Available for lease just an hour South of Townsville is one of the few licensed and operating freshwater aquaculture farms in North Queensland. There are 28 one mega litre (15 acres) aquaculture ponds in two rows with a central drain, these have been professionally engineered and constructed for ease of filling, draining and aerating. The ponds have been positioned to catch the afternoon sea breeze which keeps the optimum water temperature year round and assists with aeration. All these ponds drain to a central 10 mega litre dam that is then be recycled back onto a cultivation paddock at no cost to the lessee. Total water storage is about 45 mega litres, including the sump dam.

Red Claw and Silver Perch have been successfully produced and marketed through the Sydney Fish Markets. Production began in 1995 with Redclaw which have consistently been yielding an average of 200kg/week. Silver Perch production began in 2000 and is grown to extra large size or about 800 grams or better. From stocking until harvest takes about 12 months and yield approximately 10t/ha. The facility is licensed to produce a wide variety of species including Australian Bass, Barcoo Grunter, Barramundi, Eel Tail catfish, Freshwater shrimp, 3 species of Golden Perch, Gulf and Southern Saratoga, Murray Cod, Redclaw, Silver Perch, Sleepy Cod and Yabby. Redclaw and Silver Perch in the ponds at commencement of the lease will be available to the lessee at market value.

Location: 3km from Majors Creek, 13km East of Woodstock and the Flinders Highway, 20km West of Giru and the Bruce Highway and 45km South of Townsville.

Services: Bitumen road frontage and 3 phase power to the farm. Primary school at Majors Creek and Townsville Secondary school bus collection point at Majors Creek. The farm has 3-phase power, telephone and mail delivery to Woodstock. Townsville has a rapidly expanding population of over 180,000 with a solid base in the local economy from both government and industry.

Ponds: The pond system contains 28 ponds (2 banks of 14 ponds) with a central drain which gravity feeds into an Effluent Dam, and a Header Dam which gravity feeds fresh bore water into the 28 ponds and the Large Dam (approx 40m x 100m and 1.5m 2m deep) beside it. The 28 ponds are all 20m x 50m and 1.5m 1.8m deep. They hold approximately 1 mega litre of water and are topped up by fresh water gravity feed from the Header Dam through a network of 90mm pvc pipes. The outlet pipes are 150mm and have standpipes on them to allow for automatic overflow when it rains or too much water is put in the pond.

Aeration: The aeration system for the 28 ponds is supplied from air pump next to the packing shed. It is delivered to the ponds through 90mm pvc pipes located underground. Each pond has 6 air lifts which connect to the outlets positioned at the end of every pond next to the water inlet. The air pump also supplies air to the packing shed for the purging/hatchery tanks. There is a back up diesel motor for the air pump in case of power outages. The Header Dam and Large Dam are aerated by 3 phase paddlewheels.

Water: The water is supplied by a bore beside the Header Dam which has been tested and is classed as good enough to bottle and sell as spring water. It produces approximately 5000 gallons per hour all year round. There is also water at the shed which is supplied by a pressure pump and galvanized tank next to the shed.

Equipment and Stock: Included in the initial deposit is enough equipment to provide an immediate start. A complete list is available upon request. Also available are juvenile Silver Perch and Red Claw at market value. All prices quoted are excluding GST.

Contact: Jack Slaney 0427 877522 or the Raine and Horne office on 07 47837522.