Ornatas Pty Ltd

🦞 Destination – adult. Unlike many other Lobster species that rely on large, sharp claws to defend themselves, the adult Tropical Rock Lobster uses its protruding eyes and long antennae to detect a threat, using the horns behind the eyes and short spines to defend itself and stay safe. Tropical Rock Lobsters don't start life as little miniature dragon-like warriors! Instead, in their phyllosoma stage, they are fragile larvae, almost transparent and vulnerable – at the mercy of the tides and currents that carry them, bearing no resemblance to the fierce-looking "Flower Dragons" they become. And not every lobster makes it through. The journey from the starting point to the finish can often seem impossible. Where we start is quite often very different to where we end up, sometimes frustrating, sometimes intriguing and sometimes long and complicated… It’s hard not to ask the question, "Is this challenging journey worth the destination?" At Ornatas, we are reminded every day of this winding road with many unexpected turns. As a research company, we are always testing the boundaries of knowledge, knowing that where we start doesn’t always have a clear path to where we will finish up, and it is our privilege to work with the endlessly fascinating Tropical Rock Lobster. These spectacularly beautiful animals have an incredibly complex life cycle, which never ceases to amaze us as we learn more about providing the right conditions to help them progress from one stage to the next. #rocklobster #lobsterfacts #Ornatas #aquaculture #sustainable #TropicalRockLobster #research

👀 Have you ever been stumped by a tricky problem and spent hours, days, or even weeks devising possible solutions only to find that what you are looking for is already there, hidden in plain sight? You are definitely not alone! It’s a regular occurrence here at Ornatas, where we push the boundaries and try to recreate the lobster growing environment to suit all the different stages. We sometimes find that we can use the most ordinary of objects to recreate an underwater habitat that is just right for our small lobsters. We had many prototypes of various complexities, but in the end, it was a piece of PVC pipe and some mesh all stuck together that did the trick! For these baby lobsters, it’s a place to hide and a place to call home all of your own! Some call it a pipe dream. And for making a meal just right for a lobster, we have all kinds of kitchen gadgets in use, from spice grinders and mixers to spatulas and mincers. The in-plain-sight kitchen equipment is just right for cooking up a feast for all sizes and stages of lobsters. 👀 What's the most unusual thing that you have found to be the best solution to your research problem? Was it hidden in plain sight #Ornatas #aquaculture #TropicalRockLobster #research

If you dream of a job in aquaculture...but haven't gone down the research or technical path, get inspired by what Jason has to say to us in this short interview! He is reasonably new to the Ornatas team but, as with all our team members, has a vital role. He is one of the team looking after the juvenile lobsters that come across to the nursery from the larval room, until they are big enough to go out to the big ponds. Jason has had a sea change so aquaculture is a completely new career for him, but his drive to learn, creativity, enthusiasm, and interest in animals is shining through already. Jason talks about our "a day in the life of..." exchanges we are doing at Toomulla once every couple of week, so the team can experience and gain skills in other roles in the facility - moving into different departments to give a big picture and wider view of what we are all working towards. Watch the video below to hear what Jason gets up to each day, and night...we're just waiting for him to release his first lobster related album! #ornatas #aquaculture #aquacultureinnovation #tropicalrocklobster #aquaculture #ornatasteam

A short tale about a lobster’s tail: You look at a lobster with its spiny long legs and wonder...how well can they actually move around underwater? Well, they can walk forward and backward with their legs, and even swim in both directions using their swimmerets! But when the unexpected happens, like a surprise visitor, they've got a nifty trick up their sleeve – or should we say tail? They swiftly swim backward with strong, repeated flips to escape any danger or to get some speed up! Also, female lobsters have wider tails compared to their male counterparts. to make room for their precious cargo – their eggs! All of these jobs makes for a tail packed with high amounts of muscle💪, it's not just a feast for the eyes 👀 but also a delicious treat to eat 🍽️, meaty with a delectable flavour! #tropicalrocklobster #ornatas #lobsteraquaculture #tropicalrocklobster #ornatas #lobsteraquaculture

We've got a question about Brandon Panebianco, does he sleep? Brandon is our Hatchery Team Leader, who coordinates the activities in the hatchery and plays an important role in assisting with managing the operation of RAS systems, animal husbandry and health management, water quality management and feeding. He somehow also seems to find time to make beautiful art. You may have seen his hand framed lobster moults, and he has also recently made these beautiful coasters, laser-etched with the intricate details of our lobster phyllosoma. Beautiful work 💙 #lobsterart #phyllosomaart #lobsteraquaculture

