FIFTEEN Queensland grouper recently caught in the Weipa area of the Australian state will form the basis of a new Australian aquaculture industry, according to a state government department.
Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) says that grouper has excellent export prospects and provides an alternative product for shrimp farmers.
The Weipa community is backing the DPI&F project to research the aquaculture potential of the Queensland groper (Epinephelus lanceolatus).
Julian O'Brien, senior technical officer of DPI&F's Northern Fisheries Centre in Cairns, says local amateur fishers helped catch the groupers, which were now safely housed in 60,000-litre broodstock holding tanks at the centre's tropical marine finfish aquaculture facility.
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