Final report
The research programme was largely comprised of farming trials in a 1 ha prawn farming pond and in swimming pools on the pond bank at the field site. Juvenile school prawns (Metapenaeus macleayi) were collected by commercial trawlers in Lake Wolloweyah, transported by punt to the pond where they were stocked and farmed for 2 to 3 months before harvest and marketing at the Sydney Fish Market.
The prawn production results were used as the basis for an independent economic analysis of school prawn farming. The first version of this analysis is discussed in the accompanying NPS2 paper and a revised version presented at the N.S.W. Department of Agriculture Prawn Farming Open Day (a compilation of the papers delivered at this Open Day is attached). Both versions predicted attractive returns on capital but it should be noted that the extrapolation from pilot scale to commercial scale must necessarily be in part hypothetical until it is supported by consistent commercial success.