OGA's Managing Director, Brad Adams grew up in the remote town of Augusta in the very south west of Western Australia where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean.

Brad and his family have a long association with aquaculture and the fishing industry. He’s a 3rd generation fisherman whose father founded the commercial wild abalone diving industry in Flinders Bay in the 1960s.

Brad's enquiring mind lead him down an aquaculture route, and after completing his studies in Tasmania, he returned home to start the development of a new technique of growing abalone.

After to close to 20 years researching, developing and inventing a new technology, OGA's sea ranching technique was born and the abitat was developed.

Sea ranching is an aquaculture technique where hatchery bred juvenile abalone are placed on OGA designed artificial reefs (abitats), which are placed in the ocean and left to nature to grow for 2-3 years until they reach a marketable size. They feed and survive in the wild.

The abalone produced from the sea ranch is identical to the highly sought after wild catch product, but has the competitive advantages that only aquaculture can provide. OGA can supply year round to meet market demands to whatever size or product specification the market requires.

Importantly, the sustainability of the abalone using this technique is proven and monitored on an ongoing basis. Monitoring the abitats and the sea ranching technology is paramount to OGA.

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