EXPERT TOPIC PRAWN
FRESHWATER
PRAWN EXPERT TOPIC Prawn culture in reservoirs of Telangana, India
by Dr B. Laxmappa, Fisheries Development Officer, Department of Fisheries, Telangana. India and V.Srinivas, Dy. Director of Fisheries, Department of Fisheries, Telangana, India
R
eservoirs are the huge water bodies and potential source for fisheries development in India including Telangana state. The main purpose of the construction of these reservoirs was to protect the economically backward areas and also to eliminate the scarcity of food grains and water problems. Though the Reservoirs were constructed primarily for irrigation purpose and the fishery is evolved as the secondary activity Freshwater prawn has become an important component of global aquaculture both in terms of quantity and value. India is the second largest producer of freshwater prawn in the World. Freshwater prawn belongs to the family Palaemonidae and majority of the commercially important freshwater prawns belong to the genus Macrobrachium. Among the commercially important freshwater prawn of India three species, namely M. rosenbergii, M. malcomsonii and M. gageticum are suitable for aquaculture. Considering the high export potential, the freshwater prawn enjoys immense potential for culture in some of the reservoirs in the Telangana, India. In many of the reservoirs cultivable fishes are being stocked to enhance production and not utilising optimum for fish culture along with freshwater prawn. Culture trials of freshwater prawn by stocking of wild prawn seed have been carried out successfully in a couple of reservoirs in Telangana.
Prawn seed stocking
The Department of Fisheries was made to attempt and encourage the fishermen in the state to take up freshwater prawn culture in certain water bodies along with carp culture. The fishermen were also created awareness on prawn culture activity in the reservoirs. The fishermen were made to attempt and stock prawn seed of natural collection from Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh, India. The culture period is about six to eight months, no feed was given during culture period either to fish or to prawn, and were allowed to grow on natural feed only. Prawn seed grow well and get good production, which encourags these reservoir fishermen for regular stocking of prawn seed in a few reservoirs of Telangana state. This is the turning 36 | February 2018 - International Aquafeed