Vietnam Diseases in Lobster Cages, Again Seafood.com Reports: For the second straight year, farmers raising spiny lobsters in Khanh Hoa Province are suffering huge losses due to high production costs and diseases. In Van Ninh Commune, the number of lobster-farming households has decreased to 533 this from 800 last year, when the Commune operated 7,000 sea cages. Even with lobster prices rising to around $57 a kilogram this year from $38.10 a kilogram last year, individual farmers are losing from $9,524 to $28,574 for each failed crop, depending on the number of cages being farmed. During the 2011-2012 season, farmer Huynh Van Thuong stocked 5,000 lobsters, but lost 60% of them due to milky haemolymph syndrome (MHS, a bacterial infection), incurring a loss of about $28,574. A farmer with approximately 5,000 lobsters in his cages has to invest over $100,000 to purchase juvenile seedstock and feed. With the diminishing supplies of wild juveniles, prices for seedstock have doubled to

Source: ABC News. Call for Eased Aquaculture Regulations. September 27, 2010. Cayman Islands The Caribbean Spiny Lobster Virus Marine scientist Donald Behringer will be pulling the legs off 200 live lobsters to determine if a deadly virus is present in Cayman’s population of Caribbean spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus). Results of laboratory experiments have shown that the virus, known as Panulirus argus virus I, or PaV1, can be transmitted to juvenile lobsters via inoculation, ingestion of diseased tissue, contact with diseased lobsters and, among the smallest juveniles, through the water over distances of several feet. Behringer is planning to examine 100 lobsters from Grand Cayman and another 100 in Little Cayman when he begins his research in October 2010. The disease has been seen in a number of locations throughout the Caribbean, but no checks have been done in Cayman to determine if it is prevalent in the local lobster population. The blood of baby lobsters infected with

Source: VenezuelAnalysis.com. Venezuela and Iran Inaugurate Binational Fund, Advance Bilateral Relations. James Suggett. November 26, 2009. Vietnam Spiny Lobster Farming Abstract: With a coastline of 3,260 kilometers and more than 4,000 coastal islands, Vietnam has great potential for seacage aquaculture. Seacage culture of spiny lobsters started in the province of Khanh Hoa in 1992 and has expanded significantly around southcentral Vietnam since 2000. Panulirus ornatus is the most important farmed species, but P. homarus, P. stimpsoni and P. longipes are also farmed. In 2006, there were more than 49,000 cages producing approximately 1,900 tons of product, valued at about $90 million. In late 2006, however, “milky disease” hit the industry and production declined to an estimated 1,400 tons in 2007. This paper reviews the status of spiny lobster farming in seacages in Vietnam and identifies the major technical and socioeconomic constraints to further development. Source: Spiny

Tung claims that Vietnam is probably the only nation doing spiny lobster farming on a large scale. Tung completed his Bachelor's degree at Nha Trang University, and then worked as a junior lecturer at the university. In 1996, he won a scholarship from Japan to study for his master's degree at the Asian Institute of Technology (AlT) in Bangkok, Thailand. He then worked for AlT as a researcher for a while before going to Australia to do his Ph.D. at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia. My Masters and Ph.D. research were in shrimp, working with the reproductive biology of Penaeus monodon (black tiger shrimp) and P. merguiensis (banana prawn). I have since diversified my research interests into slipper lobster, which is an alternative aquaculture species to the spiny lobster. This is because the larval rearing phase of the slipper lobster is much shorter and the value is quite high, almost that of the spiny lobster. It fetches $40/kg in the domestic market." Tung's current research,

Source: Bangkok Post. Thai shrimp exports thriving as consumers tighten belts. Phusadee Arunmas. April 13, 2009. United States Florida—Spiny Lobster Diets Tested Abstract: This study compared and evaluated the performance of seven diets for first instar juvenile spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus, 5–6 millimeter carapace length) based on growth rates, survival and feed conversion ratios. Results demonstrated that a fresh seafood-based diet produced the fastest growth rate (3.49% weight gain a day and 0.90% carapace length increase a day over a 28-day period). These growth rates were also reflected by a low feed conversion rate (3:1) for the fresh seafood diet. Similar results were obtained with juveniles fed a frozen seafood diet, however, frozen brine shrimp, Artemia salina (both enriched and unenriched), frozen enriched mysis shrimp, a dry pellet and a meal-based diet did not produce consistent growth rates. Survival rates ranged between 38% and 85%. Source: Electronical Larviculture

