Escape of cultured barramundi (Lates calcarifer Bloch) into impoundments of the Ord River system, Western Australia

Doupé, R.G. and Lymbery, A.J. (1999) Escape of cultured barramundi (Lates calcarifer Bloch) into impoundments of the Ord River system, Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 82 (4). pp. 131-136.

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Abstract

Mitochondrial DNA sequences were used to compare barramundi found in impounded parts of the Ord River system to their cultured counterparts from a fish farm in one dam (Lake Argyle). Two haplotypes were common to all fish sampled, indicating the high probability that farmed fish are escaping, and could potentially interact with the wild population of the lower Ord River. Although the Lake Argyle barramundi farm currently produces only about 50 tonnes of fish per year, there are plans to expand barramundi production at Lake Argyle by up to 200 times this amount. If that was to occur and no efforts were made to reduce the escape of cultured fish, then sufficient numbers of escaped barramundi may survive to reproduce in the wild fishery. Maintaining the genetic integrity of wild barramundi populations will be best achieved by setting and enforcing standards to minimise escapes from fish farms.