A NEW $600,000 live lobster processing facility will be established in Beachport this year which will help boost the region’s crayfish industry by $1.5m when exports to China resume.
The Limestone Coast Fishermen’s Co-operative – a collection of 25 fishing families from the region’s coastal communities including Port MacDonnell, Robe, Beachport and Kingston – will receive $348,000 from the State Government to develop the new facility this year.
The new facility will increase the holding capacity of live rock lobster by around 10 tonnes across the Beachport and Port MacDonnell processing locations and will allow the co-op to process larger volumes of lobster for export.
Limestone Coast Fishermen’s Co-operative chairman and member Rodger Long said the facility would be of particular benefit to Beachport, Kingston and Robe fishers, whose catches are currently transported to Port MacDonnell to be processed before export.
“At the moment, we have to truck the fish caught up north down to Port MacDonnell and a lot of the fisherman would prefer if they were tanked earlier,” he said.
“It is a lot better for crays to be tanked as soon as possible and not sit in trucks all day.
“We are asking for a premium price for our crays and it is important we provide people with a premium product.
“More tank capacity also provides the fishermen with more flexibility as to when they can and cannot fish.”
Mr Long said the Beachport facility would support five jobs, complementing the 18 people currently employed at the Port MacDonnell factory.
He said Beachport was selected to house the new facility for its central location.
“We have a place down there we will lease and we will put in tanks and other infrastructure,” Mr Long said.
“It is a great thing because it is run and owned by locals – there are no outside interests at all.
“There are going to be a few jobs in the area created out of this, but the whole idea of the co-op is to keep the money in the area.”
Mr Long said a portion of the grant, delivered under the Regional Growth Fund, would also be used to facilitate the installation of a solar power system at the co-operative’s existing site in Port MacDonnell to offset energy consumption.
“Part of the grant funding was to fund a solar power system, because the cost of power is massive to run one of these facilities,” he said.
“It is great the government support the co-op, they obviously believe in what we are doing.”
Primary Industries and Regional Development Minister Tim Whetstone said the grant will stimulate economic activity and benefit both businesses and the broader community.
“The Limestone Coast Fishermen’s Co-operative is locally owned and operated by family fishing businesses in the Limestone Coast and this grant will inject new economic activity into the region, directly benefiting those local businesses involved, as well as the coastal towns and communities in which they operate,” he said.
“Southern Rock Lobster is South Australia’s largest wild catch fishery by value, producing 1539 tonnes valued at $136m.
“With increased live lobster holding capacity, Limestone Coast Fishermen’s Co-operative can process larger volumes of live Southern Rock Lobster and coupled with best practice management arrangements, secure the product’s premium market position by continuing to provide the best quality Southern
Rock Lobster to international markets.”
