Australia is one of the highest producers of
yabbies, primarily throughout the southern areas of Australia where the weather conditions suit the yabby very well.
Traditional farming however, still requires a lot of land to
build and maintain adequate dams, it needs to be of the right
soil type to hold the water volumes required and has to be
within the right areas to assist in distribution of the final
product.
Yabbies are hardy creatures; they proliferate in what we
would consider murky conditions and are generally good, self
maintaining breeders. They can however, be affected by stress.
Combined problems of overcrowding, limited feed and bad
habitats can cause stress levels to be at a point where they
die. High mortality rates of up 95% are considered acceptable
in traditional farming techniques and for those that do make
it, harvesting often damages the yield, breaking claws or legs
which make them undesirable for market.
The Extreme Density Unit (EDU) was developed to resolve problems that traditional farming
techniques encounter.
 The EDU takes yabby farming indoors. This
allows total control over the weather conditions, lighting,
water quality and even security during the full development of
the product. The extreme densities are possible as the yabbies
are directly next to, as well as above and below each other
but remain isolated. The densities possible provide high yields
exceeding 1000 units per m2 produced each year.
Water temperature is maintained
at an optimum level and lighting can be
monitored. These variables can be adjusted to provide the best
possible conditions for breeding and accelerated growth.
Water quality is important. Dirty water in dams is normally
an advantage to the yabby; if they can't see each other then
they are less likely to fight and damage themselves but at the
time of harvest however, these yabbies must be cleaned and
purged to make them suitable for the market. The EDU uses a technique
to separate each individual yabby so this damage does not
occur and clear water can be used.
The EDU is a complete aquaculture
system, ready to produce market-ready yabbies from fingerlings or
it can be used to clean and purge traditionally farmed dam
stock. By using clean, clear water throughout the cycle a cleaner final product
is produced. When grown from fingerlings this system
eliminates any need for final cleaning as they are already
ready for packaging.
Feeding is a controlled service, designed
to ensure all produce is provided it's optimal nutrition. At regular intervals,
a high growth feed is provided to promote it's full growth potential.
This is increased over the lifespan of the yabby as it grows
and requires larger amounts of food.
 When
ready, final harvesting is
quick and cost effective.
Traditional methods require netting the stock in the dams,
returning the various sizes and qualities of available
stock for later sorting, purging and discarding. By being
isolated in the EDU, simple removal of each
high quality, pre-purged and sorted unit is quick, easy and efficient.
A high yield of quality produce with a demonstrated mortality
rate not exceeding 1%.
Large dams in distant paddocks covering
hectares of space are prone to pilfering. Aside from
birds, eels and fish that can easily enter a dam, it's not uncommon for looters to net a dam and head off. By being fully
indoors, the EDU is as secure as the locks and alarms in the
building. Now yabbies can be grown right next to the city
restaurant or railway station that they are being delivered to
that day.
If you are interested in more information
about the EDU system you can contact us.
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