The giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, is a prawn that can live in freshwater but needs brackish water to reproduce, so in the wild it only lives along the coast. It is native to a vast geographic area stretching from the coasts of Pakistan in the west to the northern coasts of Australia in the east, passing through the coasts of the Indian subcontinent and those of Southeast Asia, and it is limited in the north to the southern coasts of China.

This shrimp is already well known in aquaculture; scientists have perfectly described its biology, and its full production cycle is totally mastered. However, it has not achieved the same success as its “cousins,” vannamei and monodon, for behavioral reasons. Indeed, Macrobrachium rosenbergii cannot be produced at high densities, as it is a territorial species that engages in cannibalism when it is too concentrated. Therefore, on the same surface area, it cannot be produced in the same quantities as its two “cousins.”

But the behavior of this species is not the only explanation for this lack of interest. Farming Macrobrachium rosenbergii is economically profitable in most cases, but far less than the two other mentioned species. Consequently, the main reason for the lack of development and interest in its farming is economic. Shrimps and prawns in general are highly valued products, and most countries which are able to farm them, mainly tropical countries of the “Global South”, have chosen to focus on a production for export to “Northern” countries (mainly the USA and the EU), which are major shrimp consumers but produce very little themselves, whether through fishing or aquaculture. This export-oriented production, strongly linked to neoliberalism and neocolonialism, depends on Northern suppliers (feed, chemicals, medicines, equipment, etc.), free-trade agreements, cheap labor exploitation, and consumer demand that constantly seeks more quantity at ever lower prices. All of this comes at the expense of product quality, local consumption, essential ecosystems (destruction of mangroves, discharge of pollutants into the environment), and workers (in the most extreme cases, slavery is involved, the FAO is currently investigating).

In the article “Tomorrow’s Aqua Long-Term Vision for Aquaculture,” it was noted that aquaculture must expand globally, but not anywhere and anyhow. It is at this level that the development of freshwater giant prawn farming becomes relevant and offers many advantages. Potentially, any country with a tropical climate could farm it, whether landlocked or not. Indeed, only the hatchery, reproduction and larval stages, require brackish water, which can easily be managed even in areas without access to seawater. In low-tech RAS systems, brackish water can be made as long as salt is available, which is the case in nearly everywhere. Furthermore, only this part of the production cycle requires a reliable electricity supply (for water and air pumps), which can be very challenging in remote areas, therefore, hatcheries must be built where the electrical grid is easily accessible.

The pre-growing and grow-out stages can be carried out without electricity, either in brackish-water ponds near the coast or in freshwater ponds in areas with little or no access to seawater. This has been demonstrated, for example, in the USA (Kentucky) and southwestern France. In tropical climates, freshwater is generally abundant due to numerous rivers and the rainy season (although climate change could threaten this abundance in some areas), and consistently high temperatures allow rapid prawn growth.

Farming Macrobrachium rosenbergii does not require high-tech systems, as mentioned before, simple low-tech RAS systems are sufficient to breed it successfully. Therefore, even countries with limited financial resources could invest in small hatcheries (cooperative or public) using little or no imported equipment. The most delicate and expensive part, for countries where the freshwater giant prawn is not native and has not yet been farmed, is to import broodstock. This require precise logistics to import adult prawns in optimal conditions, fortunately, these prawns are robust animals. Additionally, it is important to find multiple suppliers to maximize genetic diversity and avoid inbreeding, which would inevitably harm the farming operation.

It should be noted that the potential for nuisance of Macrobrachium rosenbergii should not be underestimated. Indeed, along coasts where it is not native, if it escapes from farms, it could become an extremely invasive species, causing significant harm to local ecosystems. However, to confirm this, the introduction of this shrimp in non-native areas (in Africa or in South America for example) needs to be monitored scientifically. In inland areas or landlocked countries, this issue does not arise, because it is a prawn that cannot reproduce in freshwater, therefore, even if it escapes, it will eventually die without producing offspring.

A major advantage of this prawn is that it is detritivorous and can feed largely on the natural productivity of ponds, greatly reducing the need for feed inputs. As a result, grow-out costs are very low, only broodstock and larvae require high-quality aquaculture feed.

Another benefit is that this farming can be integrated with other aquaculture and agricultural productions. For example, in some parts of Southeast Asia, these prawns are farmed alongside rice culture. Therefore, wherever rice grows, Macrobrachium rosenbergii could potentially be farmed. Also, other integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) systems can be explored. It can also be raised on the coast while preserving mangroves, which, once again, are essential for protecting tropical coastlines against rising seas and for the biodiversity of marine species, many of which grow in mangroves.

Developing Macrobrachium rosenbergii farming can also contribute, in highly poor regions, to the food sovereignty and security of local populations who lacks animal protein, helping to reduce malnutrition. Additionally, it contributes to reduce unemployment in rural areas experiencing depopulation due to a lack of economic activities, increase farmers’ incomes, and create economic opportunities for women, who are unfortunately too often marginalized in many places.

