A TOURIST centre could be built at the aquaculture farm at Wesfarmers Premier Coal within two years.

Wesfarmers Premier Coal aquaculture farm manager Richard Clark said the aquaculture farm’s management had applied to the Indigenous Land Corporation for a grant to build the tourist centre.

If successful, construction would start in November.

Mr Clark said 22 new ponds would be built and each would eventually be home to fish stocks.

Two fish-out ponds would also be built from which tourists could catch their own fish.

“Each pond would be 3000 square metres and would be stocked with trout, perch and Murray cod,” Mr Clark said.

Enough money would be included in the grant application to allow a tourist centre to be built.

“Tourists will arrive, be able to hire a rod and catch themselves a feed,” he said.

“Then they can cook the fish on-site at a café.”

The fish farm was already a first of its kind in the world to use a mine void for aquaculture.

This made it an attractive proposition in its own right, Mr Clark said.

He thought getting the grant application accepted should not be difficult.

“It will be good tourism to get it off the ground,” he said.

Fish farm tours would be offered, perhaps combined with mine tours, Mr Clark said.

“We currently have 10 Aboriginal students enrolled at TAFE to do certificate two in tourism,” he said. “They will be trained up to take the tours. They will teach tourists how the marron farm works, about the water treatments and medicinal plants.”

Within the next few weeks, the 10 students will lead tours of school students around the farm as practice.

Mr Clark said a walking path will also be bulldozed around the void, which will offer water attractions such as pedaloes for tourists.

Mr Clark said the project could be finished by 2012.