Science Centres: Fisheries

Johny Wright (left) and Cedric Simon (right) holding a prototype sea-cage. (Photo: Phil James, NIWA)

Rafts at Mahanga Bay. (Photo: Phil James, NIWA)

NIWA scientists have achieved excellent survival and growth rates in recent trials on-growing rock lobster using sea-cages designed and tested inhouse.

This work to develop economically viable ways to farm rock lobster was initiated in response to large settlements of juvenile rock lobster (puerulus) and an expression by the aquaculture industry to make use of this natural abundance. The baby lobsters, many of which would have perished in the wild, were collected, and scientists at our Mahanga Bay facility in Wellington began work to perfect cage culture techniques. The result was a new open-water cage system which is proving very promising. Lobster productivity is high, and servicing the cages is easy, compared with traditional designs.

Market opportunity using this system is exciting, not only for producing animals of wild catch market size, but also for its potential for the development of speciality products using smaller juvenile lobsters. Interest in the system is predicted to come from mussel farmers who want to diversify.