All these reasons explain why Tomorrow’s Aqua strongly believes in developing Macrobrachium rosenbergii farming. Consequently, Tomorrow’s Aqua is committed to sharing available knowledge about the freshwater giant prawn, promoting its farming wherever possible, establishing new prawn farming projects and supporting all public and private initiatives that align with this goal.

References

FAO. 2002. In: M. B. New, eds. Farming freshwater prawns A manual for the culture of the giant river prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii). Rome, Italy, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

FAO. 2025. Macrobrachium rosenbergii De Man,1879. In: Fisheries and Aquaculture. https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/aqspecies/2608/en

Laval, G. 2022. In: G. Laval, eds. Élevage de crevettes d’eau douce en Europe Pratiques éco-responsables pour Macrobrachium rosenbergii. Versailles, France, Éditions Quae.

Silva-Oliveira, G., Ready, J., Iketani, G., Bastos, S., Gomes, G., Sampaio, I., Maciel, C., 2011. The invasive status of Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man, 1879) in Northern Brazil, with an estimation of areas at risk globally. Aquatic Invasions. DOI: 6. 10.3391/ai.2011.6.3.08.

L’article Macrobrachium rosenbergii, a species for the development of sustainable aquaculture est apparu en premier sur Tomorrow's Aqua.

In aquaculture, not everything is perfect, there are really good things but also terribly wrong things done, some practices should be encouraged and others condemned. It’s a fact, to adequately feed everyone, aquaculture must develop, but not just anyhow and not just anywhere.

In general, multinational aquaculture companies, governments, and private research base their model on the agriculture’s development one, which is, ever-increasing technology (therefore more energy consumption), higher density in farms, greater intensity, less diversification of farmed species (monocultures), and above all, more profits for some while others lose their livelihoods. We have seen this in agriculture and we are seeing it today in aquaculture, these practices lead to hyper-specialization of production (ultra-intensive monocultures), an ever-increasing distance between production and consumption areas, disease transmission facilitated by high stocking densities, the ever-increasing use of antibiotics and chemicals, the enrichment of large companies and their shareholders at the expense of small producers and consumers, the creation of monopolies or semi-monopolies, and the destruction of fragile ecosystems that are essential for human populations and for wild fauna and flora.

In this context, from an aquaculture perspective, not all countries are in the same boat. There are those that already overproduce, those that have reached their environmental production limits, and those that can and must develop their aquaculture to achieve food security for their populations.

Tomorrow’s Aqua works to develop aquaculture where it’s needed, that is to say, in countries where food security is not yet achieved, and in countries that over-consume terrestrial animals (developed countries) even though they have underexploited aquaculture potential. Tomorrow’s Aqua also seeks to transfer and popularize scientific aquaculture knowledge so that as many people as possible can use it and adapt it to their local conditions. And of course, to learn from aquaculture farmers who possess immense traditional knowledge, that are too often ignored or disregarded by large corporations, private scientists, and governments.

Indeed, we live in a world where technological solutions are the only ones being promoted (in aquaculture and in all economic sectors), despite all the data, analyses, and historical perspective that demonstrate the limitations of this thinking and development. Unfortunately, this is far too often the only alternative promoted, whether in some universities, in most businesses or among farmers and consumers.

According to Tomorrow’s Aqua, aquaculture must focus on the farming of low-trophic species (micro- and macroalgae, bivalves and gastropods, detritivorous crustaceans, omnivorous fish, etc.) whose primary purpose is to provide quality food for local populations, not for export in large quantities to developed countries. Some species simply shouldn’t be farmed because they are only useful for a minority to maximize profits at the expense of the environment, workers, consumers, wild animals, the living conditions of farmed animals, and the people who live near aquaculture-related areas (ultra-intensive farms, processing plants, forage fishing areas, etc.). These include, for example, exclusively predatory marine fish (salmon, tuna, etc.), cephalopods (octopuses), sturgeons farmed for their caviar, and many others.

This vision is not encouraging, but neither is it pessimistic, it tries to be realistic. Tomorrow’s Aqua believes that we can always do better without being overly idealistic. Of course, there are economic issues to consider, but we must keep in mind that money is not edible.

Changing mentalities will take time, but younger generations understand that the production-driven world has reached its limits, and tomorrow they will be in charge of the power all over the world. Aquaculture will change because we simply will no longer have the possibility to continue as we are doing.

This vision of aquaculture is general, fortunately there are many alternatives in the world, producers, scientists, NGOs and governments can also be examples and inspirations to create a better future together.

L’article Tomorrow’s Aqua’s long-term vision for aquaculture est apparu en premier sur Tomorrow's Aqua.