Kenmore - Port of Brisbane, prawns, and fisheries

17 April 2011

We started our Kenmore stay with a tour of the Gold Coast prawn aquaculture farm.  The business is a huge farm and facility with a fully integrated tiger prawn farming operation.  In addition to the numerous prawn ponds, they also have a deep water holding pond to fill whatever areas of the farm need water.  They also breed their own tiger prawn to stock their ponds.  We were also given a tour of the Port of Brisbane by Victoria from the Australian VTT that just visited south Louisiana.  We were able to view the mangroves along the port and visit the port's expansion and rock wall area.  The port uses reclaimed dredge material with rock walls to build new land for expansion.  We then spent two days with Mary from the Australian VTT and Queensland Fisheries.  We went to the Gold Coast where we boarded a boat for the day to view fish habitats and protected areas in southern Moreton Bay.  The following day we attended a fisheries meeting with members of Queensland Fisheries.  Quenton and I gave presentations on our research and south Louisiana fisheries and listened to talks about lungfish and artificial reefs in Australia.  We ended our stay in Kenmore with a dinner at Australian VTT leader Alan and his wife Lucy's house.  Quenton did some cajun cooking and Alan broke everyone into teams and had a south Louisiana/Australia quiz with prizes for the winners.

-Chris

Port of Brisbane

Tiger prawn

Mangrove habitat

Queensland Fisheries

Kenmore Rotary and VTT

Gold Coast

13 April 2011

Richard and Cliff from Karana Downs took the team fishing and to the Gold Coast for the day.  We weren't too successful fishing, mostly because we forgot to take bait but Quenton was able to catch a shell.  We then went to the Gold Coast and walked several kilometers along the beaches and boardwalks.  There are numerous condos, restaurants, and shops along the main road that runs along side of the beach.  The beaches were filled with all types of people from families with children to surfers looking for a wave.  We walked south along the beach until we arrived the New South Wales border and were able to stand in Queensland and New South Wales at the same time.

-Chris

Karana Downs

12 April 2011

Started with tea and coffee at Mt. Coot-tha.  Then went to a great barbque (Quenton was able to cook for us and let me just say he did well).  Had a lovely night in Ipswich, learned a new cultural game, and met many exciting locals.  Went to a waste water plant and met with members of DERM (great knowledge gained) and discussed their involvement in the Moreton Island oil clean up.  Went to Wivenhoe Dam and it was dam impressive.  We were able to have another night on the town and ate at a lovely Indian restaurant.  We all wish we could stay a little longer.

-Jonathan