The Camdeboo Satellite Aquaculture Project, which enjoys support and funding from provincial government, aims to establish about 50 such "farms" in the Camdeboo area, near the historic town of Graaf-Reinet.

On the viability of establishing an aquaculture project in the middle of a semi-desert, the organisers say an "obvious gap in the market" has provided a viable business opportunity.

According to co-ordinator Liesl de la Harpe, the project "aims to produce fish in captivity and at high densities".

It is being driven by a Graaf-Reinet-based company, Camdeboo Bream.

De la Harpe said on Monday the project would make use of "re-circulating aquaculture systems placed in greenhouse tunnels" to grow the fish.

Once they had reached a "market weight" of 30g, the fish would be canned. This would "fill the enormous gap created by the sharp decline in the annual pilchard quota".

The project would make use of existing water sources, which were currently solely used to sustain livestock and crops.

"In fact, these existing systems, in conjunction with the large potential labour force, provide an enormous competitive advantage for the project... We aim to establish and successfully operate 50 satellite farms between 2011 and 2015," she said.

According to a media statement, the project has backing - to the tune of R750 000 - from Thina Sinako, the Eastern Cape government's local economic development support programme.

This funding has been allocated for the project's design phase, including an environmental impact assessment, system design, feasibility study and the formulation of training, marketing and business plans.

A pilot phase is to be launched in January next year.

According to the statement, project co-ordinators are talking to potential investors and funders.