2010/735 8th annual workshop on physiology and aquaculture of pelagics with emphasis on reproduction and early developmental stages of Yellowfin Tuna - Year 1

By Pollyanna Hilder

Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBT) is a major contributor to the Australian aquaculture industry, however at the moment it is reliant on the on-growing of wild-caught juveniles to market size. The recent captive-spawning of SBT by Clean Seas Tuna Ltd. (CST) has opened up the potential for the aquaculture of this high market species. Early attempts at production of SBT have identified a number of culture bottlenecks, predominantly associated with larval culture. Elucidation of the visual system and factors that promote first feeding success in SBT are critical to gain a thorough understanding of culture strategies that will work for this species. Due to the novelty and the limited spawning season of SBT one of the most effective tools to use to rapidly develop culture methods is to gain knowledge of successful strategies with comparative animals. This is the case with Yellowfin Tuna (YFT).

This research travel grant allowed travel to the 8^th annual workshop on physiology and aquaculture of pelagics with emphasis on reproduction and early developmental stages of Yellowfin Tuna, Thunnus albacares held at the Achotines Laboratory, Republic of Panama, Central America, 7-19 June 2010. A large amount of knowledge is available due to the Achotines Laboratory having a domesticated spawning population of YFT releasing viable gametes every day of the year. Attendance of this workshop provided invaluable exposure to leading researchers and professionals in the tuna field and exposed the author to the latest trends in tuna aquaculture which may be directly applied to the PhD research program as well as to larval rearing at CST.