Farmed Yellowtail Kingfish (YTK) is considered to be a premium quality fish, ideal for sashimi and sushi, dishes comprised of raw fish. To be acceptable for such delicacies the flesh has to be oily, firm and slightly translucent, with a fine creamy texture and a delicate flavour. The price received, and the reputation of the supplier, are largely dependent on the quality of the product produced. Therefore it is of great interest to optimise the production of high quality fish, especially in the increasingly competitive white fish market.

This project sought to investigate several issues relating to commercial harvest practices for Yellowtail Kingfish, with the aim of modifying any aspect to improve product quality and/or harvesting efficiency. 

This project allowed Mr Vinh Dang to carry out two research trips in Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL), Geelong, under the joint supervision of Dr Kirsten Benkendorff, Dr Peter Speck and Dr Mark Crane. Both trips lasted for three weeks, the first one in October 2010 and the second one in November 2011.

This provided the opportunity for Mr Dang to work in that high safety standard PC-3 laboratory, where some new techniques were taught (e.g. handling of abalone herpesvirus and other marine viruses, real-time PCR) as well as performed some additional research experiments (e.g. AbHV infection trial, abalone immune response during viral infection, and antiviral assay against marine fish viruses). In The results of these experiments were analysed and written up in manuscript format for publication. In addition, some of the results will be presented at International Abalone Symposium in May 2012 in Hobart.