COBIA (Rachycentron canadum)

yellowtail farmers averagely. However, landing price of Japanese yellowtail kingfishes are 2-3times more than Norwegian salmon which enable Japanese yellowtail king fishes annual revenueclose to the revenues of Norwegian farm salmon. Analysis in the Industry Life Cycle point of view,it is very clear that Japanese yellowtail kingfish industry fall into the declining stage. Norwegiansalmon industry may sitting either at the Shake off stage or just past the mature stage which neededto be observed for a longer term. Both Norway and Japan cage culture industry have similarfinancial character. With lower self own capital and higher ration of liquid asset; operate underhigher finance financial leverage. This study applied benchmarking over Norwegian salmon,Japanese yellowtail kingfish and Taiwan cobia cage culture during 1992 and 2002 on the industryscale and productivity. The result can be used as a guide on developing Taiwan cobia cage farmingindustry. Finally, the study find that Taiwan marine cage culture cobia has good potentials to be avery competitive product and suggest Taiwan cobia industry needed to be improved onproductivity, marketing, R&D and socioeconomic structure reinforcement.116. Huang, C.T., Miao, S. & Hieu, T.K. (2011). Bioeconomic analysis of improving managementproductivity regarding cobia Rachycentron canadum cage culture in Taiwan. Journal of theFisheries Society of Taiwan, 38(3), 239-262.The economic benefit of the culture industry is a key factor affecting industry development. Basedon related studies of the production economy of cobia cage culture, this study investigatedoperational outcomes of the industry, and reviewed various factors influencing industry profits inorder to compare its advantages and disadvantages. Data were sourced from the fishers' economicsurvey data concerning Taiwan's cobia cage culture from 2002 to 2007. Data contents were dividedinto biological data and economic followed by a then multi-variable statistical analysis. This studyinvestigated whether different years and different culture areas affected production input and outputduring the culture processes of cobia cage culture operators. Furthermore, biological and economicvariables affecting industry management performance were studied. Results showed that differentregions and years have significant effects on both the input and output of cobia culture, as unitproduction input costs of cobia tend to increase on a yearly basis. Production costs at Penghu arehigher than those of Pingtung. In terms of cost structure, the main production costs are dominatedby feed costs in Penghu, and by feed, personnel, and maintenance costs in Pingtung. In terms ofprofit, the overall cobia culture achieved excellent productivity in 2003, with benefit-cost ratios of1.41 in Penghu and 2.77 in Pingtung The greater profits achieved in Pingtung rather than in Penghuare mostly related to the scale of operation. The benefit-cost ratio was the highest in 2007, reaching2.95, while in the same year, productivity reached over 1.9, indicating that excellent managerialperformance was achieved in that year. In terms of biology, both fish breeding specifications andsurvival rate may affect management performances. Lastly, the analysis chart of cost input andprincipal components of productivity highlights the key factors affecting the productionperformance of individual culture operators. Future studies can conduct in-depth surveys onindividual operators, as such surveys would help to identify those with poor culture performanceand operators with good culture performance, as the discrepancy would provide reference foradjusting cobia culture strategies and operational management for decision-makers.117. Huang, C.T., Miao, S., Nan, F.H. & Jung, S.M. (2011). Study on regional production andeconomy of cobia Rachycentron canadum commercial cage culture. Aquaculture International,19(4), 649-664.In recent years, cobia has become an emerging farmed species in Asia due to its quick growth andhigh economic value. This study collects biological and economic data affecting the economicperformance of cobia farming in three countries, namely Taiwan, China, and Vietnam. The data arecollected by questionnaire sampling and analyzed by multivariate statistical analysis in order tocompare the key factors affecting the production and economy of cobia farming in these threecountries. The results show that Taiwan, China, and Vietnam have significant differences in inputintensities and profitability. China has the highest input intensity (3372.42 TWD/m 3 ), as its highstocking density increases feed input. Taiwan has the highest unit input cost (103.44 TWD/kg), asthe high quality of the product increases the price of cobia in Taiwan, which offsets the highproduct costs. In terms of profitability, the benefit-cost ratio is over one in all three countries,indicating that the profitability of cobia farming is good in all three countries. Profitability analysisshows that fingerlings in China achieve 36.50, which is the highest among the three countries;whereas Taiwan has the highest feed profitability of 0.78, which reveals that the fingerlingsproduced in China are competitive in both price and quality, while Taiwan has the best feedmanagement efficiency. The production costs and profitability of Vietnam fall between those of34