Bigger, faster, cheaper
That’s the slogan Queensland’s tiger prawn farmers could soon be touting as their permanent sales pitch.
Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries researchers at Bribie Island are working to develop a selective breeding program aimed at giving farmers breeding stock which will result in larger tiger prawns that grow faster, are cheaper to produce and will be resistant to local and exotic diseases.
The project, which could deliver a huge boost to the state’s $50 million tiger prawn industry, is a collaboration between the DPI, the Australian Prawn Farmers Association, the Australian Institute of Marine Science and CSIRO.Launched in 2002 with funding support from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, the research is being carried out at the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries Bribie Island Aquaculture Research Centre.
Researchers there have been looking for an alternative method of developing breeding stock for prawn farmers who currently collect prawns from the wild to spawn the hundreds of millions of juvenile prawns required for aquaculture production.
The current technology has its drawbacks, including a significant commercial impact when insufficient wild spawners are caught, leading to delayed and reduced production.
To counter this, the Bribie Island research is centred around getting captive bred prawns to selectively spawn so that the industry will no longer be dependant on catching females from the wild.
Animal Science Senior Fisheries Technician Michael Burke, a member of the team running the project in industry scale marine ponds at the Bribie Island facility, says the research is the first in Australia to show that multiple family lines can be maintained across many generations.
“We have now produced our fifth generation of improved prawn stocks.
“A successful captive breeding program will ensure there is a steady supply of top quality farmed tiger prawns throughout the year to meet the need of the industry and consumer demands.” And as any proud Queenslander will tell you, that’s great news for the industry and even better news for fans of Queensland’s favourite crustacean.