Research interests

• Temperate marine finfish
• Broodstock management
• Live feeds
• Intensive/Extensive larval rearing
• Juvenile rearing strategies
• Stock enhancement
• Inland saline aquaculture

Background

Stewart Fielder joined NSW Fisheries* in 1994 to develop production techniques for juvenile snapper, Pagrus auratus, mulloway, Argyrosomus japonicus, recently yellowtail kingfish, Seriola lalandi and Southern bluefin tuna Thunnus maccoyii to produce Australian bass, Macquaria novemaculeata for stock enhancement. No commercial temperate marine finfish production was occurring in NSW and Australia but there was a need to establish industry to satisfy the increasing demand for fish in Australia and to replace imported product. For example, in excess of 1000 tonnes/year of snapper is imported from New Zealand to NSW. It was not possible to translocate technology from the established salmonid and barramundi industries in southern and northern Australia, respectively to NSW as environmental conditions, especially water temperature, are not suitable for these species in NSW. Consequently there was a need to select new fish species and develop new methods to culture them in NSW. Snapper, mulloway and kingfish are highly sought after species, have high market value and the wild caught fisheries are in serious decline.

As project leader of a CRC for Aquaculture, and a CRC for Sustainable Finfish Production/Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) project, Seafood CRC and ACIAR, Stewart’s research has focused on solving several bottlenecks to industry development including reliable production of high quality eggs, optimizing larval rearing and reducing the costs of juvenile fish production, and identification of suitable inland sites for growout. Stewart has also been involved with FRDC funded research to evaluate the potential for stocking marine fish in NSW estuaries.

*NSW Department of Primary Industries was formed on July 1, 2004 through an amalgamation of NSW Agriculture, NSW Fisheries, State Forests of NSW and the NSW Department of Mineral Resources.

Qualifications

• B.Agr.Sc. (Crop and Pasture) - University of Queensland, 1983
• B.Sc. (Biological Sciences) - University of Queensland, 1985
• PhD (Aquaculture) - University of Tasmania, 2003

Current projects

• Inland saline aquaculture
• Feed technology for mulloway and kingfish research
• Genetic structure of mulloway populations
• Development of commercial and model demonstration trout farm using inland saline groundwater
• Improvement of juvenile production and feeds for kingfish
• Australian bass production for stocking

Recent Publications

Fielder DS and Heasman MP (2011) Hatchery Manual for the production of Australian Bass, Mulloway and Yellowtail Kingfish. Industry & Investment NSW, ISBN 978 1 74256 058 8. 176 pp.

Ballagh DA, Pankhurst PM, Fielder DS (2010) Weaning requirements of larval mulloway, Argyrosomus japonicus. Aquaculture Research 41(10), e493-e504.

Taylor M, Fielder S and Suthers I (2009) Growth and viability of hatchery-reared Argyrosomus japonicus released into open and semi-closed systems. Fisheries Management and Ecology, 16, 478-483.

Allan GL, Fielder DS, Appelbaum SL and Raizada S (2009) Inland saline aquaculture. In: Burnell, G. & Allan, G. (eds.) New technologies in aquaculture: Improving production efficiency, quality and environmental management. Woodhead Publishing Ltd, ISBN 978-1-84569-384-8, pp. 1119-1147.

Booth MA, Tucker BJ, Allan GL and Fielder DS (2008) Effect of feeding regime and fish size on weight gain, feed intake and gastric evacuation in juvenile Australian snapper Pagrus auratus. Aquaculture, 282, 104-110.

Ballagh DA, Pankhurst PM and Fielder DS (2008) Photoperiod and feeding interval requirements of juvenile mulloway, Argyrosomus japonicus. Aquaculture 277, 52-57.

Doroudi MS, Allan GL, Fielder DS and Webster GK (2007) Survival and growth of silver perch (Bidyanus bidyanus), a salt-tolerant freshwater species, in inland saline groundwater from southwestern New South Wales, Australia. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society 38, 314-317.

Fielder DS, Allan GL, Pepperall D and Pankhurst PM (2007) The effects of changes in salinity on osmoregulation and chloride cell morphology of juvenile Australian snapper, Pagrus auratus. Aquaculture 272, 656-666.

Fielder DS, Allan GL and Pankhurst PM (in press). Comparison of Two Environmental Regimes for Culture of Australian Snapper, Pagrus auratus, Larvae in Commercial-Scale Tanks. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society

Fielder DS, Allan GL and Pankhurst PM (submitted March 2007). The effects of potassium concentration in saline groundwater on osmoregulation and chloride cell morphology of juvenile Australian snapper, Pagrus auratus. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society.

Taylor MD, Laffan S, Fielder DS, Suthers IM (2007) Key habitat and home range of hatchery-reared and wild sub-adult mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicus) in a south-east Australian estuary: Finding the estuarine niche to optimise stocking. Marine Ecology-Progress Series 328, 237-247.

Taylor MD, Fielder DS, Suthers IM (2006) Spatial and ontogenetic variation in the diet of wild and stocked mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicus, Sciaenidae), in Australian estuaries. Estuaries and Coasts 29 (5), 784-792.

Tucker BJ, Booth MA, Allan GL, Booth D and Fielder DS (2006) Effects of photoperiod and feeding frequency on performance of newly weaned Australian snapper Pagrus auratus. Aquaculture, 258, 514-520.

Doroudi MS, Fielder DS, Allan GL and Webster, GK (2006) Combined effects of salinity and potassium concentration on juvenile mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicus, Temminick and Schlegel) in inland saline groundwater. Aquaculture Research 37, 1034-1039.

Roberts-Thomson A, Barnes A, Fielder DS, Lester RJG, and Adlard RD (2006) Aerosol dispersal of the fish pathogen, Amyloodinium ocellatum. Aquaculture 257, 118-123.

Trnski T, Hay AC, and Fielder DS (2005) Larval development of estuary perch (Macquaria colonorum) and Australian bass (M. novemaculeata) (Perciformes: Percicthyidae), and comments on their life history. Fishery Bulletin, 103:183-194.

Taylor MD, Fielder DS, and Suthers IM (2005) Batch marking of otoliths and fin spines to assess the stock enhancement of mulloway, Argyrosomus japonicus. Journal of Fish Biology 66, 1149-1162.

Professional associations and activities

• World Aquaculture Society (Asian Pacific Chapter)

Fields of Research 

• 070401 Aquaculture
• 070405 Fish Physiology and Genetics

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)

Keyword/phrase list of research interests

• Marine finfish
• Aquaculture
• Larval rearing techniques
• Inland saline aquaculture