Patrick von Stieglitz, from The BlueWin Tuna Company Pty Ltd, is hoping to identify the perfect site to breed yellowfin tuna.
Firstly, he says it is important to work with the local authorities. He wants to establish a tourist based, tuna park brood stock in the Republic of Palau, in the North Western Pacific.
To develop the site, Mr von Stieglitz intends to use species such as Beche de Mer, clams and local seaweeds to help keep the location pristine and replace dissolved oxygen.
Being a researcher, he has had the opportunity to look at water quality variables, and see if dissolved oxygen levels change throughout the year.
He says that planktons must be available for initial feeding during the early life stage, therefore an assessment on life feeds in the available area must be carried out initially.
He continues to say that seaweed will provide a habitat for egg laying, as well as removing dissolved nutrients, and he is hoping to test different seaweeds local to Palau.
Once they have developed as fingerlings, Mr von Stieglitz hopes to sell the young stock abroad, so that they can develop in aquaculture/ marine systems.
There wil be no cages, or restrainment, Mr von Stieglitz is hoping that habitat alone is enough to keep the fish local, however if they do start moving away, he anticipates the use of a bubble curtain to keep the bay closed and maintain easy access.
Mr von Stieglitz is targeting yellowfin tuna as he believes that the grow out rate for Yellofin is half that of Bluefin tuna, and says that the costs of production are a lot lower.
He concludes saying that this particular site selection provides the opportunity for a low cost development programme.
The Perfect Site For Breeding Yellowfin Tuna
AUSTRALIA - A small Australian company is looking to select the perfect site for breeding yellowfin tuna.
