Research into freshwater crayfish has resulted in steady production increases in Australia over the last two decades. In an effort to take production and profitability to the next level, scientists in Australia have taken the opportunity to host IAA 13. Furthermore, the strategy of organisers has been to couple the event with a one-day workshop/seminar focussing on Australian crayfish aquaculture. The timing of the workshop/seminar (the day before the conference begins) has been set to attract participation from international astacologists, already in Fremantle for IAA 13. This will promote technology transfer into Australia, by giving access to local industry participants at a non-scientific level.

Following on from the one day aquaculture workshop, the IAA 13 symposium will provide a mechanism for the direct transferal and dissemination of cutting-edge research within Australia, as well as providing an international platform for local crayfish scientists to present their research to world-renowned astacologists, and pursue collaborative links for future research. Fisheries WA are planning to present at least six papers at the symposium, including recent research into yabby and marron aquaculture.

The fragility of crayfish aquaculture was highlighted in the 1980s when the crayfish plague, Aphanomyces astaci, obliterated stocks throughout Europe. Research has subsequently identified Australian crayfish as being extremely vulnerable to this infection, reminding Australia of the importance of comprehensive translocation policies. This has been further highlighted by recent disease concerns within the yabby industry. A forum for discussing these issues, and hearing from scientists representing afflicted countries, will augur well for the continuation of sound policy to protect Australia's prime market niche.

Amoebic gill disease (AGD) research remains a high priority for the Tasmanian salmon industry. Within this framework there is a need to develop, both for research and practical reasons, non-destructive quantitative measures of AGD severity. This PhD project will develop a state of the art quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) method for AGD-causing Neoparamoeba perurans. If successful this will be the first such DNA test of its type in the world for this disease. The assay will then be utilised to answer practical questions such as profiling host-parasite dynamics in vaccinated and non-vaccinated salmon prior to, during and after commercial freshwater bathing treatment, providing a rigorous measure of vaccine efficacy, and much-needed insights into the parasite loading exhibited by the different experimental salmon groups. The N. perurans DNA test will then be extended to selectively-bred salmon, correlating pathogen load with breeding values for resistance in F2 stock. This could provide a more reliable way of quantifying infection than current gill scoring methods, and will be the first time such a tool is applied to gain more precise information from a commercial salmon selective breeding program. Finally, the project will then apply the qRT-PCR test and other N. perurans molecular markers to the wider environment to address questions of population genetics, environmental reservoirs (providing much-needed information on the parasite life cycle, a prelude to in vitro culture which would benefit vaccine development), and parasite dynamics in heavily-farmed and virgin marine environments to address fundamental questions as the Tasmanian salmon industry contemplates a move towards off-shore aquaculture.
This project is a high priority for the Tasmanian salmon industry and was adopted into the CRC at its inception. This PhD project has the support of the industry. The project also has strong alignment with the industry run selective breeding program.