Worldwide, more than 300 species of prawns and shrimp exists. Only about 80 species are commercially important.
The cultivation of Macrobrachium rosenbergii has been gaining popularity, and the use in aquaculture has a received a lot of attention worldwide.
Macrobrachium rosenbergii has become the main freshwater prawn species for small scale and large scale farming because of its growth, large size, better meat quality, omnivorous feeding habit and established domestic and export markets in Asia.
Macrobrachium rosenbergii is the largest swimming prawn in the world and belongs to the family Palaemonidae.
Culture of this species was first achieved in 1962 in Malaysia and mass culturing techniques were developed by 1970 in Hawaii.
Modern aquaculture of this species has its origin in the early 1960s. Production of this species currently concentrated in Asia. Although production in the western hemisphere is modest, a great development in science, technology and human resources training has been done at the universities and research institutes, which support industry expansion.
Macrobrachium rosenbergii lives in tropical freshwater environments that are influenced by adjacent brackishwater areas, due to the fact that its larval development must take place in brackishwater.
Prawn culture technology includes three phases:
Hatchery
Nursery
Grow-out
Only the larval stage (hatchery phase) require saltwater. Nursery production and grow-out are effective in brackish water.
Macrobrachium rosenbergii farming
