Fresh Water Prawn

General Information

The giant freshwater prawn is suitable for cultivation in tropical and subtropical climates. The most commonly cultured species in India is Macrobrachium rosenbergii. It is a hardy species by virtue of its ability to adapt to various types of fresh and brackish-water conditions. It accepts pelleted feed and has omnivorous feeding habit. The breeding takes place in low saline waters which is also needed for larval and post larval development after incubation. Breeding of M. rosenbergii takes place in estuaries. Though seed may be available in natural sources to a limited extent, for large scale culture there is a need to ensure regular supply of seed. For ensuring availability of quality seed in predictable quantity freshwater prawn hatcheries should be encouraged, technology for which is already developed. Freshwater prawn hatcheries are coming up in many states.

The aquaculture production of giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii in India has shown a phenomenal increase in recent years that has increased from less than 500 metric tonne in 1997 to more than 30,000 metric tonne in 2003. The major bottleneck for the further expansion of the prawn culture is the lack of adequate supply of post-larvae (prawn seed) for stocking. The projected seed requirement for the development of at least two lakhs hectare of water area in the coming years is 10,000 million. Indian aquaculture has been evolving from the level of subsistence activity to that of an industry. This transformation has been made possible with the development and standardization of many new production and associated techniques of input and output subsystems. In recent years aquaculture has created great enthusiasm and interest among entrepreneurs especially for shrimp farming in coastal areas. Shrimp farming is capital-intensive activity and uncontrolled mushrooming growth of it has led to outbreak of diseases and attributed environmental issues calling for closure of shrimp farms.

Although India has vast freshwater resources they are not fully exploited except for carp culture in limited scale. Fresh water fish culture employing composite fish culture technology has become popular for use in large number of tanks and ponds in the country. To meet the raw material required by the processing units for export demand there is urgent need to expand our production base. In addition it is always stressed that there is a need to utilise our natural resources productively to ensure the much needed food security.

Scampi production through aquaculture in India

(Source: Marine Products Export Development Authority, 2005)

Considering the high export potential, the giant fresh water prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii , the scampi, enjoys immense potential for culture in India. About 4 million ha of impounded freshwater bodies in the various states of India, offer great potential for fresh water prawn culture. Scampi can be cultivated for export through monoculture in existing as well as new ponds or with compatible freshwater fishes in existing ponds. It is exported to EEC countries and USA. Since the world market for scampi is expanding with attractive prices, there is great scope for scampi production and export.

State wise production details of scampi farming in India

(Source: Marine Products Export Development Authority, 2005)