Ms CARTER - 2001-07-04
This government has always placed a strong emphasis on fisheries research. Can the minister provide any details on the latest addition to the Fisheries Research Division?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the honourable member for her question. At lunchtime today I will be commissioning a fisheries research vessel to be known as the John Hickman and it commemorates one John Hickman who was a founding and leading light of the Commercial Fishermen’s Association Northern Territory. In the 1960s and 1970s John Hickman actually led the development of the commercial fishing industry in the Northern Territory.
The vessel is about 28 feet long and is designed to operate both in the blue water and in the mangrove areas touching the Territory coast, in recognition of the fact that much of our fishery does abut the coast in that it’s an inshore fishery.
I was going to invite the member for Arnhem to attend the commissioning of that vessel, although we did have some problems in terms of Archimedes principle of buoyancy, and we did ask that the fuel tank, which holds about 1000 L of fuel, be left mainly empty so the honourable member for Arnhem could attend. I would ask him could he now signify if he is, in fact, coming.
Ms Martin: Well, if you ask the shadow minister for fisheries, he would be there.
Mr Reed: I think that is a no.
Mr PALMER: I think it is a no. Perchance he won’t be coming. Let me say ...
Ms MARTIN: A point of order, Mr Speaker! If the minister would like to ask the relevant shadow, he would be very willing to be there.
Mr SPEAKER: That is not a point of order.
Mr PALMER: Mr Speaker, it is evident he will not be traversing the desert of Central Australia and I thought it would be appropriate to invite a member upon whose electorate it may touch.
Let me say that fisheries research is an important part of the operations of my department and some of the links we have maintained and links we have achieved with fisheries research organisations in other places are also very important. For some time we have been attempting to breed successfully the barramundi cod, otherwise known as grouper, in an effort to access the highly lucrative Hong Kong market which pays between $80 and $100 per kilo for live fish.
We recently signed an agreement with Gondol Research Institute in Bali who have successfully bred the grouper on a number of occasions. It was just by simple exchange of information that we have been able to breed the grouper and successfully spawn it. Our technology in growing it out has not been able to be achieved by Gondol in Bali, and their ability to spawn the grouper has not been able to be achieved by my research institute in Darwin. Working cooperatively and jointly we have now probably cracked the breeding, successful spawning, breeding and grow-out of the barramundi cod, which in itself hopefully will lead to a diminution of the poisoning of reefs that currently occurs in Indonesia, the use of cyanide on coral reefs to stun the fish and take them live into the Asian market, which in fact leaves those reefs very, very dead.
As I said, it is a big day for the Fisheries research people - it is a brand new boat. The previous boat, the Inundator, was accidentally lost off Melville Island. This new vessel which it replaces will, as I said, give my Fisheries research people the ability not only to research the pelagic and offshore stocks but also give them an ability to research stocks contained within the marine estuaries. I thank the honourable member for her question.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the honourable member for her question. At lunchtime today I will be commissioning a fisheries research vessel to be known as the John Hickman and it commemorates one John Hickman who was a founding and leading light of the Commercial Fishermen’s Association Northern Territory. In the 1960s and 1970s John Hickman actually led the development of the commercial fishing industry in the Northern Territory.
The vessel is about 28 feet long and is designed to operate both in the blue water and in the mangrove areas touching the Territory coast, in recognition of the fact that much of our fishery does abut the coast in that it’s an inshore fishery.
I was going to invite the member for Arnhem to attend the commissioning of that vessel, although we did have some problems in terms of Archimedes principle of buoyancy, and we did ask that the fuel tank, which holds about 1000 L of fuel, be left mainly empty so the honourable member for Arnhem could attend. I would ask him could he now signify if he is, in fact, coming.
Ms Martin: Well, if you ask the shadow minister for fisheries, he would be there.
Mr Reed: I think that is a no.
Mr PALMER: I think it is a no. Perchance he won’t be coming. Let me say ...
Ms MARTIN: A point of order, Mr Speaker! If the minister would like to ask the relevant shadow, he would be very willing to be there.
Mr SPEAKER: That is not a point of order.
Mr PALMER: Mr Speaker, it is evident he will not be traversing the desert of Central Australia and I thought it would be appropriate to invite a member upon whose electorate it may touch.
Let me say that fisheries research is an important part of the operations of my department and some of the links we have maintained and links we have achieved with fisheries research organisations in other places are also very important. For some time we have been attempting to breed successfully the barramundi cod, otherwise known as grouper, in an effort to access the highly lucrative Hong Kong market which pays between $80 and $100 per kilo for live fish.
We recently signed an agreement with Gondol Research Institute in Bali who have successfully bred the grouper on a number of occasions. It was just by simple exchange of information that we have been able to breed the grouper and successfully spawn it. Our technology in growing it out has not been able to be achieved by Gondol in Bali, and their ability to spawn the grouper has not been able to be achieved by my research institute in Darwin. Working cooperatively and jointly we have now probably cracked the breeding, successful spawning, breeding and grow-out of the barramundi cod, which in itself hopefully will lead to a diminution of the poisoning of reefs that currently occurs in Indonesia, the use of cyanide on coral reefs to stun the fish and take them live into the Asian market, which in fact leaves those reefs very, very dead.
As I said, it is a big day for the Fisheries research people - it is a brand new boat. The previous boat, the Inundator, was accidentally lost off Melville Island. This new vessel which it replaces will, as I said, give my Fisheries research people the ability not only to research the pelagic and offshore stocks but also give them an ability to research stocks contained within the marine estuaries. I thank the honourable member for her question.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016