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A bene���cial outcome is far from assured. There���s the chance of producing combinations that not only don���t show improvement, but also deliver a negative outcome in comparison to the normal run of spawn stockings. This is all an educated guess and we all know that the witch doctors of academia don���t come cheap. Nor should they, as long as they deliver what their certi���cates say they can deliver. The real lasting rewards come in the long term, but in the short term, talking with farm managers who have put batches of new, improved species through their production lines, what they have noticed has been subtle but signi���cant improvements. The ���rst thing they���ve noticed has been that they���re getting batches through more quickly. Those sluggards that are still in the system months after the rest of the cohort have long adorned the ice trays at your favourite ���shmonger, are no longer being fed.That���s a reduction in one of the most crucial ���xed costs facing any intensive grower ��� ���sh space cost. In some cases they are experiencing a 30 percent reduction without noticeably getting product through to market any sooner, just more regularly. Then there���s the predictability. With size variation reduced it is easier to plan marketing moves. The operations manager loves it, the buyers love it and the sales department is over the moon. ONCE YOU���VE DONE THE HARD YARDS AND CLIMBED TO THE TOP OF THE HILL IT���S DOWNHILL SKYING ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK Grading is minimised. One barramundi grower said he had cut out one of three gradings. That���s a 33 percent saving in labour cost and probably a couple of days of growth lost over either side of the grading. But wait, there���s more! By selecting for a particular body conformation, the ���n���sh people I���ve spoken with have developed genotypes that stack on the weight gain in the place where the food service industry likes to see it: in the ���llets. There���s a down side of course. If you���re a hatchery and have invested all this dosh to become the market leader and someone develops a better line, it���s all been for naught: there���s no second prizes in this race. Ask your local meat-bird grower how may types of meat bird chickens there are, and I don���t mean your free range variety here, I���m talking about the market-ready in all of 42 days chook that sells for less than a loaf of designer bread. The same goes for pigs too; one size ���ts all sties. But once you���ve done the hard yards and climbed to the top of the hill it���s downhill skying all the way to the bank. Every gain is sustainable, and they���re for nothing. After the initial outlay that is. If the seedstock comes from a hatchery and not your own pairings there���ll be recovery premium, but that���s the same with all new technology, eh? I���ve spoken with shell���sh and ���n���sh growers who have made his commitment. Once they see the ���ow of the improvements you���d think they���d won the lottery. There���s a few dipping a toe in the water on this one over here. What about your side of the Ditch? Cawthron���s SMART BUOY monitoring coastal waters awthron Institute���s ���smart buoy��� released off the coast of Hawkes Bay on Saturday December 1, takes New Zealand another step closer to having a national network of coastal monitoring systems to assess the health of our ocean. The buoy is the second of what they hope will be a series around the country to improve information gathering for aquaculture and other industries reliant on good, up to date information about sea conditions in our coastal waters. The Hawkes Bay Water Quality Information buoy was designed and built by Cawthron Institute in Nelson for Hawkes Bay Regional Council. ���We need to improve the information we collect on our coastal waters, so we know to what degree things are changing and plan accordingly,��� says Cawthron Institute senior marine scientist Paul Barter. ���We see this technology as a solution not only for HBRC, but for other councils throughout New Zealand that are wanting to monitor their marine environments and collect reliable, long-term coastal water quality data.��� Cawthron Institute operates a similar buoy in Tasman Bay near Nelson called TASCAM. Cawthron Institute designed the buoys in collaboration with California-based Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. The buoys provide long-term, real-time data on-water quality, wind speed, wind direction, barometric pressure and temperature. While this information is valuable for scientists and local and environmental management agencies, it is also used by aquaculture operators and recreational ���shers. Cawthron Institute Chief Executive Professor Charles Eason says the buoys can help ���ll a signi���cant gap in New Zealand���s knowledge of what is going on in the seas around us. ���Currently in New Zealand there are very limited systems monitoring even the most basic of information such as water temperature,��� Professor Eason says. ���To properly manage our water space, and make the right decisions in the long term interests of our regions, industries and environment, we need more extensive and sophisticated monitoring technology.��� Mr Barter says Cawthron Institute is working closely with other councils that are looking at using its buoy technology in their regions. ���We���re keen to work with councils throughout the country to help establish a national network of high-tech buoys all along New Zealand���s coastline so we can build an accurate picture of what���s happening in our coastal environment.��� C JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 ��� The high-tech buoy, designed and built by Cawthron Institute, shortly after it was released off the coast of Hawkes Bay on December 1, 2012 NZ AQUACULTURE ��� 13