Hope Vale Foundation talks giant freshwater prawns and aquaculture at Careers Day in Cooktown. Photo: Supplied.
Giant prawns could be the next big thing in remote food security if all goes well for a Cape York business venture next month.
The Hope Vale Foundation (HVF) has been selected to join the line-up at EvokeAG’s Startup Alley, a premier agrifood innovation platform which will take place in Melbourne on 17-18 February.
The prestigious event will see the organisation present its plan to commercialise Australia’s native giant freshwater prawn, also known as cherabin, to solve two major problems: food insecurity in remote communities, and the looming global protein supply gap.
HVF innovation and commercialisation manager Tony Matchett said despite the prawn being native to Northern Australia, and global demand for the product exceeding USD $5 billion dollars, there was no commercial production in Australia.
“As an Indigenous-led corporation, we’ll be the first to progress towards commercialisation of this giant freshwater prawn in Australia,” he said.
“It’s exciting we’ve been accepted onto Startup Alley — it’s a real humbling achievement for the organisation.
“It allows us to lift the profile of Cape York, and what Hope Vale Foundation is trying to achieve through this project, but it will also, hopefully, give us the partnerships and the collaborations we need to scale this to make it an opportunity for others to adopt.”
He explained the hatchery phase was one of the key challenges of production, and partnerships with research agencies such as the University of the Sunshine Coast, CSIRO and Advance Queensland were blending ancient Indigenous wisdom with science.
“It grows out in the freshwater, but some of its breeding and lifecycle phases happen at the confluence of the freshwater and saltwater during the wet season,” he said.
“When it comes to aquaculture, and we’ve got to take the system out of nature, getting those features right so that we can grow juvenile larval prawns, that’s where the challenge has been in the past.”
The giant freshwater prawn brings hope for locally produced protein on Cape York. Photo: Supplied.
Mr Matchett said aquaculture was arguably one of the most significant growth sectors in broader agriculture to address protein, especially on Cape York, where not a lot of protein was produced locally.
“Yes, we have breeder herds of cattle that then go away and get turned into protein or steak in the southern regions, but aquaculture presents us with an immediate and local opportunity to create protein where we are,” he said.
“It’s a really positive story to share at EvokeAG; everyone’s looking for food security, and innovation is the way to do it.”
