Clean Seas Tuna: Megachance Aquakultur?

Interview und Video:

http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2008/s2663962.htm

Als Folge der Wirtschaftskrise haben sich die Marktpreise des Luxusnahrungsmittels Thunfisch mehr als halbiert. Momentan kostet der Fang mehr als der Verkauf einbringt. Trotzdem werden die Weltmeere weiter leergefischt.

Gut oder schlecht für Züchter wie CSS? Der Aktienkurs sackt auf jeden Fall weiter ab, vermutlich weil viele erkennen, dass es noch ein weiter Weg bis zur Marktreife des Zuchtprozesses sein wird. Von den Frühjahrs-Fingerlingen von CSS leben nur noch wenige.

CSS Jahresbericht:

http://hotcopper.com.au/announ…26c9cb3103e-CSS173759.pdf

Schlechte Financials; erster kommerzieller Tuna-Zuchtversucht ist für das Jahresende geplant.

Kommt ein Fischverbot für Tunas?

EU to back temporary bluefin tuna fishing ban
Wednesday, September 09, 2009

http://www.fis.com/fis/worldne…try=0&special=&ndb=1&df=0

Atlantic tuna ban to boost local industry
16/09/2009 3:43:00 PM

http://www.eyretribune.com.au/…cal-industry/1625461.aspx

Auszug: ...Stehr Group and Clean Seas chairman Hagen Stehr says the local tuna industry would be delighted if the ban on Atlantic bluefin sales goes ahead.

"It would be a win-win situation for everyone in the industry and in Port Lincoln," he said.

At the same time that the worlds wildcatch fisheries are facing low prices and reduced stock, southern bluefin tuna Clean Seas propagated at Arno Bay earlier this year are fast approaching one kilogram in weight and all is on track for the company to take the next step towards the commercialisation of the fish on a large scale.

The company is putting all of its efforts into expanding its operation in readiness to have fingerlings in the water early next year.

According to Hagen, this season's wildcatch tuna harvest has seen some of the worst prices on record and fishers were "fishing for nothing".

Und noch ein Artikel über Thunfischzucht - das Interesse am Thema nimmt spürbar zu:

Project to yield commercial bluefin tuna in 2015
Wednesday, September 16, 2009, 02:20 (GMT + 9)

http://www.fis.com/fis/worldne…&day=&id=33842&ndb=1&df=0

Scientists at the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI) on Tuesday confirmed the country is now raising 300 bluefin tuna in three net cages off Yokji Island. With commercial sales slated to begin around 2015, they hope to sell the fish overseas to countries such as Japan and China.

Originally caught at sea, the tuna now weigh between 10kg to 40kg. The ones that survived the transfer from net to cage are being kept for research, Yonhap reports.

"At present, researchers can only catch juvenile fish weighing less than 3kg and raise them in specially-built net cages, but efforts are under way to breed the fish directly from tuna held in captivity," said Kim Eung-oh, director at the NFRDI's South Sea Fisheries Research Institute.

Researchers may begin gathering fertilised tuna eggs next year. Although Japan began their tuna breeding efforts long before South Korea, researchers are confident they will soon catch up.

Australian Clean Seas Tuna has been the first to successfully farm bluefin tuna. The company will begin commercialising the fish later this year.

"Out of the 10-30 million eggs that a single fish can produce, just 0.3-0.5 per cent reach 0.5-1kg in size, and countermeasures must be developed to prevent fish from killing themselves by ramming the cages and to deal with red tides that can devastate fish farms," Kim said.

President of the Insung Marine Product Co Hong Seok-nam said that of the 4.35 million tonnes of tuna fished annually all over the globe, just 1 per cent, or 50,000 tonnes, are bluefin.

Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Park Chong-guk said that next year, KRW 1.6 billion (USD 1.3 million) will go to aid the tuna farming project. The central and regional governments will provide KRW 1.2 billion (USD 981,120) and the rest will be invested by the private sector.

"We have bought several artificially grown tuna from Japan for KRW 100,000 (USD 81.76) per fish, but want to be fully independent in the breeding process," Chong-guk said.

There is no word on when South Korea will achieve a full tuna farming system. The minister suggested, however, that it could happen within the next few years if scientists manage to retrieve fertilised eggs and raise them in laboratories.

Meanwhile, Spains Futuna Blue España is working on an agreement to begin the construction of the largest bluefin tuna production centre in the world. It is expected to become operational before the next trap season.

