Page Content
Starting an Aquaculture Business
Are you prepared for an aquaculture business: checklist
Get your information together
Contacts
Below is a brief overview of aquaculture and basic questions to ask yourself before proceeding with an aquaculture venture.
Aquaculture: a serious business
Setting up in aquaculture can be an expensive exercise and is not for the faint-hearted. First you need to acknowledge that this represents a significant business decision and requires a serious commitment.
Just like any other business venture, aquaculture requires a detailed feasibility study before investment decisions are made. Anything less than that puts you in the category of hobby farming, which is an excellent lifestyle choice but may not earn income.
The perception of aquaculture as an appealing lifestyle choice is a commonly held belief in Australia, possibly fuelled by our preference for coastal living. This has led on occasions to emotional rather than hard economic reasons driving what can be a 'make or break' financial decision. In retrospect, it appears that there are a number of conceptual hurdles at which the prospective aquaculturist may stumble. They are:
- a too ready acceptance of new or untried technology
- ignorance of the fact that aquaculture is a farming/business enterprise
- under capitalisation
- lack of market intelligence
- failure to understand that the product is a living organism with special requirements, because of its specific water quality requirements.
Get your information together
In order to avoid some of the above pitfalls, any intending farmer should seek a wide range of expert advice before making any hard and fast decisions.
- Excellent sources of information are the particular species industry groups, which run workshops, field days and information sessions for new and prospective farmers.
- Aquaculture regulation and management is largely a State/Territory Government responsibility. State/Territory Government fisheries and aquaculture agencies and extension officers can provide licensing information and basic biological information on currently farmed species.
Are you prepared for an aquaculture business: a checklist
The following checklist of questions is provided as a self-guiding primer for the would-be farmer.
The two most important decisions are site selection and species choice.
Site selection
The suitability of the site is paramount and the following checklist is a useful guide:
- is the proposed site in a region zoned as suitable for aquaculture?
- is the site well drained, above flood-prone areas (1:100 year flood)?
- does the site have site topography suitable for proposed design?
- does the site have soil suitable for pond construction (if ponds are planned)?
- does the site have sufficient and acceptable water supply?
- does the site have acceptable potential for effluent disposal?
- does the site have a climate suitable for the intended species (which should be natural to the area)?
- does the site have good all-weather market access?
- does the site have easy access to services and technical assistance?
- is there adequate room for intended function plus future expansion?
- the site should not occupy a natural water course
- the site should not be in a pollution prone area
- the site should not be too remote.
Species selection
Species selection must be a well thought-out decision. The animal should be suited to the local climate extremes and should be native to the area. It is essential that established and reliable rearing techniques are known and readily accessible for the intended species.
The natural life cycle of the intended species should be considered so that its basic biological needs can be met e.g. some species can tolerate varying degrees of salinity; some tolerate crowding; some wean onto artificial diets more easily than others do. Disregarding these requirements could introduce intolerable levels of stress, leading to reduced growth and possible disease outbreaks. Questions to consider:
- have you been in touch with an industry representative about information exchange?
- have you chosen a species for culture and are you familiar with its biology?
- have you explored the various production strategies available and identified the one that satisfies your interests and resources?
- if you do not have the necessary technical experience, are you prepared to employ someone who does?
- are you intending to manage and spawn offspring?
- if not, are dependable sources of juveniles available locally?
Marketing
Marketing of the product is an important aspect which is sometimes overlooked. Not only is it important to identify your market, but also to make sure that you can supply at the right time, in the right form and at the right price. It is essential that the following market intelligence be gathered:
- have you examined the existing situation with respect to market size and demand, along with the level of competition?
- have you identified both primary and secondary markets for your product?
- have you determined the form in which you will market your product?
- can you supply product to your market on a regular basis throughout the year?
- do you have the means to harvest, handle, hold and transport the product?
- are you familiar with legal issues involved with the marketing of your product?
Socio-legal considerations
- is the development of an aquaculture facility at your site acceptable to neighbours and others who may use the region?
- have you discussed your plans with appropriate state agencies and extension officers?
- have you identified the permits required for the construction and operation of the facility?
- can the required permits be obtained without excessive investment of time, money and effort?
- can you obtain permits for an extended period of time, or do they have to be renewed frequently?
Economic questions
- have you developed a realistic business plan over a 3-5 year timespan?
- do you own or have access to an appropriate site?
- have you determined what your outlays will need to be to accommodate your venture?
- can you secure sufficient capital at a reasonable interest rate?
- have you made a realistic assessment of the timing and scale of expected returns on your investment?
- will the lender accommodate your production and marketing schedule?
- do you have adequate cash reserves for unanticipated costs such as equipment and/or crop loss?
Starting an aquaculture venture offers the prospect of good returns, but also has an element of risk. It is most important to realistically evaluate the prospects of a good financial return and the feasibility of the operation. Depending on the nature of the aquaculture venture, there are some opportunities for financial support from and it pays to explore all of these.
Contacts
Regulation of aquaculture industry is the responsibility of State government agencies: