Publication Date

1-2008

Series Number

172

Publisher

Department of Fisheries, Western Australia

City

Perth, Western Australia

ISBN

1 921 258 08 X

ISSN

1035-4549

Abstract

A Report Prepared for the Aquaculture Development Council.

The cost of growing out western rock lobsters from pueruli to marketable-sized lobsters has been modeled from available information. The model uses different scenarios of survival rates, marketing weights, market prices, feed costs, puerulus prices, labour costs, puerulus compensation costs, discount rates and capital costs. The sensitivity of estimated profitability to various input costs and rock lobster prices was assessed by estimating the impact of changes on the estimates of net present value (NPV) internal rate of return (IRR) and benefit:cost ratio. Importantly, the aim of the study was to identify key cost and benefit-driving parameters, so that future research directions and policy decisions can be directed towards overcoming these potential barriers to profitability, but not to provide conclusive evidence of overall expected profitability at this stage.

Economic analysis suggests that, because of growth and mortality relationships over time, the optimal period to market the lobsters may be at about two years post-settlement, or ~250 g. However this conclusion is highly sensitive to the assumed price at which the product can be sold. Western rock lobsters of 250 gm are below the legal size limit (~400 g) upon which the pricing data are based, so estimating a market price for “undersized” lobsters was particularly difficult. Survival rates were also shown to be crucial in determining the potential financial success of an ongrowing venture; the rates achieved experimentally to date would need to be substantially improved.

Labour is expected to be the biggest single expense in a western rock lobster growout operation, with estimated costs for this component contributing around 38% of the cost of each kg of farmed lobster produced. It follows that labour cost assumptions (along with assumptions about the survival rate of pueruli) had the biggest impact on profitability. Other costs – such as the price of feed, the price of pueruli for ongrowing, compensation costs for harvesting pueruli and capital expenses – were, within their chosen sensitivity constraints, all shown to be moderately influential in determining the success or otherwise of a growout venture.

The study has not attempted to assess the profitability of growing out western rock lobster pueruli. However, the data suggest that positive returns would be more likely if the grown out lobsters are marketed below the legal size limit of wild-caught lobsters.

While some input parameters had a greater impact on the resultant profitability estimate than others, the impact of each parameter on the profit result provided useful insight into the way research effort could be directed to improve profitability.

Number of Pages

44

Keywords

Western Rock Lobster, Pueruli, Economic, Commercial fishing, Western Australia, Sustainability

Disciplines

Aquaculture and Fisheries | Marine Biology | Natural Resource Economics | Natural Resources and Conservation | Natural Resources Management and Policy | Sustainability

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