Western Kingfish stocks hit by bacteria
Andrew Hobbs
Aquaculture company Western Kingfish could lose up to 70 per cent of its stock after bacteria wiped out about 15,000 Yellowtail Kingfish at its Jurien Bay fish farm.
Company executive director Andrew Mitton said the company could be left with only about 16,000 of the 50,000 fish it started with, leading the firm to revise plans to raise up to $2.9 million through a share purchase plan, with shares sold at 15 cents each.
Western Kingfish suspended trade in its shares last week after it had notified authorities about 30 per cent of the fish held at its offshore facility had died, submitting samples to the Department of Fisheries for clinical investigation.
While complete results from the study were not yet available, Mr Mitton said it was evident that the deaths were due to “opportunistic bacterial pathogens in the intestines of the fish”.
“This syndrome can be initiated by a variety of factors that are routinely associated with farming practices,” he said.
“These factors compromise the animals’ health and can predispose them to the kinds of infection currently being experienced.”
Western Kingfish said it was implementing action to minimise future losses, emphasising the next cohort of about 50,000 fingerlings had not been impacted.
Shares in the company were down 4 cents, or 30.8 per cent, to 9 cents at 11am.
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