Abstract

This investigation of the relationship among physical, chemical and biological parameters of industry farm dams and yabby (Cherax albidus) yields identifies factors that limit yabby production. Physical, chemical and biological data were collected from 21 farm dams that are used for commercial yabby harvesting. Multiple linear regression with an AIC criterion was used to identify the most important factors that affected one or more yabby production variables. Several chemical factors, namely calcium, nitrate, potassium and sulphate, substantially enhanced yabby production while hardness, total copper and total zinc decreased production. Key physical factors including low feed rate, low latitude, wind factor, number of harvests per year and white clay colour decrease return per cost. Farm dams in elevated positions in catchments have lower yabby production. In general, older dams have a higher density of yabbies. As feeding was shown to strongly enhance production, a pilot study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of using crayfish pellets to improve yields in low yielding dams. The results were inconclusive, indicating that feed is not the only factor limiting yabby production in low yielding farm dams.

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