Freshwater Crayfish

Products:Marron, redclaw, yabbies

Synopsis – Australian Industry

There are three main freshwater crayfish species farmed in Australia:

• The marron (Cherax tenuimanus), a very large freshwater crayfish native to the river systems of the high rainfall areas of Western Australia
• The redclaw (Cherax quadricarinatus), is a freshwater crayfish native to the turbid slow moving waters of northern Australia, that can tolerate a broad range of environmental conditions
• The yabby (mainly Cherax destructor and Cherax albidus), a semi-aquatic freshwater crayfish indigenous to the inland waters and some coastal drainage areas of central and eastern Australia, but introduced to Western Australia around 1932.

Marron is the largest freshwater crayfish farmed in Australia and earns considerably higher prices than yabbies and redclaw.  Marron and redclaw are usually farmed in purpose built dams, while yabbies are mostly raised in existing farm dams.  Marron accounted for only 27 per cent of Australian freshwater crayfish production in the three years to 2006-07, but 40 per cent of the total value, while yabbies and redclaw accounted for 38 per cent and 36 per cent of Australian production, respectively.  In 2005-06, there were 883 farms in Australia producing freshwater crayfish.

Australian freshwater crayfish are mainly sold domestically; roughly 20–25 per cent of production is exported, mainly to Europe and north Asia. With redclaw, an estimated 14 per cent of total production in 2005-06 was exported. An export accredited marron processing plant was built at Manjimup in Western Australia in 2006.

Background

Recorded world production of freshwater crayfish is growing rapidly, reaching an average 954 000 tonnes in the three years to 2005. The main producing countries are China (86 per cent of total production in the three years to 2005), India (4 per cent), Thailand (3 per cent), United States (3 per cent) and Bangladesh (2 per cent). Over the same period, recorded world exports averaged 32 900 tonnes a year, with a value of US$167 million a year.

Marron have also been introduced to South Africa but only around 2 tonnes is produced annually. There is also production of redclaw in New Caledonia, Mexico and South America but Australia accounts for around 90 per cent of world production.

A production advantage that Australia enjoys compared to other countries is a relatively disease free environment.  In recent year, production of freshwater crayfish in Australia has been severely affected by extended drought that has led to marked reductions in water availability in farm dams.  In the three years to 2006-07, Western Australia (producing marron and yabbies) accounted for 46 per cent of Australian freshwater crayfish production; Queensland (producing redclaw) 36 per cent; South Australia (marron and yabbies) 10 per cent; New South Wales (yabbies) 7 per cent; and Victoria (yabbies) 1 per cent.

Links

• Australian Aquaculture Portal (www.australian-aquacultureportal.com/index.html), information on the Australian aquaculture industry.