Giant river prawn

Macrobrachium rosenbergii

3: OK - Needs improvement How we work out the ratings

What to check for

Location

All areas

Production method

Pond, extensive

Rating summary

Giant river prawns are farmed inland and have relatively low inputs such as feed, chemicals and pesticides. There are risks of pollution and prawn escapees from ponds during flooding or water releases. However, the risk to the wider environment is considered low because the prawns are native to the area and disease and pollution risks are not widely reported. Our main concerns are the limited enforcement of regulations for farms and the reliance of farms on wild caught juveniles. Collecting young prawns from the wild also catches other wild species, reducing numbers of prawns and fish in the wild. Although regulations are in place, enforcement of management measures relating to juvenile harvesting and wider ecological impacts is weak. This and other farming practices need to be better regulated.Rating last updated: November 2024

How we worked out this Rating

Bangladesh giant river prawns grown in ponds have very little feed input.Feed for the prawn comes from naturally occurring plants and animals in the pond - often this natural diet is supplemented with wild snail meat. In these extensive systems there may be limited addition of commercially prepared diets.

Environmental impacts of giant river prawn ponds are limited, however the collection of juveniles has negative impacts on wild prawn and fish populations.Extensive pond systems for giant river prawn farming are situated inland and are understood to predominantly use existing rice paddies.Although there are chemical inputs, studies show relatively low ecological risk from fresh water prawn farms compared to other aquaculture species in the area. Due to the farmed species in ponds consuming nutrients from the water supplied to ponds, discharges from farms are considered insignificant.Juvenile prawns used to stock ponds are predominantly wild-caught with previous evidence indicating that this has caused serious depletion of wild stocks and high levels of bycatch of non-target species. Government restrictions on wild post-larvae collection have had limited effect to date.Disease outbreaks can be an issue on prawn farms. However, water discharges have been assessed as low risk for this disease spread.Prawn farms do discharge water intermittently and tend to be vulnerable to flooding, this is an increasing concern with climate change. However, as giant river prawn are native to the area and juveniles are locally harvested or bred from local stock, escapes do not present a genetic threat to wild populations. Additionally, because river prawn populations are in decline escapees do not pose a competitive threat to wild stocks for food or habitat. There is limited evidence of predator control however it is believed that lethal control may take place.

There is no evidence of practices in place to ensure animal welfare and humane slaughter for pond farmed giant river prawn in Bangladesh.

There is limited evidence of effective management of giant river prawn farms in Bangladesh.Despite the existence of a regulatory framework for the sector, it is evident that confusion exists between the myriad of agencies involved and, due to a lack of capacity, enforcement of these management measures is weak.

References

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