Overview of recent research and development in temperate culture of the freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii De Man) in the South Central United States

Abstract

Research and development e¡orts concerning freshwater prawn farming have in the past been principally conducted in tropical regions. However, activities in temperate regions also date back several decades. Culture of Macrobrachium in temperate zones o¡ers positive opportunities, despite the inability to culture year-round. Unique problems imposed by a restricted growing season must be addressed, and opportunities capitalized on, to attain commercially viable production in these regions. Much recent research in the South and Central USA has been directed towards intensifying production (kg ha À1 ) without decreasing average harvest sizes or deteriorating water quality. Particular areas of research include evaluating and maximizing the relative contributions of natural foods, e¡ects of arti¢cial substrates on growth and prawn population structure and grading of animals before pond stocking to reduce heterogeneous individual growth and aggressive interactions. Recent studies have concentrated on combining these factors into a 'best management practices' (BMPs) production model. With these factors combined, production has increased from an average of 1000 kg ha À1 of 30 g animals to almost 3000 kg ha À1 of 40 g animals produced in research ponds in 110 days of culture. In commercial ponds, 1500^2000 kg ha À1 has been achieved in a similar period using BMPs.

Compensatory growth of Malaysian prawns reared at high densities during the nursery phase

“…This grading has not been done only for the prawns nursed at the density of 50 PL m -2 . Tidwell et al (2005) states that size grading avoid the continuation of the socially induced differential growth rates, leading to an increase in population growth and improving feed conversion. However, in this experiment, juveniles were equally size graded for the densities of 400, 800 and 1,200 PL m -2 .…”

Health management during handling and live transport of crustaceans: A review

“…Macrobrachium rosenbergii Coyle et al (2001Coyle et al ( , 2005, Tidwell and Coyle (2002), Salin (2005), Tidwell et al (2005), www.isuagcentre.com and www.msucares.com Prawns (marine)…”

Impact of phased harvesting on population structure, feed intake pattern and growth performance of Macrobrachium rosenbergii DeMan (giant freshwater prawn) in polyculture with carps in concurrent rice–fish culture

“…in developing a 'best management practices' (BMPs) model (Tidwell et al 2005)-and also evaluating its performance in a polyculture system in both earthen ponds (Daniels et al 1995;New 2002;Haque et al 2003;Tidwell et al 2003) as well as other types of ecosystems (Uddin et al 2006), mainly in a rice-fish system (Costa-Pierce 1992; Sadek and Moreau 1998;Lan et al 2006;Mohanty et al 2008;Kunda et al 2008). In a monoculture system, the stocking of advanced juveniles between 0.3-0.5 g typically results in a production of 1,000 kg ha -1 , with a mean harvest weight of 30 g per individual; however, approximately 2,000 kg ha -1 or more with a mean harvest weight of more than 30 g per individual can be achieved under BMP (Tidwell et al 2005). In a polyculture system, the yield is usually \500 kg ha -1 , but it is highly profitable as the polyculture approach generally involves a comparatively low stocking density of prawns and is economically lucrative as the pond can be managed exclusively for fish, thus requiring no special management considerations for prawns.…”