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WELCOME
Condabilla
Fish farm is the largest inland aquaculture license
in Queensland, owned and operated by Sundale Enterprises
Pty Ltd. |
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The
property is based southwest of Chinchilla on the western
edge of the Darling Downs, obtaining its water from
the floodwaters of the Condamine River. The farm currently
runs as a growout facility for fingerlings to market
size fish.
Plans
to develop the farm first started in 1999, when family
owned Sundale Enterprises (currently grain and cotton
farmers in Queensland) purchased a bare property in
Chinchilla. Rob Bartley is a farmer who has been employed
by the family business for 12 years. Rob has been involved
in aquaculture since 1997 and is a member of the Aquacultural
Engineers Society and the Secretary of the Aquaculture
Association of Queensland Inc.
Construction
of the first 3.3 hectare production pond began in August
2001. Within two years, a 0.6 ha pond was dedicated
to research and development to allow the trial of a
number of construction techniques and systems before
larger scale operations were started. A second production
pond of 5.5 hectares was started in November 2005 and
its construction saw a huge lift in production capacity,
with all ponds now producing fish.
Nursery, quarantine and purging
areas are well established and the farm is now
heavily into the construction of its third pond,
which will at least double the farms present
capacity. The farm has a license for another
41ha of ponds, of which two 0.1 hectare hatchery
ponds have also been constructed.
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By utilizing the latest
production technologies from around the world, the main
pond systems are based on the Partitioned Aquaculture
System (PAS) from Clemson University, SC, USA. The system
was originally designed for channel catfish overseas,
but the system has been adapted for the native Australian
species grown on the farm.
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Large
paddle water wheels keep pond water continuously circulating
allowing the natural elements of the pond to handle
wastes and maintain dissolved oxygen levels. Individual
water quality controls for specific raceways within
the system are easily monitored and action taken if
and when needs arise, such as the activation of aeration
devices.
As with all aquaculture
systems, nutrient removal is an extensive process. Condabilla
Fish farm uses a course of growing floating mats of
‘ponded pasture’, consisting of a number
of fast growing tropical grasses (including Paragrass)
that can be also utilised for feeding the cattle on
the farm. Water flows through the ponded pasture to
maintain a well-balanced system in the raceways, also
promoting natural algal blooms. The farm boasts zero
discharge, with all water and wastes retained. The system
also allows for harvest without pond draining and to
date no ponds have been drained and dried. The PAS is
extremely water efficient, with main water loss due
to evaporation (our annual water requirement is only
10ML/ha).
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Our
Vision at Condabilla Fish is to be a company that
produces profits from sustainable agriculture
by striving for excellence through innovation.
All raceways are now producing high quality premium
fish with an annual harvest capacity of 50 tonnes. |
We predict to eventually
produce around the 10 tonnes per hectare per year mark.
The farm has been able to achieve good growth rates
with silver perch at stocking densities of up to 20kg/m3
while with Murray Cod there has been no decrease in
performance at stocking densities up to 150kg/m3.
Fish are currently sold
into Sydney and Melbourne with an expected export in
the near future into Asia.
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