The practice of grass prawn (Penaeus monodon) culture in Taiwan from 1968 to 1984

Abstract

Grass prawn (Penaeus monodon) culture in Taiwan started more than 300 years ago as a by-product of milkfish (Chanos chanos) culture. Since 1968, however, with the success achieved in larval rearing, prawn farming has developed into a major aquaculture industry.

Fifty farmers were interviewed and the information obtained from them was compiled for this presentation. Prawn hatcheries have achieved a state of overproduction today, as postlarvae prices have been driven below cost due to the high number of commercial hatcheries now in operation. The evolution of culture ponds has also gone from a primitive lowdensity type to a well designed high-density type. Formulated feed, its use and its role in the continuing development of the prawn industry, harvesting techniques and processing procedures are discussed. Prawn diseases remain a problem for some farms and this investigation suggests that further research is required in this area.

An economic analysis of cost and profit of both family-run and commercial farms is presented. A list of fixed and variable costs for operating all types of farms is provided and the relationship between each cost and the final profit is evaluated. The problems facing the grass prawn industry in Taiwan today as well as some future prospects are also discussed.