Cairns Marine is a one-stop-shop for all aquarium specimen supply needs. We are a uniquely positioned supplier in that our company controls our own supply chain from collection through to despatch to domestic customers; and to receipt at the port of entry in the destination country for our export customers.

Cairns Marine has been operating under the ownership and management of the experienced and dedicated Squire family since 1994 and has developed an enviable reputation for reliability and quality in that time. Our audacious public aquarium supply operations have seen us chartering Boeing 747 aircraft for the exclusive purpose of delivering large animals to public aquaria in various parts of the world.

Aside from those orders of massive scale, Cairns Marine has completed many, many export orders that have used scheduled international flights. We are highly respected among our export customers; and in 2002, we even won the Queensland Exporter of the Year award for the agribusiness section.

Cairns Marine’s operation is guided by the experience and expertise developed over three generations of collecting animals for display and caring for animals that have been injured. The integrity of the entire operation is guided by the depth of knowledge developed over those generations. Those practices are recognised as the benchmark for aquarium collection and animal handling.

Our company has been a major driver in the establishment of an operational Code of Conduct, and indeed we took that Code a step further by including a response plan to events linked to global climate change, including increased severity and frequency of coral bleaching; increase frequency and intensity of tropical storms, including cyclones; and increase frequency and severity of coastal flooding.

Vessels

Cairns Marine operates from two 22m ocean going collection platforms. These West Coaster style former tuna fishing boats have been fully customised to hold marine animals of all description while supporting the needs of six divers in safety and comfort. The vessels are able to operate in most conditions and to travel to the Coral Sea and outer Great Barrier Reef in safety.

Facility

On shore, Cairns Marine operates a custom built facility for holding and handling marine animals of all shapes and sizes, from the smallest delicate shrimps to sharks, rays and enigmatic sawfish. Our experienced and fully qualified staff keep the animals happy and healthy so that our customers receive the best quality specimens available on the market. The ability to distribute large animals to public aquaria worldwide has entailed the development of techniques of packing and distribution that remains pivotal to successful export. We retain custody of export animals until receipt at the port of entry at the destination country, which is a clear indication that we have absolute confidence in the intellectual property developed at Cairns Marine. 

Cairns Marine has developed a state-of-the-art computerised data collection package that records each specimen collected to species level, identifying collection location using GIS and enables us to track each animal through the system from point of capture to point of sale. The system integrates with our website so that our customers have up to date inventory information from which to place an order. We are also accumulating a dataset that is invaluable to understanding the fishery and species distribution and abundance. 

Our ownership of all elements of the supply chain from collection enables us to undertake the highest standards of quality assurance. We confidently assure our customers that we know the conditions under which every animal that we supply has been exposed since prior to collection in the wild because we control those conditions. That is the basis of our guarantee of quality and of the sustainable nature of supply from the wild to our customers. The Trigger Digger trademark is the symbol of that quality.

Public Aquaria

Cairns Marine is a strong supporter of the role of, and benefits derived form, public aquaria in conservation through education. Public aquaria worldwide are visited by literally hundreds of millions of people per year. More than 143 million people visit public aquaria annually in the United States alone. The platform for education and awareness of our natural environment is enormous and Cairns Marine work with our public aquarium clients to maximise the benefit derived from conservation messages accompanying display of Cairns Marine animals.

Large animal collection requires a unique suite of skills and attributes. Our divers are professional operators and are able to capture a shark, ray, large fish or a sawfish without causing injury or distress to the animal. The animals are cared for on board in specially designed onboard facilities then acclimated and cared for at our shore based facility prior to shipment. The facility is equipped to handle a large number of animals for servicing public aquarium orders and we are able to provide a complete solution for public aquarium clients, including securing the best value for money in freight and packing. The complete package is offered by few companies in the world and certainly the only company operating on the Great Barrier Reef and in the Coral Sea.

Contact us today to discuss your specialist needs. There is no task too large for our team of professionals.