Development of mass production hatchery technology for the redclaw crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus
Published Online: 4/15/2020
Abstract
Aquaculture production of redclaw Cherax quadricarinatus (von Martens) in Australia, has never reached the high level projections made in the 1990s (Jones and Ruscoe 1996). This can be attributed to a range of factors, but the most significant is the supply of seedstock. Although redclaw is advantaged by its uncomplicated reproductive biology with no free-living larval stages, reliance on natural reproduction to generate juveniles for growout purposes is inefficient. An alternative approach involves the artificial incubation of fertilized eggs to improve both quality and quantity of juveniles produced. Suitable technology for such incubation was developed in Europe to support the on-going efforts to produce crayfish plague free juveniles for restocking to natural water bodies. This technology has now been adapted to suit redclaw and for the purpose of mass production of seed crayfish for aquaculture. This paper details the development of the AquaVerde hatchery system, and the challenges to see it develop into fully commercial production, that could support expansion of the redclaw farming industry, both in Australia and elsewhere in the world.
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How to Cite
Jones CM and Valverde C. (2020). Development of mass production hatchery technology for the redclaw crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus. Freshwater Crayfish 25(1):1-6. doi: 10.5869/fc.2020.v25-1.001
Author Information
Clive M. Jones,* Aquaculture, James Cook University, PO Box 6811, Cairns, Queensland, Australia4879. E-mail: clive.jones@jcu.edu.au
Colin Valverde, Owner, AquaVerde, PO Box 830, Atherton, Queensland, Australia4883. E-mail: info@aquaverde.com.au
Corresponding Author indicated by an *.
Publication History
Manuscript Submitted: 4/23/2019
Manuscript Accepted: 1/3/2020
Published Online: 4/15/2020
Published in Print: 4/30/2020
Funding Information
No specific funding statement is available for this article.