What are the prospects for black bream Acanthopagrus butcheri (Munro) aquaculture in salt-affected inland Australia?

Abstract

Black bream are a highly regarded sport and table fish, and there has been considerable interest in their aquaculture potential for the salt-affected agricultural regions of inland southern Australia. In many ways they are an ideal candidate species for inland saline aquaculture because they appear to be very hardy, hatchery techniques are well established for them, and high survival rates have been maintained under a variety of culture conditions and feeding regimes. However, their slow growth rate needs to be increased by at least 33% for black bream to become an economically viable aquaculture species. Growth is amenable to genetic improvement, and sub-adult growth rate shows moderate heritability and no adverse genetic correlations with other production traits. Nevertheless fillet yield is comparatively low, and in conjunction with unpredictable and early sexual development in culture, industry-scale meat production remains problematic. These obstacles, however, do not preclude the use of black bream as a recreational ¢sh species for inland saline waters, where their stocking may provide an additional source of rural income and relieve fishing pressure on depleted estuarine populations.