Cyclone Larry Hits Prawn Farmers Badly

AUSTRALIA - Flooding is now causing havoc in Queensland between Cairns and Townsville, in the aftermath of cyclone Larry.

Innisfail recorded 289 millimetres of rain in the 24 hours to 9am AEST, with most coastal areas receiving more than 100 millimetres.

The floods have devastated the region's prawn farming industry, which supplies 40 per cent of the Australian market.

Scott Walter from the Australian Prawn Farmers Association says there are huge losses due to flood damage and loss of power.

"Basically we have power to run our freezers where the stock is kept," Mr Walter said.

"We've got power that run aerators in our ponds, which keep the oxygen levels up to a point where the prawns are capable of basically growing and surviving, so if we lose the ability to oxygenate our ponds we'll lose our crops, and if the freezers go down for too long and the seals are broken, the temperatures will drop and we'll have to destroy the stock because it'll no longer be safe for food."

Source: ABC Rural