 AIMS
home
About AIMS
Research
Facilities
News
Search
Site map
Site index
Topics index
|
Collaborative
prawn research project
Largest
in Australia's history
By
Karen Graydon
August 29,
2002
The largest collaborative prawn aquaculture research
project in Australian history has begun on the giant tiger
prawn, the most widely farmed and valuable prawn species in
the world.
The project is being carried out by the Australian
Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), the Commonwealth
Scientific Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the
Queensland Department of Primary Industries (QDPI), and is
being funded by the Fisheries Research and Development
Corporation (FRDC) with support from the Australian Prawn
Farmers Association (APFA) and several major farms.
|
The project aims to establish and encourage development of
Australia's burgeoning prawn farming sector at a sustainable
level.
Although the giant tiger prawn has been developed on a
research scale in Australia and internationally, the results
have not been translated into commercial scale production.
As a result, the giant tiger prawn farm industry relies on
harvesting wild broodstocks from the ocean to supply eggs.
This is a major bottleneck because broodstocks of the giant
tiger prawn are rare in the wild and supplies may already be
threatened in many countries due to over-harvesting,
destruction of nursery habitat, seasonal variations in
abundance and disease problems.
The Australian collaboration will now focus intensely on
overcoming this weak link in the prawn farming industry.
Manager of AIMS Tropical Aquaculture Facilities Matt Kenway
said: "This is the largest and most coordinated research
project done on the giant tiger prawn in Australia."
"It will have major implications for the development
of the prawn farming industry in this country. If the industry maintains its dependence on wild
broodstocks for eggs the supply of fry to farmers will continue
to be unreliable. For instance in 2000-2001 a major shortage of wild
broodstocks forced farmers to either, leave ponds empty,
understock their ponds, stock late or stock with alternative
species of lower value. "
|
Images of giant
tiger prawn
at various stages of
development taken at the
AIMS mariculture facility
at Cape Ferguson,
near Townsville.
|
As well as improving the reliability of broodstocks supply,
the project will also focus on improving the health of farmed
stocks. Wild stocks carry disease organisms that can cause
production losses on farms.
Collaborative research between AIMS and CSIRO will have a
particular focus in this area. "When we increase the health and availability of
farmed broodstocks prawns, prawn farming will become more
attractive. It could increase regional development in Northern
Australia and has the potential to do what the wine industry
has done for other regions in Australia. Farmers who are looking at ways to diversify, will
see aquaculture as a serious alternative."
The Australian Prawn Farmers Association, representing the
industry, will coordinate the project, and has identified
domestication of the giant tiger prawn, as its highest
research priority. APFA executive officer Martin Breen said: "There is no
question that the lack of supply of healthy tiger prawn broodstocks
has limited the sustainable development of prawn
aquaculture in Australia." He was delighted with the collaboration and said the
giant tiger prawn domestication project could result in a more
reliable supply of prawns, with higher quality.
He anticipated that it might also reduce the
price of prawns for consumers over the next five years,
depending on a number of factors. Known strains of the giant tiger prawn have already been
reared through the Institute's hatchery and have now been sent
to QDPI's Bribie Island Aquaculture Research Centre for
culture to adult size. Once these strains reach adulthood their reproductive
performance will be tested. The aim is to develop breeds that
are better adapted to culture conditions.
|
|
|
|
|
Images of giant tiger prawn
at various stages of
development taken at the
AIMS mariculture facility
at Cape Ferguson,
near Townsville.
|
|
|
|
For more information
contact
Theresa Millard, Australian
Institute of Marine Science (07) 4753 4250
|
