Before the breakthrough, farmers used wild stock to produce these prawns. However, results have not been ideal, prompting various companies to hunt for solutions to the problem.
Black tiger prawn is one of the most popular seafood in Australia.
Aquaculture's marine biologist Brian Murphy said the farm had been researching ways to fully control the production process.
The farm has just completed a 50-tonne harvest of black tigers that were the third generation to be bred in the hatchery from the original stock. A small proportion was kept to breed the fourth generation.
Experts have said the quality of the prawns was as good as, if not better than those caught in the wild, according to Murphy.
The successful harvest meant the breeding cycle of the black tiger prawn can now be controlled, and the best breeds can be chosen to improve product quality and production efficiency, he said.
The completion last week of the commercial harvesting of the black tigers helped the farm to a record production of 320 tonnes.
The production amounted to 11.8 tonnes a hectare, smashing the Australian record of 10 tonnes a hectare which had been set by the same farm.
Source: eFeedLink - 12th May 2006
