Five and a half hectares of ponds stand between North Queensland aquaculture producer Nathan Cleasby and his goal of building the largest redclaw crayfish farm in Australia.
Based at Majors Creek, about 50 kilometres west of Townsville, Mr Cleasby is trialling different pond designs to determine the most efficient production system for large-scale redclaw farming.
“We’ve got a small industry standard pond, a larger square prawn pond and an even larger rectangular pond, so what we’re doing is figuring out what the ideal pond looks like for a large redclaw crayfish farm,” Nathan said.
Alongside pond design, he is also working with research partners to fine-tune production methods.
“We’ve got a lot of other questions to answer. We’ve got to look at feeding, we’ve got a project with the CSIRO and we’ve got a project with the university here looking at nursery stages.
“Once we’ve answered those questions and we’re confident in our production, we’ll look to expand and build the biggest redclaw crayfish farm in Australia.”
Mr Cleasby said strong domestic demand was driving expansion plans, with current production often selling out before reaching wider markets.
“Normally it’s gobbled up locally before we can send it out. We do have interest from overseas. We’re working on some export permits.“
The farm was established with the support of a concessional First Start Loan from the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA), which helped fund both the land purchase and pond construction.
“Aquaculture farms are pretty few and far between, so it was difficult to find the right site,” Nathan said.
“Having this facility where we could borrow money to buy the farm, without overstating it, probably allowed us to do what we are doing now.”
Despite holding a Master of Aquaculture and completing a Nuffield Farming Scholarship, Mr Cleasby said purchasing a farm was new territory.
“I’m what they call a ’first-generation farmer’, so understanding how it works to buy a property and how to finance it was all very new to me. I was very lucky to have Angelo, our regional area manager, come out multiple times and explain the process.“
QRIDA North Queensland regional area manager Angelo Rigano said the niche nature of aquaculture added complexity to the loan application.
“Needless to say, I was quite impressed with Nathan’s depth of industry knowledge and what he wanted to achieve and how he wanted to get there,” Mr Rigano said.
“QRIDA is well-known as being a specialist financier to Queensland farmers. We have a broad appetite for all sorts of industries that are primary producer-based in Queensland.”
From hatchery to plate, Mr Cleasby said the connection with customers remained one of the most rewarding aspects of the business.
“I really like the connection with the restaurants. I like taking care of the animals from really small to grown. I enjoy going into the kitchens and delivering to our regulars and seeing their creative juices flow and the dishes they create.
“I’d definitely recommend QRIDA. Especially for a first-generation farmer to get some land that you can sink your teeth into and get going initially with such a higher capital cost.”
