Tropical Aquaculture

DEVELOPMENT OF PREPARED PELLETED DIETS FOR SPINY LOBSTER JUVENILES

Research Team:
Serena Cox (Post-doctoral fellow - University of Auckland, New Zealand)
Megan Davis (HBOI)

Spiny lobsters (Palinuridae) are one of the world's most valuable seafoods and form the basis of important fisheries worldwide. However, continuing commercial, recreational and traditional fishing pressures have left many species fully or over exploited. To continue to meet strong international demand, there is intense interest in the development of aquaculture for these species. Preliminary investigations into the economic feasibility of commercial land-based culture of spiny lobsters has indicated that input costs must be reduced and productivity increased. Research has suggested that in Florida and the Caribbean, the tropical lobster Panulirus argus could be a suitable candidate for land-based culture due to its faster growth rates and greater availability of wild seed. However, a suitable formulated feed which can produce good growth and survival rates has yet to be developed.

The aim of this project is to develop and test artificial diets for the culture of post-larval and juvenile Caribbean spiny lobsters, Panulirus argus. Two new diet formulations will be developed and compared with an existing commercial diet, wild prey items (such as clams, squid and scallops) and a diet developed in New Zealand by NIWA. A range of growth parameters and nutritional indices such histology and biochemical analysis of the digestive gland will be used to assess the nutritional condition of the lobsters under the different dietary regimes. The diets will also be analysed for carbohydrate, lipid and protein content. Other dietary factors such as digestibility and presentation format will also be investigated.

This research is funded by NOAA SBIR Phase II Grant and HBOI Postdoctoral Fellowship Award.