By Ben Ponia

 

While in Fiji recently, the Aquaculture Adviser took the opportunity to visit a shrimp farm in Navua and a black-pearl farm in Savusavu..

 

DFF prawn  farm, Navua

 I accompanied Dr Tim Pickering (Aquaculture Lecturer, University of the South Pacific – USP) to the Dairy Farm Fiji (DFF) Aquaculture Unit, located at the former Viti-corp Ltd farm, which the company has leased from the Fiji Islands Government. Macrobrachium and tilapia had been farmed there previously, and so DFF inherited the existing ponds and infrastructure. Improvements were undertaken, however, to upgrade pond surfaces, dykes and slopes. DFF prawn farm operates through a unique relationship between private sector and academia (i.e. USP). Under the current arrangement, USP — through it's Institute of Marine Resources (IMR) — provides technical advice and labour to the farm on a cost-recovery basis.

The School of Marine Studies (SMS) Seawater Laboratory at USP (Laucala campus) breeds and rears post-larvae (PL) ready for pond stocking. Avinash Singh (IMR) is project manager. This is a useful case-study of technology transfer for the Pacific Islands region, as it is a successful demonstration of one mechanism for transferring scientific research and development to industry application. Early projections for the business model were derived from the economic models (available on the SPC Aquaculture portal website); it was interesting to see this model being applied in a real life situation.

The model continues to be useful for fine-tuning the whole operation; for example, by inputting real farm data to make decisions about the optimum size of prawns for harvesting, or the best stock density for prawns. DFF has already completed several harvest cycles. The operation is well into the learning curve, and from this experience the commercial aspects of prawn farming are beginning to be understood. So far DFF has exceeded its harvest expectations (compared with the initial economic modelling), largely by increasing stocking densities. One of the 0.3-ha ponds was harvested the week prior to my visit, had yielded approximately 600 kg of prawns at 38 g/individual, after a six-month grow-out.  

During my visit, I also noted some positive indications of the marketing demand for prawns. For example, DFF had just completed building a retail shop, called "The Prawn Shop", which that week had sold 250 kg of prawns (at FJD25/kg) without any advertising. This consisted of sales made to people driving by who saw the sign and stopped. The product is marketed as “Fiji Blue Prawn”. According to Kevin Blake, CEO of DFF, the company is a small portfolio of two of New Zealand's eminent entrepreneurs (Bruce Pulman and Paul Boocock). The primary business of the parent operation in Fiji (Highway Stabilizers Ltd) is road works, bridge construction and other road projects.

The Viti-Corp lease for the DFF prawn farm was added as an "industry good" project, intended to raise the company profile. Since DFF is generating a quick cash turnover, there is potential for commercial expansion. Currently there are 24 grow-out ponds and there are plans to build another 20 after the rainy season. To take the “industry good” concept another step further, and to make a wider impact at the community level, the DFF farm is keen to explore a satellite-farming concept. This would involve post-larval prawns being supplied from DFF hatchery extension services to village ponds. After a short grow-out period, these prawns would be marketed through the company chain: a soft version of the Fijian Goodman Fielder Crest Chicken contract grow-out model. 

 

J. Hunter Pearl Farm, Savusavu

The J. Hunter Pearl label is quickly becoming an exclusive, high quality product line for Fijian pearls. The farm's success is the result of attention to a number of critical factors, such as good business acumen, marketing, and consultation with local communities.

Under the managerial direction of Justin Hunter, the farm at Savusavu has approximately 500,000 oysters under cultivation. The pearl harvests several million Fijian dollars (gross) per annum. Upon arrival I viewed several crops that had just been harvested. The pearls display the usual spectacular array of colour that Fiji pearls are becoming renown for. Amongst this crop were some dark “chocolate” coloured pearls. The quality of the pearls is probably due, in part, to the expertise of the Japanese technicians employed by the farm. These technicians also provide seeding services for other pearl farmers in the surrounding area. The J. Hunter operation is also expanding to a second location.

The pearl farm operates its own hatchery, and routine spawning operations were underway during my visit. The Fiji oysters appear to have a high fecundity and large sized eggs, which could be related to the nutrient-rich water quality environment of Savusavu Bay. While the hatchery is not large by commercial standards, it still has scope for expansion and could accommodate other species. The farm also employs a USP graduate as its biologist to carry out ecological baseline studies, particularly water quality monitoring and carrying out basic pearl grow-out experiments.

The pearl farm provides direct benefits through avenues such as employment (of all genders and a range of ages), but also indirectly through the business that the high investment pearl farming enterprise generates. The farm also pays a dividend from its profits to the local village. For example, it has provided funds for a community hall, which also serves as emergency shelter in case of a cyclone. In addition, the farm sponsors an education scholarship for young students from the village. Those interested to know more about the farm's operations can visit their website (www.pearlsfiji.com).

At the farm we also discussed the possibility of carrying out some mabe pearl seeding trials. The J. Hunter Pearl Farm has thousands of reject oysters that could be used for experiments. It would be particularly interesting if the geographical scope for this experiment could be standardised and extended throughout the Pacific and other countries.