Tropical aquaculture

Group leader

Professor of tropical aquaculture, Sunil Kadri has spent more than 30 years working at the interface between academia and the global aquaculture industry, delivering both research outputs and new technologies/approaches to improve efficiencies and increase sustainability in aquaculture. He completed his PhD at the University of Glasgow, Scotland in 1995, and then focused on commercialisation of aquaculture technologies, while continuing to pursue his research interests via honorary academic positions at the Universities of Glasgow and Stirling in Scotland, and later the Universidad Austral de Chile.

While his research interests are broad, he has had a particular focus on applications of animal behaviour and animal welfare studies to aquaculture, including deployment of monitoring technologies. He will continue to pursue these fields of research in Northern Australia, alongside supporting Indigenous aquaculture ambitions.

Besides his research, Sunil provides strategic advice to AquaSpark, the aquaculture focussed VC fund; 2 of their portfolio companies working in AI/machine learning applications for aquaculture; and 2 major Maori Iwi in his home country of New Zealand, who are engaged in aquaculture development.

Our focus

We study biology, animal behaviour and animal welfare as applied to tropical aquaculture systems, and provide support to both industry and Indigenous communities in developing and growing aquaculture sustainably. We have diverse expertise across these areas, with a history of research focussed upon examination of individual differences within cultured populations and their implications for animal welfare, production and sustainability; as well as deployment of specialist technologies for behavioural and production monitoring within aquaculture systems. Our research in tropical aquaculture encompasses new species development; bioremediation; aggression, growth, heat resilience and other key variables among cultured stock.

Importance of this research

Understanding the biological patterns and processes that support tropical aquaculture systems in Northern Australia is fundamental to sustainable system management and growth for both established and new species being cultured in the region.

Current projects

Development of hatchery and nursery protocols for black jewfish Protonibea diacanthus: A new candidate for aquaculture in Northern Australia

There is growing commercial interest for black jewfish, Protonibea diacanthus, and aquaculture in northern Australia. It is an endemic, fast-growing, fish with established markets for its meat and high value swim bladder (est. at $750-$1000 per kg). However, little is known about black jewfish biology, and there is no published aquaculture knowledge available.  The project entails the development and optimisation of husbandry procedures across different life stages. As hatchery-produced fish reach harvest size they will also be assessed for end-product quality and marketability. Development of this native species for aquaculture will support the growth of northern Australia’s aquaculture industry. The project benefits from its direct alignment with a core R&D project of the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia aimed at closing the life cycle for this species.

Co-funded by Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade (DITT) of the Northern Territory Government (NTG) and Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA).