Upskilling Australian Barramundi farmers on harmful algal bloom (HAB) identification, monitoring and fish health management tools

Funded Activity Summary

The occurrence of harmful algal blooms on Australian barramundi farms is an established threat that appears to be increasing in frequency and has already caused a significant economic impact to affected farms. As the Australian barramundi industry expands it is anticipated the frequency and severity of harmful algal blooms may increase. The potential cost savings from preventing or minimising the impact of a single harmful algal bloom can be significant (potentially up to $300,000 per case). This would provide an immediate return on the research investment of this project. The widespread and remote location of Australian barramundi farms limits the ability to quickly get suspect bloom samples to an appropriate analytical laboratory and receive diagnosis within a timeframe that is appropriate for response to an emergent harmful event, whereby emergency actions could be taken to minimise impact. There is a critical need for increasing awareness, further education and training, and provision of initial guideline tools to help farm staff differentiate harmful from harmless blooms and respond to these events accordingly. This first step will facilitate farms to develop monitoring programs to detect and respond to problem blooms prior to the encountering of large-scale mortality events.

Objectives:
1. Compilation of a manual to assist the identification of potentially harmful and commonly encountered algae species likely to be found in Australian freshwater and saltwater barramundi farms.
2. Assembling an algae identification kit including necessary sampling equipment and guidelines.
3. Collection and algae analysis of water samples from participating farms for inclusion in the algae identification manual and discussion at the 1-day workshop.
4. Review of literature on known control and prevention methods of harmful algal blooms in aquaculture ponds including identification of knowledge gaps and areas for further research.
5. Run a 1-day workshop to train and educate participating staff from ABFA member farms on algal identification, quantification, and management options.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 28-10-2022

End Date: 30-10-2023

Funding Scheme: Funding Scheme not available

Funding Amount: $80,601.00

Funder: Fisheries Research and Development Corporation

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

There are no FoR codes available for this funding activity

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

Aquaculture

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