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Tuna research earns national award
Research involving scientists from the University of the Sunshine Coast into the domestication of southern bluefin tuna at land-based hatcheries has earned a prestigious national award.
The “Excellence in Innovation” prize was presented to the Australian Seafood CRC (Cooperative Research Centre) on Friday 28 May at the Cooperative Research Centre Association Conference in Alice Springs.
The Seafood CRC, one of Australia’s 48 Cooperative Research Centres, received the prize in recognition of the outstanding innovation and commercial application of its research with South Australian company Clean Seas Tuna Ltd.
The tuna project has, over the past three years, involved scientists from more than 15 institutes around the world and across Australia, including USC’s Professor in Aquaculture Biotechnology Abigail Elizur, Associate Professor in Aquaculture Genetics Wayne Knibb, Dr Peter Brooks and Mr Daryle Sullivan.
The team of scientists has achieved a series of research breakthroughs that enabled the breeding and rearing of the prized Southern Bluefin Tuna in land-based hatcheries.
Professor Elizur was recently interview by ABC Radio Australia about the project. A transcript of the interview has been posted on the ABC's website.
Seafood CRC Program Manager Dr Graham Mair said the CRC Association prize recognised the huge, collaborative scientific effort behind the commercial development of Southern Bluefin Tuna aquaculture by Clean Seas Tuna.
Dr Mair said the project epitomised the CRC mantra of “end-user driven research partnerships”.
“Through the vision of its founder, Dr Hagen Stehr AO, Clean Seas Tuna has learned how to effectively engage with teams of scientists to undertake discovery research and to take this on to commercial delivery, in partnership with the Seafood CRC,” he said.
“This prize-winning collaboration means consumers will soon be able to buy fresh Bluefin Tuna in the knowledge that the supply is sustainable through the combination of aquaculture and ocean fishing.
“The CRC Association has recognised the capacity of the Clean Seas Tuna business to create a significant export business for Australia by supplying tuna to the world as demand increases and supply of wild caught tuna in northern hemisphere is increasingly threatened.”
— Terry Walsh