Tasmanian researchers have found tuna are bigger and healthier when they are farmed further away from the shore.
Researchers from the University of Tasmania looked at southern bluefin tuna farmed at Port Lincoln in South Australia.
It found the tuna thrive when they are raised in deep water 50 kilometres out to sea, about twice as far offshore as standard aquaculture practice.
The tuna had lower mortality and fewer parasites commonly found in traditionally farmed fish.
Lead researcher Nicole Kirchhoff says four Port Lincoln companies have already moved their cages further out to sea based on the findings and companies around the world are likely to follow suit.
“They grew twice as fast and they barely had any mortality at all,” she said.
