Aquaculture in

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

exists on a small scale, both commercially and privately. Several aquacultural efforts have been made in the country, including attempts to raise

Pacific oyster The Pacific oyster, Japanese oyster, or Miyagi oyster (''Magallana gigas''), is an oyster native to the Pacific coast of Asia. It has become an introduced species in North America, Australia, Europe, and New Zealand. Etymology The genus ''Mag ...

rabbitfish Rabbitfishes or spinefoots are perciform fishes in the family Siganidae. The 29 species are in a single genus, ''Siganus''. In some now obsolete classifications, the species having prominent face stripes—colloquially called foxfaces– ...

, Malaysian prawn, and

tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...

. Experiments with ''

Kappaphycus alvarezii Description ''Kappaphycus alvarezii'', the elkhorn sea moss, is a species of red algae. The elkhorn sea moss varies in size, weight, and age. It is a dark greenish-brown hue and can sometimes be deep purple. The moss is cylindrical in shape t ...

'' and three species of giant clam were carried out by the Fisheries Department in 1999. The official Fisheries Department records state that $1165 US of cultured coral was exported from the country in 2000, with 275 pieces in total. The cultivation of ''

Macrobrachium lar ''Macrobrachium lar'' is a species of freshwater shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, ...

'' in

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Afri ...

terraces is practiced for subsistence purposes, and ''

Macrobrachium rosenbergii ''Macrobrachium rosenbergii'', also known as the giant river prawn or giant freshwater prawn, is a commercially important species of palaemonid freshwater prawn. It is found throughout the tropical and subtropical areas of the Indo-Pacific reg ...

'' has been identified by the Vanuatu government as a high-priority species. There is little commercial or private-sector aquaculture in Vanuatu. The Fisheries Department operates a small hatchery for trochus shell (Trochus niloticus), producing juveniles which are used in experiments to study the impact and potential of reef re-seeding as a means of enhancement the wild trochus fishery. Similar experimental work on green snail (Turbo marmoratus) is also carried out. In mid-1999 the Fisheries Department carried out some spawning trials of three specieis of giant clams. In the same year the department brought seaweed (Kappaphycus alvarezi) from Fiji for some experimental culture. On September 1, 2008, Vanuatu became the first Pacific Island country to have an aquaculture development plan and an Aquaculture and Fisheries Association.

References

Economy of Vanuatu Water in Vanuatu {{vanuatu-stub

See also

References