The future of aquaculture industry in Jurien Bay is bright as Western Kingfish, Jurien Bay based hatchery and offshore operations was officially opened last Friday. On the opening ceremony John Gillon, chairperson of Western Kingfish, said that the facility would give hope to an industry facing a challenging future. According to him overfishing has threatened the global food supplies.
Gillon informed that the development of a major facility at Jurien Bay by Western Kingfish is a significant investment in the under-developed commercial aquaculture industry in Australia. He added that the opening of Western Kingfish in Jurien Bay is a significant milestone and ensures the company is on its way to becoming a major contributor to aquaculture in WA.
The company has been working in conjunction with the Department of Fisheries and the Department of Environment and Conservation in developing environmental monitoring and management programmes. This shows that Western Kingfish expands its operations and its aquaculture activities do not have negative environmental consequences.
The company’s general manager and executive director Herb Mitton said that the company is targeting yellow tail kingfish, lobster and any number of high value temperature water species because the water temperatures and high energy pristine environment are absolutely perfect. He added that Western Kingfish is a rapidly growing sector of the food industry; therefore producing a premium quality product is the key goal.
Mitton also informed that the new hatchery involves the culturing and selling of lobsters including Moreton Bay bugs, tropical rock lobster and western rock lobster.
