Experiences from the prawn culture industry of Taiwan and relevant considerations for the development of the industry of Brazil

Abstract

Prawn Culture in Taiwan has a history of hundreds of years. However, commercial prawn production commenced only 21 years ago, with the establishment of larval rearing techniques for Penaeus monodon. The considerable amount of experience accumulated by Taiwan in the last two decades has transformed its prawn culture industry into one of the most advanced in the world. Supporting it is a well-organized network of related sub-industries. Record production, only considering P. monodon, was achieved in 1987, with a volume of 95,000 tonnes. About 70% of this was exported, generating foreign exchange earnings equivalent to US$ 472 million. Although the unexpected mass mortality crisis pushed down the 1988 production volume by 70%, several measures have already been implemented to bring back production to more satisfactory levels. This paper discusses several aspects of the Taiwanese experience in prawn culture, highlighting those factors which have some relevance to the further development of the Brazilian prawn culture industry.