Government’s Blacklip Oyster Project looks to go commercial
Aboriginal corporations including Yagbani Aboriginal Corporation, Groote Aqua Aboriginal Corporation and Tiwi Resources are set to benefit.
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The NT government’s Blacklip Oyster Project is entering its second phase as it looks to develop the farming of the bivalve into a commercial industry.
Blacklip Rock Oysters are a native species of tropical oyster found throughout the Northern Territory which have never been produced commercially.
The government hopes that developing the project into a commercial industry will lead to hundreds of jobs as well as financial offsets for Aboriginal communities.
Agribusiness and Fisheries minister Mark Monaghan said the “world leading” research, currently taking place by NT scientists, was heading in the right direction and set to prove a boon for Top End communities.
“In the Top End, Blacklip Rock Oyster aquaculture incorporates local knowledge, historical connection, cultural appropriateness and low-tech farming methods to crack into a new commercial oyster market,” he said.
“This project is not only delivering ground breaking research, but it provides a massive opportunity to get more Territorians on country working and creates a sustainable income stream which will lead to major benefits across communities in the Northern Territory.”
Yagbani Aboriginal Corporation, Groote Aqua Aboriginal Corporation and Tiwi Resources are some of the Aboriginal corporations and communities that would be used to bring the oyster to market.
The project was started in 2020, with $5.2m being invested since its inception, as part of a push to grow the Aquaculture industry in the Territory that is worth $62.5m annually.
Phase one, at the Darwin Aquaculture Centre on Channel Island, focused on the most efficient way to grow the oysters from hatchlings.
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