Prawn farmers face threats from diseases that can destroy entire prawn stocks or cause stunted growth or deformities resulting in lower harvests.
Current testing involves collecting tissue samples from prawns which is time consuming, labour intensive, costly and only provides information after an infection occurs.
There’s also the risk of spreading disease across the farm during the sampling process.
This project will use eDNA samples taken from the water in prawn ponds to provide an early warning system for the presence of pathogens in the environment, before a disease outbreak can occur.
The effectiveness of eDNA sampling in prawn ponds over two farm production cycles will be compared to the ‘gold standard’ of tissue sampling to allow the method to be validated for wider industry use.
The research will investigate the pond and environmental conditions and their link to disease outbreaks. Tools to assist in management and an early alert system for disease risk will also be developed.
