Five and a half hectares of ponds stand between Nathan Cleasby and his ambition to make his North Queensland redclaw crayfish farm the biggest in Australia.
“We’ve got a small industry standard pond, a larger square prawn pond, and an even larger rectangular pond, so what we’re doing is figuring out what does the ideal pond look like for a large redclaw crayfish farm,” Nathan said.
“We’ve got a lot of other questions to answer. We’ve got to look at feeding, we’ve got a project with the CSIRO, and we’ve got a project with the university here looking at nursery stages.
“Once we’ve answered those questions and we’re confident in our production, we’ll look to expand and build the biggest redclaw crayfish farm in Australia.”
Nathan’s dream was inspired by the gap in Australia’s aquaculture market, after struggling to meet the demand from his current buyers of restaurants and wholesalers between Port Douglas and Sydney.
“Normally it's gobbled up locally before we can send it out. We do have interest from overseas. We're working on some export permits,” Nathan said.
Nathan used a concessional First Start Loan from the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA) to help fund the construction of the ponds as well as the purchase of his freshwater redclaw crayfish farm at Majors Creek, 50 kilometres west of Townsville.
“Aquaculture farms are pretty few and far between, so it was difficult to find the right site,” Nathan said.
“Having this facility where we could borrow money to buy the farm, without overstating it, probably allowed us to do what we are doing now.”
While Nathan has a long list of academic achievements, including a Master of Aquaculture and a Nuffield Farming Scholarship to study how Australia can supply more crayfish globally, navigating QRIDA’s loan application process was unchartered waters for him.
“I’m what they call a first-generation farmer, so understanding how it works to buy a property and how to finance it was all very new to me. I was very lucky to have Angelo, our Regional Area Manager, come out multiple times and explain the process,” Nathan said.
QRIDA Regional Area Manager for North Queensland, Angelo Rigano, said Nathan’s First Start Loan application was complex given the niche aquaculture industry, but Angelo was able to make the process as straightforward as possible during multiple farm visits to Nathan.
“Needless to say, I was quite impressed with Nathan’s depth of industry knowledge and what he wanted to achieve and how he wanted to get there,” Angelo said.
“QRIDA is well-known as being a specialist financier to Queensland farmers. We have a broad appetite for all sorts of industries that are primary producer-based in Queensland.”
From hatchery to plate, Nathan’s passion for the aquaculture industry is clear, and he encourages other up-and-coming Queensland primary producers to bank on QRIDA to help them realise their aquaculture, commercial fishing and farming dreams.
“I really like the connection with the restaurants. I like taking care of the animals from really small to grown. I enjoy going into the kitchens and delivering to our regulars and seeing their creative juices flow and the dishes they create,” Nathan said.
“I’d definitely recommend QRIDA. Especially for a first-generation farmer to get some land that you can sink your teeth into and get going initially with such a higher capital cost.”
For more information about how QRIDA’s First Start Loans could help you build a viable primary production operation, visit QRIDA's First Start Loan webpage here or call 1800 623 946.
