Colab Construction awarded $3.6m tender for Albany Shellfish Hatchery upgrades

An Albany building company has won a $3.6 million tender to upgrade the Albany Shellfish Hatchery to meet the demands of WA’s growing shellfish industry. Colab Construction will use the money to build new laboratories, spat grading facilities, additional nursery space for juvenile rock oyster production and a new greenhouse to increase algae production for feeding juvenile rock oysters. The hatchery is WA’s leading producer of shellfish spat, which are oyster larvae that attach to a surface and eventually form clusters of oyster reefs. It provides juvenile oysters and akoya to the WA shellfish industry for trials and expansion projects, including for Harvest Road aquaculture farm. Albany Shellfish Hatchery manager Jonathan Bilton said the expansion will double the hatchery’s capacity and triple algae production, allowing the hatchery to meet interstate demand. “This will double the nursery capacity, and a benefit is that you’re going to get the spat out very quickly,” Mr Bilton said. Fisheries Minister Don Punch said he was pleased to hear an Albany-based business had been awarded the tender to complete the hatchery’s upgrades. “The Cook Government’s investment in upgrades to the Albany Shellfish Hatchery will support the WA shellfish industry to continue to develop and grow, diversifying regional economies and creating new employment opportunities,” he said. “Aquaculture is the world’s fastest-growing food production sector and this investment will help the oyster aquaculture industry capitalise on increasing market demand for edible oysters, including rock oysters and akoya.” Commercial demand has increased since the hatchery opened in December 2017. Upgrades to the hatchery are expected to begin in June.