Development of Prawn Culture Technology and Its Use On-site in Southeast Asia

摘要

In the Fisheries Division at JIRCAS, we are implementing basic physiological research on the mechanisms of molting and reproduction in commercially important species of prawns and shrimp. One of these species is the giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii (Photo 1). The giant freshwater prawn is cultured extensively throughout Southeast Asia, and particularly in Vietnam, the culture of this species is considered to bring about significant economic benefit to impoverished farmers who have traditionally grown this prawn in combination with rice culture. However, until the beginning of 2000, the supply of hatchery-reared M. rosenbergii depended on a few previously established national hatcheries, and was still far from being sufficient to meet the growing needs of commercial prawn culture.