Life history of grass prawn, Penaeus monodon, in the coastal waters of Southwest Taiwan. In：R. Hirano and I. Hanyu (eds.)

Abstract

The spawning season of grass prawn, Penaeus monodon, in the coastal waters of southwest Taiwan is from September to November. The spawning ground is located in the waters between Kuhsi and Nanshufu at depths of 10-40 m. The postlarvae are transported by currents into estuarine waters of the adjacent bays or rivers. In Dapong Bay, the largest bay in this area, P. monodon grow to a size of about 25.0 mm in carapace length (CL) in July. They begin to migrate into the offshore waters with the peak season in July to September. They feed mainly on crustaceans, detritus, chaetomorphs and sand granules in Dapong Bay and on detritus and sand granules in the offshore waters. P. monodon grow from 20 to 40 mm CL in Dapong Bay at a rate of 8 mm CL/month or 16.98 g/month.