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Challenges for Norwegion Aquaculture N John Mercer checking the algae cultures company's Pinnace Channel longlines well below the wave action. These oysters will be marketed through the summer as they reach market size. While Lance was quick to point out that at this stage everything was speculative, he expected to have a marketable 70-80mm product available in 16-18 months from spawning. MARKET EXPANSION Lance said the Victorian industry had the capacity to expand tenfold, but was held back by the size of the fresh market. Of the four big growers, three of them were from interstate. "The unallocated water is probably in the vicinity of two thirds of the current licensed zones, but, due to lack of market share, much of that is under utilised. "There's half a dozen growers ready to expand if the market was there. We're all doing our best to increase product awareness, but there's just so much you can do without going on television. And to do that the industry needs to be a lot more fi nancial. The truth of the matter is that we can increase capacity faster than we can grow the markets." One sleeper in the whole matter, is the clauses in aquaculture licenses and fi sheries zone leases that stipulate that the allocated areas must be farmed and that the farms maintained to avoid falling into default on both or either. Fisheries took a lenient approach to non-compliance during the times that wild spat collection was irregular, but now that the hatchery is producing seeded ropes, this policy may be reviewed. In the face of these limitations, Lance sees any expansion being driven by a move into processing and exporting. "At Sea Bounty we'd be happy to enter a joint venture. We're looking for someone with overseas marketing connections to set up a processing works. This will give us the marketing surety to allow us to increase the industry's production to its full capacity." The diversifi cation into oysters, and possibly scallops, will give the Victorian marine farmers of Port Phillip Bay and Westernport market options, while at the same time giving their hatchery facility a greater spread of productivity. orwegian Auditor General Jørgen Kosmo says the present use of policy instruments is not suffi ciently adapted to the signifi cant environmental challenges faced by the Norwegian Aquaculture industry. His report says the management of aquaculture must be strengthened in order to ensure environmental sustainability and growth in the industry, which has been considerable for several years. His investigations show that strong growth has had a signifi cant environment impact, particularly in areas with extensive, high density aquaculture production. The report says there is now a high proportion of escaped farmed fi sh among wild fi sh representing a threat to the wild fi sh population's ability to survive, and in some areas it has also affected the genetic distinctiveness of wild salmon. The goal of reducing impacts that threaten the genetic diversity of salmon to a non-harmful level by 2010 has not been achieved. There are substantial losses of farmed fi sh, particularly as a result of disease. The disease situation has not improved since 2000, and the extensive losses mean large fi nancial losses for the industry and ineffi cient use of marine areas. The prevalence of lice remains at a high level along large parts of the coast. For farmed fi sh, this primarily means poorer fi sh welfare, and the ability to survive is also reduced, particularly for sea trout. Aquaculture contributes to discharges of large amounts of nutrient salts, organic material and chemicals in the areas around fi sh farms. The consequences of the total discharges from the aquaculture industry have yet to be clarifi ed, but chemicals, primarily from the treatment of lice, are discharged untreated into the water, and such agents have been shown to harm nature. The aquaculture industry is dependent on large quantities of wild fi sh for fi sh feed. The fi shing pressure on some of these species has been great, and it is important that the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs continues its work of ensuring that all wild resources that are part of the feed for farmed fi sh that come from sustainable fi sheries. It is also important to ensure effi cient utilisation of by-products from the production of fi sh for human consumption, says Auditor General Jørgen Kosmo. Several of the environmental challenges are related to the total environmental load from several aquaculture facilities in a wider area. It can be challenging for case offi cers to assess what is environmentally justifi able pursuant to the regulations when awarding licences. A number of environmental goals have been defi ned for the aquaculture industry. However, the investigation shows that government administration has not developed or applied indicators to any great extent, that could show whether the goal of a sustainable and environmentally sound aquaculture industry is achieved. The full 78-page report can be found at: www. riksrevisjonen.no/en/Reports/Pages/aquaculture. aspx. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 ■ NZ AQUACULTURE ■ 9