Fertilised eggs will be transferred to NIWA's aquaculture facilities in Wellington for rearing. If it is not possible to collect ripe eggs, nearly mature fish will be injected with standard breeding hormones as soon as they are caught and then transferred to holding facilities at Moana Pacific's seawater facility at Pah Farm on Kawau Island. Here, they will be examined daily for ovulated eggs. Once ripe eggs are obtained, they will be fertilised and transferred to Wellington. Captive broodstock will be established at Pah Farm for ongoing gamete production.
Marine larvae tend to be small and undeveloped when they hatch.
They have specific food type and size requirements. They are largely dependent on visual feeding, but have poorly developed visual systems at first feeding, and are sensitive to poor water quality. Consequently, marine fish larvae are difficult to culture and rearing techniques seem to be species specific. In this project, larval rearing which takes account of developmental, nutritional, and behavioral requirements will be developed in collaboration with Professor H. Kumai, the Director of the Fish Nursery Centre at Kinki University, Osaka. Overseas techniques can be adapted for the New Zealand yellowtail kingfish, and will be used in conjunction with the larval and juvenile fish rearing procedures at NIWA's aquaculture research centre in Wellington.