Estimating production costs of preadult redclaw crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus, reared in a commercial nursery system: A stochastic bioeconomic approach

A stochastic bioeconomic model was used to estimate the production cost and risk factors affecting economic performance of juvenile redclaw crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus, commercial nursery production, in a farm located in Baja California Sur, Mexico. At harvest, the biological submodel showed there is 95% confidence to obtain an average weight of 19.98 g, with 126,341/ha surviving organisms, representing 84% survival. Biomass was 2.5 t/ha, with a feed conversion ratio (FCR) of 0.98, reflecting the efficient adaptation of the species to culture conditions. The economic submodel showed that at Day 90, there is 95% confidence that the cost of producing a preadult will be US$0.090 or US$4.55/kg. With increasing demand and worldwide sale prices of US$9/kg, there is a potential market for 20-30 g redclaw reared in intensive lined ponds. Sensitivity analyses showed that the regression coefficients from a second-order polynomial used for calculation of FCR associated with time (a(2) and a(1)) were the most important parameters influencing the production cost. Mortality rate and parameters used to calculate individual weight also had considerable influence on production cost. The bioeconomic analysis contributes significantly to establishing the economic viability of the intensive three-phase production system.