We interrupted Hatchery Technician Jessica, to get up really close to our lobster puerulus and phyllosoma as she does her regular checks on growth progress. Jess is responsible for ensuring the tanks and hatchery systems provide optimal water quality for our larval lobsters. She regularly assesses larval condition with the team to monitor larval growth and feed consumption, ensuring the larvae are healthy and meeting their growth benchmarks. Here Jess shows us some lobsters from the hatchery under a microscope to see how they're progressing and what their growth rates are looking like. Thanks for letting us interrupt one of your busy days Jess! #ornatas #aquaculture #lobsteraquaculture #tropicalrocklobster #tropicalrocklobster

Ever wondered why our Tropical Rock Lobsters have the nickname of "spiny lobster"? 🤔 Look closely - do you notice those forward-facing dark red-orange spines covering their bodies? They're not just for show; these sharp spines are their defence against predators. Unlike other lobster species relying on large claws, Tropical Rock Lobsters use their protruding eyes and long antennae to detect threats, utilising their long spiny antennae, eye horns, and short spines for both defence and safety. Needless to say, at Ornatas, we handle these stunning and spiny creatures with the utmost care 💙 #lobsterfacts #Ornatas #aquaculture #sustainable #TropicalRockLobster

We’re coming close to the end of a research era, as we recently held a final technical Field Day for the CRCNA Pioneering Tropical Rock Lobster Raft Grow-out project. The project aimed to investigate Tropical Rock Lobster sea raft grow out systems in Northern Australia, and it certainly has not been without its challenges, since the project launch in 2021. We've worked hard with our research and industry partners to build knowledge, modify systems in two NA locations, and develop innovative technology and operations that are resilient in unpredictable conditions, and to understand sometimes unpredictable markets! We've persevered though, as we do, and our focus areas encompassed the environment for growing lobsters, raft design, lobster health and translocation protocols, feeding strategies, growth performance, and market acceptability. Pushing some new boundaries in aquaculture innovation. This Field Day welcomed many of the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA), senior managers from FRDC - Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (Kylie Dunstan, Josh Fielding), University of Tasmania (Greg Smith and Basseer Codabaccus) and Maxima The Opportunity Group project partners, Office of Northern Australia delegates, AusIndustry, and James Cook University scientists (Dean Jerry and Kyall Zenger). The event included: 🌀 A display/demonstration of Tropical Rock Lobster life stages – larvae to broodstock 👀 A virtual tour of the nursery 🦞 A physical tour of the grow-out facility 💬 A discussion on the future of Tropical Rock Lobster aquaculture in Northern Australia It was a great day sharing the accomplishments and learnings we've made through undertaking this research project! A big thank you to those who attended the Field Day, to the Ornatas team for setting up displays and talking to our guests about our amazing lobsters, and to the following partners who helped make this project possible: Scott Parkinson Tony Barton Jennifer Blair John Breen Sandra Infante Villamil Maxima The Opportunity Group PFG Group JSJ Seafood Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA) FRDC - Fisheries Research and Development Corporation Honey & Fox Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies #ornatas #lobsteraquaculture #sustainableseafood #tropicalrocklobsters

We're coming up to Easter, but we are not thinking of eggs of the chocolate variety!! We are forever thinking about eggs of the Tropical Rock Lobster variety!! A female tropical rock lobster mates soon after she has moulted (shed her shell), but not in the soft-shell state. Fertilisation is external. The male transfers his sperm from the base of the fifth walking legs as a packet (spermatophore) onto the underside of the female’s body (thoracic sternal plates). After that, they go their separate ways! The female then chooses when to release her eggs - female lobsters can carry live sperm in the spermatophore until their next moult, or they may mate again in a breeding season. At any time, she may decide to fertilize her 100,000 to 1.5 million eggs, depending on the size of the lobster, which she releases from the base of the third walking leg, scraping the spermatophore to release sperm, and pushes the eggs along her abdomen to appendages (pleopods) under her tail. Females will release eggs and carry a clutch up to 4 times during the breeding season each year. A fascinating story of reproduction! Here is a super magnified shot of some developing embryos - beautiful! #DidYouKnow #lobsteraquaculture #aquaculture #australianseafood #research #australianseafood

We congratulate Nate Hammel as he has published his first scientific article titled, "Postprandial nutrient dynamics and their implications for formulated feed development for the ornate spiny lobster (Panulirus ornatus)" with JCU James Cook University It's inspiring to work with young professionals and researchers coming up in the aquaculture industry. Creating a space for them to contribute to our business and the future of aquaculture plays a really important part in what we do. We have enjoyed working alongside Nate as he conducts his research and we’ll be watching closely to see what he is doing next! Make sure to check out Nate's article below... Jennifer Blair #australianaquaculture #aquacultureresearch #seafoodfutures