Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Open Access Master's Report

Degree Name

Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MS)

Administrative Home Department

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Advisor 1

David Watkins

Committee Member 1

Kari Henquinet

Committee Member 2

Daisuke Minakata

Abstract

There is a unique opportunity for freshwater prawn aquaculture on the island of Aneityum in the Republic of Vanuatu. Aneityum has an abundance of fresh water, the streams and rivers on Aneityum are the natural habitat for a freshwater prawn species, Macrobrachium lar, and the people on Aneityum regularly work on projects using communal labor for the benefit of the community. Aneityum also hosts 40 – 120 cruise ships a year, bringing hundreds of thousands of tourists to Aneityum and the nearby islet Mystery Island which creates a readily available market in which to sell freshwater prawns.

The objective of this paper is to develop viability tests for two different species of freshwater prawns--the native Macrobrachium lar and the exotic Macrobrachium rosenbergeii--, and recommend a starting point for freshwater prawn aquaculture on Aneityum. The design of the viability tests includes the layout and operations of both a hatchery and grow-out ponds for the two species of Macrobrachium.

The layout and design of hatcheries and grow-out ponds for both species of Macrobrachium are very similar. The setup and operations of the viability test for M. lar is simpler because the species is native to Aneityum and broodstock for the species is readily available in local streams while M. rosenbergeii is exotic and its broodstock would have to be imported. The final recommendation was to start with the viability test for M. lar, and then, make the changes to the system to test the viability of M. rosenbergeii aquaculture only if it is necessary.

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