Logo image
Back
Preliminary Comparisons of Yield and Profit Achieved from Different Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, Production Systems in Inland Western Australia
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Preliminary Comparisons of Yield and Profit Achieved from Different Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, Production Systems in Inland Western Australia

C. Lever, A.J. Lymbery and R.G. Doupé
Journal of Applied Aquaculture, Vol.16(1), pp.63-74
2004
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1300/J028v16n01_05
url
Link to Published Version *Subscription may be requiredView

Abstract

Farmers throughout the wheatbelt of Western Australia are interested in farming rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, in saline groundwater on salt-affected farmland, to generate an alternative source of income. We compared the relative productivity and profitability of three different production systems: extensive (trout stocked in earthen ponds and totally reliant on natural food); semi-intensive (trout stocked in earthen ponds and provided with supplementary diet); intensive (trout stocked in closed, recirculating tanks). The yield of fish increased with increasing production intensity. The mean wet weight (±SE) of trout after 4 months of grow-out was 61.3±2.7 g in extensive systems, 157.9±5.2 g in semi-intensive systems and 137.9±3.9 g in intensive systems, giving mean yields of 10.8 kg /pond (13.5 kg/ha), 27.9 kg/pond (34.8 kg/ha) and 54.9 kg/tank (21.1 kg/m3), respectively. A preliminary economic analysis of the different production systems showed that the increases in yield were sufficient to balance the extra operating costs involved in semi-intensive systems, but not in intensive systems. We conclude that semi-intensive production systems deserve further study for the commercially viable production of rainbow trout from saline groundwater in Western Australia.

Details

Metrics

27 Record Views
Logo image