Warm Temperate Aquaculture Research in Western Australia

Abalone research focuses on improving the sustainability of abalone farming from economic and environmental perspectives. Examples of research projects include:

• developing a system for conditioning broodstock out of season;
• researching various diets to improve the reproductive success of conditioned broodstock;
• improving hatchery hygiene increase larval survival;
• developing algal communities on nursery plates to greatly increase larval settlement success;
• developing diets with local feed mills for growing large juveniles to export size in grow-out systems; and
• producing family lines of abalone broodstock to allow selection of faster-growing abalone.

Marron

For the uninitiated, marron are large fast-gowing high quality crustaceans that can be exported live and which suffer from very few disease problems.

As the licensed marron farms in Western Australia exceed 50 per cent of all aquaculture licences, research efforts in WA have been aimed at maximising productivity through improved pond design and construction, farm management, nutrition and stock genetics.

Examples of research projects include:

• evaluating different river lines of marron for faster growth rates;
• mass selecting commercial marron stock for faster growth;
• developing a selection index that allows choice of the most appropriate broodstock for a range of key attributes, including growth rate and meat return;
• setting up a multitude of pedigree lines to allow sustainable genetic improvement that avoids inbreeding;
• assessing better husbandry methods;
• improving continuity of supply to markets by stocking and harvesting in summer rather than winter; and
• developing better post-harvest holding systems to increase live exports.

Trout

Rainbow trout are bred in the Department of Fisheries' Pemberton hatchery. These fish are used for stocking public and private fisheries for grow-out projects at sites using inland saline water supplies. Examples of research projects include:

• evaluating cost-effective feed ingredients for trout feeds;
• producing fry to supply commercial producers;
• showing the good genetic quality of Pemberton Line rainbow trout which have unusually fast growth and excellent tolerance of high water temperatures; and
• demonstrating the high health status of rainbow trout in WA.