Marine farming opportunity

In 1995 industry representatives to the National Rock Lobster Management Group introduced an operational plan to enable collection of juvenile lobsters (puerulus and first moult) from the wild fishery to investigate the economic viability of on-growing (farming) of rock lobster.

That plan was agreed by the Minister of the day and enabled significant investment and research into aquaculture opportunities without compromising the rebuild of the wild fisheries, and without detracting from commercial and non-commercial fishing opportunities.

The aquaculture opportunity for rock lobsters is now demonstrated not to be economically viable but the opportunity remains for aspiring marine farmers to test new grow-out technologies.