Characterising and managing harmful algal blooms that cause production loss on Australian prawn farms

Abstract

Land-based marine aquaculture farms in Australia are now better placed to manage the impact of harmful algal blooms on production. The Australian Prawn Farming Association (APFA) partnered with the Commonwealth Fisheries Research and Development Corporation and the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in a project to critically assess the composition of the algal blooms associated with marine pond aquaculture and identify characteristics of harmful species that are key to controlling their threat. With operations based at the Bribie Island Research Centre, prawn culture pond blooms from farms spanning the tropical to subtropical east coast of Australia were sampled and a small number of species potentially harmful to prawns and fish identified. One of these species, Heterosigma sp., known for its devastation of fish culture operations around the world, was isolated from ponds and maintained in laboratory cultures for evaluation of the mechanism by which it affects prawns and to investigate biological characteristics that could facilitate effective bloom control.