2007/718 Yellowtail Kingfish juvenile quality

By Stephen Battaglene and Jennifer Cobcroft

Yellowtail Kingfish culture is a rapidly expanding industry in Australia. The production of quality larvae from hatcheries underpins the production of farmed fish and malformations significantly increase costs. Cranial and skeletal malformations have been reported in cultured Yellowtail Kingfish worldwide. Malformations add greatly to the cost of farming by increasing grow-out time, reducing survival, adding infrastructure and labour costs, reducing marketability and fish quality. Of particular concern are jaw malformations. The potential direct benefit to Clean Seas Aquaculture of reducing malformations in Yellowtail Kingfish was estimated in 2007 to be $1 million p.a..

This report was initially embargoed as commercial in confidence until the conclusion of the Seafood CRC and can now be downloaded below.