Cheffe gibt Führung ab:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/05/2704995.htm

Clean Seas' chairman stepping down
Posted Mon Oct 5, 2009 1:10pm AEDT

The founder of the Port Lincoln Tuna company, Clean Seas, will be stepping down as chairman to make way for someone with international experience.

Hagen Stehr says the move is part of a new commercialisation phase for the company but he will still have an active involvement.

Share trading in the company has been suspended because of the move that Mr Stehr says is exciting for the company.

"We need to go from an R and D company into commercialisation and that means that we will restructure the board somewhat," he said.

"I've done all the hard yards and now we take the next step up for corporate governance and everything else - we are going to get some very, very good chairman and directors together."

Super, auf die Gelegenheit habe ich lange gewartet. Bislang war ich ja nicht investiert, weil der Laden einfach zu teuer war bzw. immer mit 0,33 AUD immer noch ist. Wahrscheinlich passt sich der Aktienpreis in den nächsten Wochen aber den 0,25 AUD des PP's an - wenns so kommt, werde ich mir wohl ein paar Clean Seas Anteile gönnen. Die freilebenden Thunfischbestände sind so hoffnungslos überfischt, dass die Story einfach ziehen muss.

Kommt gerade richtig, weil Ende des Jahres der neue Tuna-Zuchtversuch starten soll. Trotzdem bleibt es natürlich ein Zock, der auch in die Hose gehen kann.

Clean Seas moves to cut debt

http://www.news.com.au/adelaid…,26235671-5003680,00.html

RUSSELL EMMERSON
October 20, 2009 11:30am

CLEAN Seas Tuna has unveiled a $54m capital raising to pay back almost $21m of debt and cope with reduced credit terms imposed by its feed provider.

Shares plunged almost 40 per cent to 30c within two hours of the company coming out of its trading halt, before finishing the day 38 per cent down at 33c.

As part of the board restructure, founder Hagan Stehr will step as chairman, managing director Marcus Stehr will become operations director, to be replaced by chief executive Clifford Ashby.

The company proposes three elements to the capital raising: 30 million shares to be placed by October 27, a further 138 million shares by December 8 (subject to shareholder approval), and the launch of a shareholder purchase plan to issue a further 48 million shares by November 24 in a bid to manage the dilution.

The 25c issue price offered a 52 per cent discount on the price at the trading halt, but only 24 per cent on last night's close.

The proposal also recommends sweeping changes to the board to overcome what it described as a ``disappointing FY2009'', including a ``mismatch of production and sales growth''.

The new-look board promises positive cash flow in the new year together with an expansion of sales and marketing throughout Asia.

Clean Seas paid $47.9 million to its suppliers last year but received only $27.1 million from its customers.

The cash outflow was offset by a $24 million capital raising and $17.7 million in borrowings, which are currently being reviewed by the company.

Mr Hagen Stehr said the proposed changes would give the company the strength to boost its Southern Blue Fin Tuna production.

"On completion of the equity raising and with the addition of new, highly experienced board members, I firmly believe that Clean Seas will be a stronger and better company,'' he said in a statement.

The company must also contend with reduced credit terms for its $1.6 million stock of fish feed. Its supplier has insisted on a reduction of terms from 180 to 60 days, requiring a $20 million repayment to rope in the costs.

Clean Seas wrote off $7.1 million in mulloway and kingfish stock and $5.8 in development costs in the second half of last financial year to "clear the decks'' for development

New tuna feed developed by Ridley

http://www.allaboutfeed.net/ne…loped-by-ridley-3648.html

In partnership with Clean Seas Tuna, Ridley Corp has produced a new formulated fish food enriched with vitamin E and C.

The feed has been developed for the Port Lincoln tuna industry, in South Australia. The new food outperforms traditional pilchard fish feed in weight gain, condition and food conversion ratio. Ridley said it also had higher flesh quality and provided superior customer taste feedback.

The first commercial trial of 2,000 fish fed exclusively on the new feed since their capture, produced excellent results when sold at the famous Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo.

Ridley Aqua-Feed technical manager Dr Richard Smullen said the fish fed on the new Ridley feed converted their feed 30 per cent more efficiently than those fed on pilchards.

Zitat

Original von Mickymoto
Wahrscheinlich passt sich der Aktienpreis in den nächsten Wochen aber den 0,25 AUD des PP's an - wenns so kommt, werde ich mir wohl ein paar Clean Seas Anteile gönnen. Die freilebenden Thunfischbestände sind so hoffnungslos überfischt, dass die Story einfach ziehen muss.

