White flesh fish a sustainable option to strengthen Australia’s aquaculture production
You can walk into any local supermarket and buy Australian produced Atlantic salmon. But why is this not the case for white flesh fish?
Pompano has been identified as a leading candidate to grow Australia’s white flesh fish sector.
Despite huge consumer demand, Australian white flesh fish produced by aquaculture has not reached the same levels as salmon. The current industry is considerably smaller, with around 11,000 tonnes of production compared to Tasmanian Atlantic salmon with around 70,000 tonnes. However, the smaller industry size does not reflect consumer demand. Our current demand for white flesh fish far exceeds production. Of the 150,000 tonnes consumed annually across Australia, more than 50 per cent is imported.
Because of this large and increasing demand, there is a huge opportunity for a strong, domestic, white flesh fish aquaculture industry in our country. This opportunity is being recognised by the Australian government as outlined in the national aquaculture strategy. It has an aim to double the current value of our aquaculture industry to $2 billion a year by 2027.