Opto-electronic counters for postlarvae and juveniles of Macrobrachium rosenbergii (de Man); design and tests of Type B counter

Abstract

The disadvantages of hand counting hatchery produced juveniles of Macrobrachium rosenbergii have been overcome by development of a high speed opto-electronic counter. The hydraulic, mechanical and electronic designs of the Type B counter are described. The counter, extremely fast in principle, is being used and tested under commercial hatchery conditions. Its practical speed of operation and accuracy are expected to exceed 100 000 juveniles per hour and 95%, respectively. About 80% of juveniles show some morphological damage but most of this probably originates in the hatchery rearing tanks. Tests show that slight additional damage is caused only to the antennules of juveniles passing through the counter but this does not affect their subsequent growth rate and survival. It is suggested that density dependent aggression in hatchery tanks is the principal cause of damage. Counter B is shown to be suitable and safe for counting freshwater prawn juveniles. This counter could be adapted to count other macroscopic aquatic organisms via suitable dimensional scaling. No other counters of this type and purpose appear to exist.