So, mittlerweile steht die Aktie bei 0,24 AUD. Angesichts der laufenden Korrekturphase aller Märkte werde ich aber noch ein wenig warten - vielleicht kommt man noch günstiger rein.

Die Thunfischfangquoten wurden inzwischen übrigens deutlich gekürzt:

http://fis.com/fis/worldnews/w…try=0&special=&ndb=1&df=0

Clean Seas optimistic about tuna catch cut

Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 00:50 (GMT + 9)

Eyre Peninsula's Clean Seas Tuna expects to profit from the 30 per cent cut to Australia's southern bluefin tuna quota, founder Hagen Stehr said on Monday.

Meanwhile, the industry must cope with the quota cut recently announced by the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), which set a 20 per cent global catch reduction.

Clean Seas purchased a two-tonne quota to replace brood stock last year, but the company remained isolated from the cut, Stehr said, Adelaide Now reports.

"We knew there would be pressure from the green lobbies to end our industry, so we kept some tuna quota back,'' he commented. "We bought them last year so Clean Seas wouldn't have to rely on the family company (the Stehr family's Australian Tuna Fisheries, which owns about 60 per cent of Clean Seas) or anybody else.

"But we are probably going to lease that 2-tonne quota to somebody who needs it. For the public company, the cut is unbelievable - everything seems to be going down the right path for us,'' Stehr noted.

The company may also benefit if it manages to commercially breed farmed tuna. The product would be attractive to countries that currently opt for the wild-caught fish -- the stocks of which are being depleted.

Stehr said the cut will probably harm surrounding industries as well as family companies that controlled a substantial portion of the countrys annual quota. He lamented the 20 per cent global catch cut.

We will probably make that back on market prices, but it will still have consequences for South Australia. It's not just the tuna industry, it's the pilchard industry, trucking, exporters and the people of Port Lincoln and Adelaide,' he observed.

But higher prices due to falling supply and the improvement of husbandry techniques, such as fattening stock at a faster rate, might lead to an industry recovery, he said.

Clean Seas has raised AUD 42 million (USD 38.7 million) from investors in Australia, Asia and Europe by placing 168 million new shares at AUD 0.25 each. It has hopes for another AUD 12 million (USD 11.1 million) through a AUD 0.25 share offer to eligible shareholders in the coming month to fund the construction of facilities for its farmed southern bluefin tuna in 2012.

It has also voiced the need to raise AUD 26 million (USD 24 million). Stehr said the company will keep looking for alternative funding such as government grants to limit the dilution of shares.

The firm has also announced John Ellice-Flint as its new non-executive Chairman. He will replace Stehr as of 1 December, Aus Food News reports.

The appointment of an independent, non-executive chairperson is a key plank in strengthening Clean Seas board and management team following a review of the companys corporate governance structure as we move into commercialisation of our propagated southern bluefin tuna, Stehr said.

Full steam ahead for tuna hatchery
CHRISTOPHER COOTE
26 Nov, 2009 12:30

http://www.portlincolntimes.co…una-hatchery/1688421.aspx

CLEAN Seas has contractors working "flat to the board" to prepare its new southern bluefin tuna hatchery in time to have fingerlings ready to shift to sea cages early next year.
Five cranes were used to lift the roof of the new hatchery into place on Monday, which is expected to be finished by the middle of February next year.

The hatchery, which is larger than the existing tuna facility, is one of two being built at the moment.

Clean Seas is building a temporary facility as well in case the tuna broodstock produce fertilised eggs before the permanent hatchery is ready.

Company chairman Hagen Stehr, who will step down from the role at the annual general meeting next Monday, said the new hatchery is a lot larger than the existing facility, and it being built in such a way that it can be added on to as the company grows.

Adding to the urgent need for infrastructure is that Clean Seas also needs to spawn its yellowtail kingfish at the same time so those eggs can be used to feed the tuna as they grow into fingerlings, before they are put into sea cages.

"We're coming up to a very busy but exciting time for the company," Mr Stehr said.

"It is crucial we get this right so Australia can continue to supply tuna to the rest of the world."

A small number of surviving southern blufin tuna that were bred by Clean Seas earlier this year have been shifted to an onshore dam at the Arno Bay facility and have grown substantially

Ich habe übrigens immer noch keine Aktien - irgendwie kann ich mich nicht so recht durchringen.

Video und Transkript über die australische Thunfisch-Industrie:

http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2008/s2663962.htm

Eine halbe Portion CSS Aktien habe ich mittlerweile auch, die inzwischen knapp 20% im Plus sind. Noch im Januar sollte die erste Meldung über den neuen Zuchtversuch von Clean Seas rauskommen, was hoffentlich noch ein paar Prozent draufsattelt.

