Abstract

A water remediation system was developed at a disused coal mine in Collie, Western Australia to correct low pH and other adverse water quality conditions associated with acid mine drainage. Amerliorated water from this system supplied an aquaculture facility investigating the polyculture of marron (Cherax tenuimanus) and silver perch (Bidyanus bidyanus) as a beneficial end use option for final mining voids (mine lakes). Advanced juvenile perch (199.4g) were stocked at two densities into floating polypropylene mesh cages (15m x 1.5m x 0.75m) in aerated grow-out ponds (one cage per pond) to examine any density effect on polyculture production. Marron (71.7g) were stocked at 50/pond with three treatments: monoculture (marron plus an empty fish cage), low density polyculture (marron plus 100 caged perch), and medium density polyculture (marron plus 200 caged perch). Each treatment was allocated to two ponds in a random block design. Growth, survival and polyculture production were evaluated over 200 days for perch, and 90 days for marron. At harvest, average weight and survival of silver perch (281.4g and 97.4% respectively) and marron (108.5g and 75.7% respectively) showed no significant differences between treatments (P > 0.1). Marron growth was higher in polyculture (final weight: 112.5g) than compared with monoculture (final weight: 100.5g) although differences were not significant (P = 0.07). Pond yields were significantly higher in polyculture than monoculture (P < 0.05), with net biomass increase highest in polyculture ponds with 200 perch/cage. While the need for research into higher, commercial densities is evident, the trial successfully demonstrated the potential of crayfish polyculture as a beneficial end use for coal mining lakes in southern Western Australia.

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