Fish power to fuel CDU Open Day fun

The trick to growing vegetables using fish power will be revealed at Charles Darwin University Open Day on Sunday, 23 August.

A group of hungry resident barramundi assigned to the Casuarina campus aquaponics facility is assisting the cultivation of a vegetable and herb garden.

Horticulture and Aquaculture acting team leader Chadd Mumme said barramundi up to 50 centimetres long had helped the garden, which contained tomatoes, cabbages, chillies, coriander, mint, and leafy greens, to flourish.

Mr Mumme said Open Day visitors also would have the opportunity to feed the carnivourous fish, whose diets consisted of prawns, mullet, pilchards and squid.

“Barramundi eat about five per cent in their own body weight per week,” he said.

“The smaller ones are the males, which will change into females when they grow anywhere from 45 to 85 centimetres long.”

Visitors also can ask about attending workshops about soil, pruning, aquaponics, organic vegetable production at the annual plant sale at Open Day. The popular hand cream-making workshop will return to this year’s event, along with a fun workshop on how to dispense medicines by using lollies.

A course information and careers hub will run during Open Day for the first time, and will include members of the community giving talks about the highs and lows of their careers. Visitors can take a “NextLife Finder” personality test to find out what career best suits their characteristics.

CDU Open Day will run on Casuarina campus on Sunday, 23 August from 10am until 2pm. For more information visit W: cdu.edu.au/openday