Clean Seas on track for a world first in aquaculture

http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/…first-in-aquaculture.html

January 19, 2010
Isobel Drake

Clean Seas Tuna has announced further progress in their bid to become the first company to successfully close the lifecycle of Southern Bluefin Tuna in captivity. The news comes three months after Southern Bluefin Tuna quotas were cut by 23% in Australia.

Clean Seas Tuna Ltd is pleased to advise its Southern Bluefin Tuna broodstock commenced spawning late last week and larval rearing has commenced, Managing Director Clifford Ashby said in a statement to the ASX. It is anticipated that resultant fingerlings will be transferred to sea cages at Arno Bay for commercialisation growout trials in March.

The aquaculture pioneer, which believes it highly realistic that they could duplicate the entire wild catch quota of Australia in the medium-term, added that further details could not be divulged due to commercial sensitivities.

Owing to the new technology involved in this complex Southern Bluefin Tuna project, and the intellectual property associated therewith, the company needs to maintain an appropriate level of commercial confidentiality, Mr Ashby stated.

The company, whose shares shot up 14 per cent in morning trade, also advised that their recent capital raising had allowed them to repay all bank facilities, leaving cash on hand of $17 million.

Fishing for wealth

http://www.smartcompany.com.au/wealth/2010-25-01-tuna.html

Monday, 25 January 2010 00:00

James Thomson

It's been a big week at South Australia aquaculture outfit Clean Seas Tuna. The company, which is trying to establish an artificial breeding and commercial farming operation for Southern Bluefin Tuna, announced on January 19 that its broodstock had started successfully spawning, with the resultant fingerlings (very young fish) expected to be transferred to sea cages in March.
The news another milestone in Clean Seas' journey towards commercial fish farming sent the company's stock up 12.5% on the day, with 17 million shares (about 56 times the average daily turnover over the past 12 months) changing hands.

That slice of good news will no doubt have thrilled Clean Seas executive chairman, Hagen Stehr, an old-school tuna fisherman from Port Lincoln who has become obsessed with his artificial breeding dream.

While Clean Seas is essentially a technology company, Stehr is hardly your typical boffin. A few years ago I was lucky enough to travel to Port Lincoln for a story and spent the best part of two days getting a guided tour of his operations.

He is without doubt the most interesting rich entrepreneur I have ever met. A former member of the German merchant navy and the French Foreign Legion, Stehr jumped ship in Port Lincoln in 1960, fell in love with a local girl (his wife Anna) and joined the local fishing industry.

He's loud, brash, generous and never stops talking one minute he would be telling us about the wild west-like antics that used to occur on the tuna boats, the next minute he'd be explaining the process by which fish are delivered from Port Lincoln to the fish markets of Tokyo.

But Stehr's passion for the Clean Seas breeding dream, and his willingness to spend millions backing the company, is impressive.

His basic argument is that with fish stocks declining and food security an ever-growing problem, artificially breeding SBT is the only way to ensure supply can meet demand. And he's hoping his theory will help make him very, very rich.

Stehr is one of two Port Lincoln fishermen on BRW's Rich 200 with fellow tuna baron Sam Sarin. The pair, along with fisherman-turned-thoroughbred-breeder Tony Santic, helped make Port Lincoln the richest town in Australia on a per capita basis.

But aside from Clean Seas' success, it's been a tough period for the town and the tuna barons.

Tuna prices have remained sluggish for the past 12 months, thanks in part to diminished demand from key market of Japan, where consumers appear to have pulled back because of the global financial crisis.

In November, the annual fishing quota for SBT was slashed by 24% for 2010 and 2011. Then, just to top off a tough year, bushfires destroyed several homes in the town just before Christmas.

The cut to the quota, ordered by the global Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna, was by far the biggest blow, according to Brian Jeffries, chief executive of the Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association.

Fishing operations including Sarin's Australian Fishing Enterprises and Stehr's company Stehr Group had readied boats, aircraft, staff and other infrastructure in expectation that the quota would not be cut. Then, just one month before the fishing season was to start, came the news that the sector dreaded.

"The timing was the biggest problem," Jeffries says. "There was an initial period of retrenchments and there will be more in 2010, although the main retrenchments will occur in supporting industries."

All told, it is estimated the sector supports 4,500 jobs in South Australia.

The quota cuts are also likely to have sliced a touch more off the fortunes of Sarin (who was revised down by BRW last year from $565 million to $258 million) and Stehr (who dropped from $271 million to $168 million).

