Featured business:
Floating abalone farm on its way to SA
The AgeAustralian News 29/11/2004 12:13:46
The world's only floating abalone farm is on its way to South Australia from China after a $6 million refit.
The Destiny Queen, owned by the Destiny Abalone Group, will be based near Port Lincoln on SA's Eyre Peninsula and will allow the company to almost double annual export sales from $3.5 million at present to $6.5 million.
"This is one of the most significant expansions in the Australian abalone industry in the past 20 years," Destiny Abalone Group spokesman Mark Thring said.
"We set the pace three years ago by introducing the Destiny Queen as the world's first floating abalone farm and now we have taken our leadership a step further.
"This expansion and subsequent increases in our production volumes is not only good news for Destiny Abalone but also the Australian and South Australian abalone industries.
"It will ensure this country maintains its position at the forefront of technology in the global abalone industry and continues to show the way with quality production on the world stage."
The refit to the 6,500 tonne Destiny Queen has taken four months.
It is now expected to arrive back in South Australia in late December and resume operations soon after.
The refit included the installation of two 550 tonne upper hold tanks on the ship's main deck which will be used in conjunction with similar tanks in the hull to grow-out green lip abalone in a controlled aquaculture environment.
Aboard the Destiny Queen green lip abalone juveniles are placed in the grow-out tanks and allowed to mature in conditions similar to those in the ocean.
The technology improves the quality and production of abalone while markedly decreasing growing times and mortality rates.
To optimise that process, the ship anchors at different cold-water locations in Spencer Gulf for two weeks at a time.
"There is no other vessel like the Destiny Queen and there is no other technology like ours for growing abalone being used commercially anywhere in the world," Mr Thring said.
"Through the technology we have developed, South Australia is at the forefront of the global demand cycle because we are able to produce quality abalone throughout the entire year."
Back
More headlines
