Farming Barramundi

Larval Rearing

Control is required because of geographical location (i.e. the hatchery is situated in an area where barramundi are not normally found). The majority of barramundi farms in northern Australia use extensive larval rearing procedures (Barlow et al., 1996).

Barramundi laveae hatch in about 17 hours at 28^oC, live on their yolk sac for the first 40 to 44 hours and then feed on microscopic zooplankton. They continue to feed on zooplankton for a number of weeks, moving on to larger prey as they rapidly grow. Barramundi larvae and fingerlings are cannibalistic so grading is vital until fingerlings reach 80-100mm total length (TL) (Schipp 1996, Barlow 1998).

There are three culture systems currently used in Australia for producing barramundi fingerlings:

• clear-water tank culture (considered intensive larval rearing);
• green-water tank culture (semi-intensive larval rearing); and
• pond culture (extensive larval rearing).

Each system has its own merits with hatchery site characteristics usually dictating the type of system used. In South-East Asia, barramundi larvae are mainly reared intensively, whereas in Australia only a few hatcheries use this technique, usually in situations where environmental control is required because of geographical location (i.e. the hatchery is situated in an area where barramundi are not normally found). The majority of barramundi farms in northern Australia use extensive larval rearing procedures (Barlow et al., 1996).