Abstract

Survival and growth equations for predicting harvest values from stocking rates have been obtained recently for commercial grow-outs (n=45) of pond cohorts of single year-classes of marron, Cherax tenuimanus (Morrissy et al. 1995). A set of research data (n=12) from annual grow-outs of marron, presented here, provides further confirmation of the highly predictive survival and growth relationships. Harvest density is related to stocked density. The close relationship between mean crayfish weight-at-age for a pond cohort of marron and surviving density is described by a hyperbolic model, which has a biological basis. Extension of this pond model to very high densities also predicts the very low growth of marron which are confined individually in tank (battery) culture. The weights-at-age of individuals in a pond cohort of marron form a wide, positively skewed frequency distribution. These distributions can be described by a lognormal model and equations are available to predict the numbers and, hence, monetary value of marron in weight grade categories at harvest. Feeding rate, the limiting factor implied by density-dependent growth, is discussed.

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