Source: AsiaOne Business. Small Fry Is Big Business in China. Justin Chan. November 24, 2009. Ecuador History—Phil Boeing, Spiny Lobsters In a response to a report on spiny lobster farming on the Free Reports Page, Phil Boeing, who has managed shrimp farming operations throughout the Western Hemisphere, writes: In the early 1980s, in Ecuador, I collected some wild spiny lobster (Panuliris gracilis) juveniles (68 to 76 grams) and grew them with and without ablation in tanks. They grew to 794 grams in 13 months with ablation, but only to 375 grams without ablation. It’s a pain to collect wild juveniles. If you could control the temperature and inexpensively shock them into molting, they could become an attractive candidate for farming. Information: Phil Boeing (pboeing@dc.rr.com). Source: Email from Phil Boeing to Shrimp News International on November 22, 2009. Ecuador Cover, Advertisers and Table of Contents of Ecuador’s Aquaculture Magazine Source: Email from Jorge

Source: PacificShipper.com. Company disputes Customs’ shrimp testing. R.F. Edmonson. January 12, 2009. Indonesia Sulawesi—Spiny Lobster Farming Sulawesi (formerly known as Celebes), a large, irregularly shaped island in the Indonesian archipelago, is recognized by the government as a major area for the development of mariculture. In Sulawesi, the most commonly farmed spiny lobster species is Panilurus versicolor in cage (5 x 5 x 3 meters). Farmers feed the lobsters low-value fish. The seedstock, as is the case with spiny lobster farming throughout Southeast Asia, is wild-caught. The wild seedstock supply is based on a tribal fishery in the waters surrounding the Tiworo Islands. The seedstock is typically a young lobster of about 100 grams. They are fattened for 12-14 months and sold live to local wholesalers for export. Photo: Typical cage farms in Kendari Bay, southeast Sulawesi. Lobsters are stocked at a density of 50 animals per cage and harvested at 750-1,000 grams. The

Australia Palinurid Lobster Diets Palinurid lobsters, a genus of subtropical and temperate spiny lobsters, range from the southeast African coast to southwest Indian Ocean and from the northeastern Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. The genus has five species: Palinurus gilchristi, P. delagoae, P. elephas, P. charlestoni and P. mauritanicus. From Abstract: The closed-cycle rearing of palinurid lobsters in commercially relevant quantities currently represents one of the most difficult challenges facing modern-day aquaculture. The length and complexity of their larval life cycle exacerbate the problem and represent the major bottleneck to their successful farming. The general consensus is that developments in nutrition research will provide the necessary breakthroughs to make the closed-cycle rearing of palinurids a reality. Due to the cryptic nature of their feeding preferences and complex larval morphology, a commercially formulated feed for their culture does not exist. Nevertheless,

Source: Bangkok Post. Shrimp Exports Set to Surge. Phusadee Arunmas (phusadea@bangkokpost.co.th). May 6, 2010. United States California—Shrimp News International, What Species Is This? Hi, I bought these three-ounce spiny lobster tails at my local Albertsons grocery store for $4 each, discounted from $6 each. The guy behind the counter couldn’t tell me anything about their species or origin. I took them out of their shells, which was quite easy, and quickly fried them in a hot pan with a little butter, garlic and salt and pepper. It was my first experience with spiny lobster, and I was surprised that they did not taste like the American coldwater lobster from New England. They were quite nice, however, with a very light “crustacean” flavor that was almost completely overwhelmed by my seasoning. Next time I’m going to try broiling the tails and eating them with no seasoning, just to see if I can get closer to the true taste. I did my best to identify the species, but

Tasmania is an island state off the southeast coast of Australia. There are dozens of species of rock lobster (often called spiny lobsters) around the world. Most of the species considered for aquaculture are in the Jasus and Panulirus genera. In Eastern Malaysia, Darden Restaurants has embarked on a long-term, $650 million, joint venture to farm Panulirus ornatus, the ornate rock lobster. Sources: 1. The Mercury.com.au. $7.5m Boost for Tas Research. Zara Dawtrey. May 1, 2013. 2. Spiny Lobsters/Through the Eyes of the Giant Packhorse. John Booth. Victoria University Press. 2011. 3. Bob Rosenberry, Shrimp News International, May 1, 2013. Click Here to Print This Page Click Here to Send This Page to a Friend Click Here to Get on the Mailing List for All Shrimp News Announcements Home • Previous Page • Site Map