Five individual, small to medium companies joined forces to form what the Seafood Cooperative Research Centre call a consortium.

The Oyster Consortium represents the full Australian oyster industry - Sydney Rock, Pacific and Angasi Oysters. It has representatives of the supply chain with direct and indirect participation of industry research groups, hatcheries, processors and oyster marketing groups.

The Oyster Consortium is interested in a number of research areas that span from topics such as benchmarking oyster genetics, marketing, oyster health and education and training, breeding strategies, defining market expectations and developing new markets both domestically and internationally, rapid diagnostic tools, improving post-harvest (shelf-life and handling) and oyster conditioning.

The Australian Seafood Cooperative Research Centre will work with members of the Oyster Consortium and collaborating Australian research agencies to deliver projects that enhance the quality and marketability of product through improved supply, farming methodologies, understanding and improving the supply chain, post harvest handling and the development of value added products.

Downloadable Fact Sheet on the Oyster Consortium

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Members of the Oyster Consortium are:

Australian Seafood Industries Pty Ltd (ASI)

ASI promotes the use of selectively bred (throughbred) oysters throughout Australia. As an industry owned organisation, ASI leads the world in commercialising selective bred Pacific Oysters.

New South Wales Aquaculture Research Advisory Committee (ARAC)

ARAC was formed in October 2005 for the purpose of:

• Investigating and evaluating the requirement for aquaculture research and development in New South Wales, after consultation with New South Wales aquaculture industries

• Revising as appropriate, research and development plans for New South Wales aquaculture research and development and promoting it to the wider research community
  
  
• Advising the appropriate New South Wales Fisheries
  
  
• Research advisory bodies and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation on New South Wales aquaculture research and development matters and priorities
  
  
• Advising the New South Wales Minister for Fisheries on the level of funding from industry required for aquaculture research and development in New South Wales and on its expenditure
  
  
• Overseeing the management of annual contributions for aquaculture research
  
  
• Reporting on a regular basis to the New South Wales aquaculture industry, the New South Wales Minister for Primary Industries and New South Wales researchers on aquaculture research and development initiatives
  
  
• Facilitating the dissemination, adoption and commercialisation of the results of aquaculture research and development
  
  
• Promoting aquaculture research and development in New South Wales

Select Oyster Company Pty Ltd (SOCo)

SOCo is an industry-owned company whose aim is to improve the profitability of oyster production in New South Wales through the commercialisation of the genetically improved Sydney Rock Oyster stock developed by the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries.

To find out more about SOCo click on this link: www.thebegavalley.org.au/soco

Shellfish Culture Ltd

Shellfish Culture Ltd is a public company, with shareholders comprising of a mix of aquaculture producers and private investors and is the largest shellfish seed producing company in Australia. The company operates land and sea based hatchery and nursery facilities in Tasmania and South Australia.

Since 1979, the company originally produced seven million Pacific Oyster seeds with the company significantly growing during this time to keep pace with a rapidly expanding market now able to produce several hundred million seeds from a range of species (oyster, scallop and mussels).

For more information on Shellfish Culture Ltd, please visit: www.shellfishculture.com.au

South Australian Oyster Research Council (SAORC)

SAORC was established in 1999 to promote, encourage and coordinate research and development for the benefit of the South Australian oyster industry.

For more information on SAORC, visit: www.oysterssa.com.au

Tasmanian Oyster Research Council Ltd (TORC)

TORC was established sixteen years ago by the Tasmanian Pacific Oyster industry to collect funds from oyster growers and apply them to research and development for the benefit of the industry.

This page last updated: 15th September 2008