Current status and prospects of farming the giant river prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man) and the monsoon river prawn Macrobrachium malcolmsonii (H.M. Edwards) in India

Freshwater prawn production in India that includes farming and wild capture of the giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii and the monsoon river prawn, M. malcolmsonii has increased steadily since 1999 reaching a peak output of 42 780 t in 2005, but then declined to 6568 t in 2009–2010. Stunted growth and diseases in ponds because of poor seed quality and the broodstock which had been inbred over several generations; pond water quality issues; and increased cost of production on account of feed, labour and the mandatory certification requirements are suggested to be some of the factors leading to the production declines. While majority of the output occurs in Andhra Pradesh, single crop paddy–prawn production systems in the low‐lying fields of Kerala have helped gradual transformation to a sustainable, organic mode of farming of both rice and prawns, suitable for other states of India. Although the trends by June 2011 indicate that the sector is set to a revival, future prospects of freshwater prawn farming in India will also depend on the expansion of whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei that was introduced recently in India and provided a more profitable opportunity for farming.