Ilbilbie sustainable prawn diet to be sold worldwide promising new local jobs

Ilbilbie’s Australian Prawn Farm will be providing new jobs as part of a ‘state of the art’ five-year expansion

Ilbilbie’s Australian Prawn Farm will be offering new jobs as part of a five-year expansion.

The farm will expand its current operations in the “most state of the art and up to date way”, with a heavy focus on sustainable production and boosting the region’s economy.

The announcement of the expansion comes after Mackay based Australian Prawn Farms successfully trialled a 160-day sustainable prawn diet called Propel-S, with ingredients containing no marine resources.

“Australian prawn farmers typically feed their prawns with a pellet that includes fish meal and fish oil to mimic their wild diet, but the global growth in aquaculture has increased demand for marine resources and created a need for additional alternative raw materials,” Australian Prawn Farms general manager Matt West said.

The new diet features a unique microbial biomass ingredient called Novacq.

The CSIRO developed the ingredient and Australian prawn feed manufacturer Ridley brought it to the market.

Ridley Group Technical and Research and Development Manager Dr Richard Smullen, Australian Prawn Farms Senior Manager – Research and Biosecurity Tony Charles, and Australian Prawns General Manager Matt West. Picture: Contributed

“The results from the trial are a world first,” Mr West said.

“The prawns grew at the same rate and tasted the same.

“This spin off from this and other trials – a modified diet using the same technology – is now in commercial use on the farm and industry wide.

“Australian Prawn Farms will continue to work with feed companies like Ridley to develop and implement innovative, environmentally sustainable and cost effective feeding solutions.

“The future of prawn farming will see a shift to more automation and other ag-tech, so the development of feeds which can easily integrate into these methods of feed delivery will be crucial.”

Ridley customer solutions manager Dr Richard Smullen said the Propel-S diet would allow the Australian industry to be more sustainable and meet the growing demand for sustainably-produced giant prawns nationally and internationally.

“This Australian-developed technology means farms can meet the sustainability goals set by third party verification programs such as Best Aquaculture Practice or the Aquaculture Stewardship Council,” he said.

On November 8 and 9, the House Agriculture and Water Resources Committee held public hearings as part of its current inquiry into Australia’s aquaculture sector.

Aquaculture organisations including Australian Prawn Farmers Association and local operators provided perspectives about the opportunities and barriers to the expansion of Queensland’s aquaculture sector.

The committee will present a report into its findings from the inquiry once it has finished gathering further evidence from stakeholders.