Yesterday, Ornatas welcomed Senator the Hon Jonathon Duniam, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries and our partners from the University of Tasmania Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, to an event to recognise the lodgement of a Development Application with Kingborough Council for the construction of the new pilot-scale lobster hatchery in Taroona. The new hatchery will be a two-storey, Tasmanian designed and built state of the art facility. Scott Parkinson said ‘As CEO of Ornatas, perhaps the most exciting aspect of the project is that Tasmania will develop and deliver new science and capability to the world. Ornatas will invest more than $25 million over the next five years within Australia which includes $10 million for this project.’
Senator Duniam said ‘This is World’s First, we are seeing successfully trialled and developed here in Tasmania, technology which is going to pave the way for thousands of jobs across the country’. Tasmanian scientists have discovered how to successfully breed and grow tropical rock lobsters, which is ground-breaking for the global seafood industry. Being able to farm and supply juvenile lobster seed stock has been a major stumbling block for establishing a sustainable commercial industry until now. Recent work by IMAS has achieved this breakthrough,
At Ornatas, our aim is to commercialise the lobster breeding technology. If the DA is approved, this Taroona facility will be the home of a lobster hatchery and research centre of excellence. Ornatas have engaged local architects and builders, Preston Lane and Vos Construction respectively, as well as Tasmanian planners IreneInc. The hatchery will boost employment in this exciting field to 30 Tropical Lobster experts within Taroona. The ultimate goal is to grow the juvenile rock lobsters produced in Tasmania to adulthood in Queensland were more than 100 Ornatas staff will be operating.
‘Ornatas is committed to building a socially responsible aquaculture industry. We want to ensure the local Tasmanian community is informed about this important project, our values, and the hatchery construction developments. We are committed to adding value to the community by building a visually and environmentally sensitive facility. The Taroona hatchery will be environmentally-secure, closely monitoring the quality of water leaving our facility, and adhering to strict environmental protection laws. Importantly, the Taroona foreshore here has been gifted to the Kingborough Council, enabling ongoing public access and continued enjoyment by the community.’ Scott Parkinson said.
Ornatas and the University of Tasmania received an enormous boost to support this new industry with an ARC grant to value of $26 million over the next five years. Additional to the investment in the hatchery Ornatas has invested $5 million to match the Federal Government’s first $5 million contribution into this ARC project. If the DA is successful, the next three years will be an enormous challenge, as we build the hatchery and centre of excellence in Tasmania. This was an exciting day for Ornatas and Tasmania.
More information is available about the proposed development application here.
Other news
https://www.facebook.com/243316189035395/posts/3192689037431414/?vh=e&d=n
