Success and failure of sand goby culture.

The success in the seed production of the sand goby (Oxyeleotris marmorata) has contributed to the protection of natural resources and the availability of seed for aquaculture. About 30-50 million sand goby fingerlings are produced in hatcheries for domestic and export markets every year. Grow-out production systems of sand goby developed in the 1990s. It helped to increase the incomes of many fish farmers and contributed to the country's foreign exchange earnings. Constraints to hatchery-produced seed for grow-out have resulted in difficulties for sand goby seed producers. Hatchery-produced seed commands a higher price than wild seed and thus is not able to completely replace the natural seed supply. However, wild seed is of uneven size and capture methods are not standardized, resulting in the fish body being easily scratched, leading to disease and mortality. The fish is sensitive to changes in environmental conditions and vulnerable to diseases which are difficult to treat. The market for this species is also limited.