Page 17 - Food&Drink magazine April-May 2023

look like? We imagined a system that could scale up to 5000, 10,000, or however many tonnes needed to be produced. Then we worked backwards to see what technology we would need in order to do that,” says Walker.
Walker and Storey designed that system and moved onto the next step: could they actually grow marron in it?
FUNDING BOOST
In 2021, AgriFutures Emerging Industries Program awarded Aquatic AI $400,000 to develop a proof of concept for technology-enabled marron farming, with a substantial portion used to engage a team of scientists from the University of Western Australia (UWA).
Aquatic AI commenced lab work based at UWA’s Shenton Field Station under a facility agreement. Shenton Field Station hosts one of Australia’s largest recirculating aquaculture facilities, with a total volume of three million litres.
Since then, Walker and Storey have proven they can successfully produce marron to export size. They are running 100+ marron per square metre in the laboratory, monitoring health and growth, working with a team of biologists, freshwater ecologists, and microbiologists, to develop nutritional strategies to achieve superior growth rates in the automated system.
FROM LAB TO LIFE
The goal is now to bring the system to life outside the lab.
“The most exciting thing for us is seeing that we can grow happy marron in the systems that we know we’re going be able to automate, and that the growth we’re getting is close to viable. We’ve seen marron growing two to three times faster than other marron.
“With a good breeding plan, our growth rates would be superior, and with our high survival rates, there’s more chance of bigger,
faster growth. We know that we’ve got a path to get better and better all the way through,” Walker says.
Ultimately, the duo want marron to become a globally recognised, iconic Australian food.
As they start seeking more capital the pair are aware of obstacles, including marron’s under-the-radar reputation, and that they are introducing a new primary production method.
about 100,000 tonnes per year of freshwater crayfish; we don’t really see there being any particular reason why marron can’t scale up to being in the thousands of tonnes and mostly exported. At the moment there’s virtually no export, and the little bit that exists is not enough to establish and support those markets.”
Looking to the future, Storey
“Some investors don’t know what a marron is – it’s just not a well-known species,” says Storey.
Walker says, “We have to generate enough interest and show the right people that this method works and is very scalable. For us, it’s the biggest, best, and most delicious freshwater crayfish out there.
“In global markets there are
and Walker say they won’t stop at marron.
“We intentionally called the company Aquatic AI because we see a lot of other species getting benefit from applying this kind of technology and methodology,” says Storey.
For now, the method is working, getting the word out is next. ✷
BLUE SKY
“ We don’t really see there being any particular reason why marron can’t scale up to being in the thousands of tonnes and mostly exported.”
www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | April/May 2023 | Food&Drink business | 17