jaybee
27-08-2003, 04:04 PM
Courier Mail News
Brendan O'Malley 26 aug 03
INDUSTRIAL-scale fish farming has been an environmental disaster around the world and should not be trialled in Moreton Bay, a British marine scientist warned yesterday.
Don Staniford, in Brisbane for an aquaculture conference, said sea-based farms had several flaws.
He said all farms, including a kingfish and snapper farm proposed by Sun Aqua near Moreton Island, faced problems with fish escapes, disease, chemicals and unsustainable use of fish feed.
Such farms also treated the ocean like a toilet, using it to flush away faeces and food.
"Modern mariculture is a world removed from traditional aquaculture – it's like comparing industrial farming techniques with subsistence farming," Mr Staniford said.
"What we have done in the last 20 or 30 years is farm fish which are at the top of the food chain.
"All our land-based farm animals are herbivores. In the sea we have chosen to farm the top carnivores. It's like raising tigers or lions for meat instead of cows."
Sun Aqua director Julian Amos yesterday dismissed Mr Staniford as a headline-grabbing eco-terrorist with little understanding of the industry.
He said fish waste would not be detectable more than 100m from the company's sea cages, disease would be controlled with good management and steel mesh would stop fish escapes. "We are not aware of Mr Staniford having published a single scientific paper on aquaculture that was subject to peer review," Dr Amos said.
"His experience is limited to salmon farms in the European environment and he has no experience in Australia where the regulatory and licensing conditions are totally different."
Brendan O'Malley 26 aug 03
INDUSTRIAL-scale fish farming has been an environmental disaster around the world and should not be trialled in Moreton Bay, a British marine scientist warned yesterday.
Don Staniford, in Brisbane for an aquaculture conference, said sea-based farms had several flaws.
He said all farms, including a kingfish and snapper farm proposed by Sun Aqua near Moreton Island, faced problems with fish escapes, disease, chemicals and unsustainable use of fish feed.
Such farms also treated the ocean like a toilet, using it to flush away faeces and food.
"Modern mariculture is a world removed from traditional aquaculture – it's like comparing industrial farming techniques with subsistence farming," Mr Staniford said.
"What we have done in the last 20 or 30 years is farm fish which are at the top of the food chain.
"All our land-based farm animals are herbivores. In the sea we have chosen to farm the top carnivores. It's like raising tigers or lions for meat instead of cows."
Sun Aqua director Julian Amos yesterday dismissed Mr Staniford as a headline-grabbing eco-terrorist with little understanding of the industry.
He said fish waste would not be detectable more than 100m from the company's sea cages, disease would be controlled with good management and steel mesh would stop fish escapes. "We are not aware of Mr Staniford having published a single scientific paper on aquaculture that was subject to peer review," Dr Amos said.
"His experience is limited to salmon farms in the European environment and he has no experience in Australia where the regulatory and licensing conditions are totally different."