Size
economies of a Pacific threadfin Polydactylus sexfilis hatchery in Hawaii
L.E.
Kam, P.S.
Leung, A.C. Ostrowski, A. Molnar-2002
Journal
of the World Aquaculture Society, 33(4): 410-424
(from ISI Current Contents)
Abstract:
A spreadsheet model has been developed to determine the viable scale for a
commercial Pacific threadfin Polydactylus sexfilis hatchery in Hawaii. The
production scheme is modeled after current practices performed at the
Oceanic Institute in Waimanalo, Hawaii. For a hatchery enterprise producing
1.2 million fry per year, the cost associated with raising one 40-d-old
1.00-g fry is estimated at 22.01cent. The largest variable costs are in
labor and supplies, which comprise 49% and 9% of the total production cost.
The combined annualized fixed cost for development and equipment is
approximately 12% of total production cost. At a sale price of 25 per fry,
the 20-yr internal rate of return (IRR) is 30.63%. In comparison to the
22.01cent unit cost for 1.2 million fry production, analyses of smaller
enterprises producing 900,000 and 600,000 fry per year reflected significant
size diseconomies with unit costs of 27.41cent and 38.82cent, respectively.
Demand to support a large scale Pacific threadfin commercial hatchery is
uncertain. Since smaller scale commercial hatcheries may not be economically
feasible, facilities may seek to outsource live feed production modules or
pursue multiproduct and multiphase approaches to production. An analysis of
the production period length, for example, indicates that the cost for
producing a day-25 0.05-g fry is 17.25cent before tax and suggests the
financial implications of transferring the responsibility of the nursery
stage to grow-out farmers. Evaluation of the benefits gained from changes in
nursery length, however, must also consider changes in facility
requirements, mortality, and shipping costs associated with transit, and the
growout performance of and market demand for different size fry. Sensitivity
analyses also indicate the potential cost savings associated with the
elimination of rotifer, microalgae, and enriched artemia production.
Managerial decisions, however, must also consider the quality and associated
production efficiencies of substitutes.
(Univ. Hawaii Manoa, Coll. Trop. Agr. & Human
Resources, Dept. Mol. Biosci. & Biosyst. Engn., 3050 Maile Way,
Honolulu, HI 96822, USA)