Status and prospect of the culture of two important penaeid prawns in Asia

Abstract

There are two important cultured penaeid prawns in Asia,namely: kuruma prawn, Peneaus japonicus and grass prawn, Peneaus monodon. Kuruma prawn is the first species that was successfullusy artificially propagated and its culture technology is the most advanced in the world. Among the countries where this prawn is cultured are Japan, Korea, Brazil and Taiwan;Japan is the most successful. Their annual production reached 1,500 tons and the highest unit area production is 28 ton/ha. It is the most expensive prawn in the world and costs US$32-80/kg in japan. As for grass prawn, it is the most suitable prawn for culture. The countries areas that culture this prawn are Taiwan, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Guam, Tahit, and South Africa. Among them, Taiwan is the most successful. The annual production reached 5,000 tons. The export of the juveniles of this species in large quantity has also been started. This paper describes the status of the culture of these two prawns. At the same time the comparison of their growth with that of the other important penaeid prawns is made and several important problems that require further investigation are discussed. Finally the prospects in the culture of these ywo prawns are summarized.