Estimating production costs of preadult redclaw crayfish,Cherax quadricarinatus, reared in a commercial nursery system: A stochastic bioeconomic approach

Abstract

A stochastic bioeconomic model was used to estimate the production cost and risk factors affecting economic performance of juvenile redclaw crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus, commercial nursery production, in a farm located in Baja California Sur, Mexico. At harvest, the biological submodel showed there is 95% confidence to obtain an average weight of 19.98 g, with 126,341/ha surviving organisms, representing 84% survival. Biomass was 2.5 t/ha, with a feed conversion ratio (FCR) of 0.98, reflecting the efficient adaptation of the species to culture conditions. The economic submodel showed that at Day 90, there is 95% confidence that the cost of producing a preadult will be US$0.090 or US$4.55/kg. With increasing demand and worldwide sale prices of US$9/kg, there is a potential market for 20–30 g redclaw reared in intensive lined ponds. Sensitivity analyses showed that the regression coefficients from a second‐order polynomial used for calculation of FCR associated with time (a2 and a1) were the most important parameters influencing the production cost. Mortality rate and parameters used to calculate individual weight also had considerable influence on production cost. The bioeconomic analysis contributes significantly to establishing the economic viability of the intensive three‐phase production system.

The redclaw crayfish: A prominent aquaculture species with invasive potential in tropical and subtropical biodiversity hotspots

“…The utilization of an already present invasive crayfish can be a double‐edged sword (Nunes et al . 2015; Nunes et al . 2017b), especially with aquaculture species (Naylor et al .…”

“…Although it is true that aquaculture species result in economic benefits for human society, environmental impacts as a consequence of escapes from facilities and direct releases remain a great concern (Padilla & Williams 2004; Nunes et al . 2015). This motivated us to undertake this comprehensive review of the crayfish species commonly known as ‘redclaw’, summarizing the current knowledge of its description and taxonomy, general biology and ecology, distribution, documented and possible biological impacts, socio‐economic significance, and risk assessment, with concluding remarks on biodiversity issues related to redclaw that are expected to arise in the near future.…”

Bioeconomic modeling of optimal harvest time in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) considering size heterogeneity and minimum marketable size

“…Population dynamics studies and the determination of the optimal harvest time (OHT) have allowed managing and reducing uncertainty in aquaculture production (Llorente & Luna, 2016). Stochastic bioeconomic models for structured populations based on the weight of organisms make it possible to simulate production and economic performance through the use of probability functions (Martínez & Seijo, 2001;Seijo, 2004;Sánchez-Zazueta & Martínez-Cordero, 2009;Shamshak & Anderson, 2009;Moreno-Figueroa et al, 2018;Núñez-Amao et al, 2019). For this purpose, discrete and continuous models are used; for example, discrete models have been used for Atlantic salmon (Forsberg, 1996(Forsberg, , 1999 and continuous models for shrimp and tilapia, which have considered the initial population density (Gasca-Leyva et al, 2008;Domínguez-May et al, 2011;Araneda et al, 2013).…”

From fish‐processing waste to feed additives for crayfish

“…Its worldwide production has increased from 150,000 m.t. at the end of the 1990s to more than 850,000 m.t./year in 2017, representing an increase of 40,000 m.t./year (Núñez‐Amao, Naranjo‐Páramo, Hernández‐Llamas, Vargas‐Mendieta, & Villarreal, ). The potential growth of the redclaw market is then very significant, and in turn, this enzyme technology could become useful to improve its productivity.…”