme.
"The resumption of spawning this month provides the company's excellent production and research and development teams with the opportunity to put into practice the lessons learnt from the first spawning and to further improve on our survival rates," he said.
"The new Arno Bay facility has performed well and we are sure that survival rates will improve significantly as we gain experience with the system and the many variable inputs. We will continue to update the market on the progress of the spawning and larval-rearing season as previously advised to the market in January 2011."
The achievement sets the stage for the company to commercialise the potentially lucrative process as early as 2012.
Fulfilling a promise made years ago to rivals, who doubted his dream of commercially breeding the species, Mr Stehr shaved his head after the successful transfer.
Disclosure: Members of the Baird family or companies in the Baird Publications group own shares in Clean Seas Tuna.
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