The Brumby Government has planned to invest $1.7 million in a collaborative shellfish research project to help the mussel industry flourishing. It is said that the project is going to run for five years which includes establishing a hatchery at the Department of Primary Industries’ (DPI) Queenscliff facility. Minister Responsible for Fisheries Joe Helper said that the research would improve mussel farming productivity and competitiveness as outlined in the recently released Victorian Aquaculture Strategy.
Helper also informed that the new strategy includes a research and development agreement between the Brumby Government and the aquaculture industry to reliably produce more mussels in the future. He also told that as per the agreement the mussel breeders have formed a consortium – the Victorian Shellfish Hatchery – which will then collaborate with researchers from the Department of Primary Industries, using the hatchery facilities at Queenscliff to improve mussel spat production.
It is a part of the agreement that the Brumby Government and industry members will jointly contribute funds toward research and infrastructure to establish and operate the hatchery. According to Helper the project would result in a reliable supply of mussel spat in a hatchery environment to address a major constraint currently faced by the mussel industry. He opined that the project will also apply the latest technology to examine mussel genetics in order to maximise the survival, growth and quality of mussels produced now and in the future. The benefits of the research project will be seen in the improvements to mussel farming productivity and competitiveness.
