An aquaculture hatchery in far north Queensland has sent 2,500 free fish to farms affected by the outbreak of white spot disease, in what has been described as a \\\"small ray of sunshine\\\" for shrimp farmers.

The Queensland groper fingerlings will be farmed on the Logan River. It is a chance for shrimp farmers to diversify, as many face financial devastation following last year\\\'s outbreak of white spot disease. Farms on the Logan River in south-east Queensland have been further affected by flooding in recent weeks. Queensland groper, also known as giant groper, are a protected species and can only be sold when produced in hatcheries and farms.

The manager of the Cairns hatchery supplying the fish, Richard Knuckey, said the company was not trying to displace prawn farming, but wanted to grow the market for groper.

\"[When the industry recovers] we\\\'re hopeful we would\\\'ve demonstrated the value of doing groper there, and that those farms would come back into doing prawns but would also maintain a level of groper production,\\\" Dr Knuckey said.

Source: ABC News/Original story