- Author Aisling Fontanini
- Publish date 28 April 2025
- Type Report
- ISBN 978-1-922437-54-9
- Documents
- Aquaculture
Summary
The WA tropical rock oyster research and development project investigated the aquaculture potential of two native (or endemic) rock oyster species, Saccostrea A and Saccostrea echinata by growing (wild and hatchery-reared) spat at several intertidal and subtidal sites in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions of WA. Initial stages of this project involved retrofitting a research hatchery in Perth with the goal to produce oyster spat and developing farm sites in northern WA in preparation to receive and grow-out these spat to determine their suitability as aquaculture candidates in a northern WA context.
Whilst the project started well in late 2019 with farm site development, it is important to note that the project outcomes were significantly impacted by several factors including the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated regional travel restrictions and isolation protocols in place throughout WA until mid-2022, the departure of key personnel and project lead scientist prior to project completion and ongoing water quality issues in the hatchery that limited the supply of spat for field trials. Despite this, both Saccostrea A and S.echinata were able to be grown in the Pilbara for 17 and 21 months respectively and showed promise as aquaculture products. This report summarizes the key findings of the field growout trials of oysters.
A crucial objective to develop a sustainable tropical rock oyster industry in northern WA is securing a reliable supply of spat for farmers. To address this, the viability of both collecting wild and hatchery rearing spat of the two target species was explored. It was determined that relying on wild spat collection alone is unlikely to be feasible for growth of a tropical rock oyster industry in the Pilbara or Kimberley with target species being either absent from wild collection devices or mixed with unsuitable species. Hatchery spat will most likely be required to complement wild collections or fully supply commercial farm operations.
Projects
Tropical Rock Oyster research and development WA
This project establishes a collaborative cross jurisdictional approach to address the most significant technical and regulatory issues that confront the fledgling Tropical Rock Oyster (TRO) industry. The project aims to examine and resolve several key issues to support the development of the TRO industry by undertaking sub-projects addressing the different research needs identified: Securing commercial spat supply – will utilise existing hatchery infrastructure and expertise at the DPIRD Hillarys facility to refine culture techniques for the Blacklip Rock Oyster (BLRO) and other TRO species to be identified in WA. Researchers will employ standard hatchery protocols used in the production of SROs on the TRO species identified in the Pilbara and Kimberley and compare performances before moving the experiment to ocean-based nurseries. Optimisation of grow-out methods and gear technology – Grow-out trials will take place in the Kimberley (Cone Bay) and in the Pilbara (three sites selected in the Dampier Archipelago) at sites providing intertidal and subtidal conditions for the farming of new TRO species (and BLRO in the Kimberley). These trials will include work to: identify TRO species with good aquaculture potential and what system (intertidal or subtidal) they should be cultured with. compare the performance of a maximum of three TRO species (likely to be two species) during grow out in order to select the best performing species. industry road testing the different grow out scenarios for new TRO species. The project team worked cross-jurisdictionally with researchers from the Darwin Aquaculture Centre working on project A.2.1819053NT. Outcomes This project has developed identification tools and agreed common names for key commercial tropical oyster species to prevent potential market confusion and ensure accurate licencing and management of the emerging industry. The Darwin Aquaculture Centre has developed a hatchery manual for the Blacklip Rock Oyster (Saccostrea echinata). In April 2023, more than 700,000 mature oysters grown as part of this research project were transferred to commercial partner Maxima. Maxima will continue refining grow-out techniques with the aim to scale up to commercial harvest within the next decade.