According to official government data, Sarin holds around 40% of Australia's SBT quota, or about 2,170 tonnes. Stehr Group holds just over 700 tonnes, while Tony Santic's company Tony's Tuna holds just over 1,200 tonnes.

About two years ago, tuna prices were so strong that a tonne of tuna quota was valued at about AUS$180,000. Today, the level of uncertainty in the industry means it's extremely difficult to get a valuation.

A professional valuer, who regularly values quotas for banks and other finance companies, says he's all but given up trying to put a price on the quotas.

"No-one is selling, and certainly no-one is interested in buying," he says.

When pushed, he gives a rough estimate of $110,000 a tonne, which values Sarin's quota at over $230 million, Santic's at $132 million and Stehr's quota at a bit over $77 million (his stake in Clean Seas is worth around $50 million).

While these estimates are clearly rough, they do indicate a sharp fall from less than three years ago.

But there is some hope on the horizon. Jeffries expects tuna prices could double later in 2010, as a stockpile of tuna sitting in Japanese freezer rooms runs out and cuts to the quotas of Northern Bluefin Tuna fisherman in the Mediterranean Sea start to push up demand for SBT. The strong Australian dollar is also helping to reduce feed prices.

The restructuring done by the Port Lincoln fisherman when the SBT quota cut was announced should ensure better profits as the year progresses.

"They've tailored their business to their operations to that lower costs base which will leave them well-placed when prices do recover," Jeffries says.

If Northern Bluefin Tuna supply remains constrained and the SBT quota is restored for the 2012 season, the barons of Port Lincoln should be in for a few good years.

But after that, their greatest threat could come from within specifically, from Hagen Stehr's Clean Seas group.

Clean Seas goal is to produce 10,000 tonnes of commercially farmed SBT that's double Australia's existing quota by 2015.

If he's successful and there is still much water to go under the bridge - then Clean Seas is likely to be worth much more than its current market capitalisation of $117 million.

But while Stehr might get rich, how this sudden surge in supply might affect his fellow tuna barons and their fortunes is unclear. It's likely prices would come under pressure, although the sushi purists of Japan may still favour fresh fish over farmed.

Whatever happens, it appears the stormy seas faced by Port Lincoln's tuna barons in the last 12 months are unlikely to abate for some time yet.

Proposed EU ban on Atlantic Bluefin tuna

http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/…tlantic-bluefin-tuna.html

February 23, 2010
Nicole Eckersley
The European Commission today proposed that the European Union should press for a ban on international trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna, to enter into force within the next year.

European Environment Commissioner Janez Potonik said, We have a responsibility to future generations to take decisive action when faced with the likelihood that a species will disappear forever. We have the duty to preserve our natural capital. Since there is a high risk that Atlantic bluefin tuna will soon be gone forever, we have no other choice than to act now and propose a ban on international trade.

Overfishing of the Atlantic bluefin tuna, driven by skyrocketing demand and high prices - a single tuna can fetch over A$100,000 in Japans hungry market - has lead to drastically reduced breeding populations. The European Commission has recommended that the Atlantic Bluefin be added to Appendix I of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, as a species threatened with extinction.

A ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna would be extremely beneficial to the trade in Australias southern bluefin tuna. Demand would go up, price would go up, said Clean Seas Tuna chief executive Clifford Ashby on the initial proposal of the ban last year.

The Commissions recommendation will be discussed with EU member states in order to reach a common EU position for the next meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), taking place in Doha, Qatar, from 13 to 25 March 2010.

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Am kommenden Freitag soll es angeblich ein Update zum laufenden Zuchtversuch geben. Es wäre wichtig, dass die meisten Larven/Minifischchen noch leben. Der Kursverlauf in den letzten Wochen scheint aber eher das Gegenteil zu signalisieren .

Zitat

Original von Matze
Was sagen die Zuchtergebnisse?

Bislang nichts Gutes - alle Jungfische des Zuchtansatzes vom Februar sind gestorben; man munkelt etwas über eine bakterielle Infektion. Nach Bekanntgabe des Totalausfalls hat sich der Firmenwert dann über Nacht halbiert, was ich allerdings für deutlich überzogen halte. Bei neuen, noch nicht etablierten Techniken geht eigentlich immer mal was schief.

Mittlerweile läuft ein neuer Zuchtversuch mit hoffentlich besserem Ausgang. So bahnbrechend die Methode auch ist, es wird wohl noch einige Zeit vergehen bis damit wirklich Geld verdient werden kann.