The cultivation of marine invertebrates indigenous to the Wider Caribbean Region: established culture techniques and research needs for crustacean

摘要

Crustacean fisheries in the Caribbean Region are limited primarily to spiny lobster, Panulirus argus (the most valuable marine fishery throughout the Region), trawl fisheries for penaeid shrimp along the continental shelf of Latin America and the Greater Antilles and some minor local fisheries for callinectid crabs. Spiny lobster is a highly valued seafood product with large existing markets and, as a result, the development of aquaculture technology for this species has met with enthusiasm over theyears. Penaeid shrimp culture is well established throughout the world with captive reproduction, larval rearing and pond grow-out practiced in commercial operations globally. Penaeid shrimp farming has been attempted in several island nations in the Caribbean, but with few commercial-scale shrimp farms currently in production, while Latin America with extensive acreage of estuaries and coastal wetlands, has realized significant development of shrimp aquaculture. Another crustacean that has been the focus of aquaculture research is the West Indian red spider crab, Mithrax spinosissimus, also called the Caribbean king crab. This paper will review the aquaculture potential for spiny lobsters, Mithrax spinosissimus, and penaeid shrimp indigenous to the Caribbean Region and how they can be incorporated into a regional hatchery model.