Prawn production sees drop due to lack of good seeds

KOCHI: Freshwater prawn production in the country has seen a major decline in the past few years due to technical problems in the production of quality seeds. Competition from new varieties such as Vannamei has also accentuated this trend.

The production of freshwater prawns or ‘scampi’ was estimated at 40,000 tonne a few years ago. With the significant reduction in the area for scampi culture, the production fell to 6,600 tonne in 2009.

“The area under freshwater prawn culture is growing in most of the Asian countries like China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Taiwan and Myanmar,” said Michael New, former president, World Aquaculture Society. He said the area and production of freshwater prawns were increasing worldwide except in India. He was speaking to reporters in connection with the annual conference of the World Aquaculture Society - Asia Pacific Aquaculture chapter which will be held in Kochi from January 17 to 20.

Speaking to ET, Anwar Hashim, Seafood Exporters Association of India, pointed out that hatcheries were finding it difficult to produce quality seeds. “The practice of using antibiotics for seed production was the main factor that affected production of freshwater prawns.” According to Hashim, export consignments were rejected by European countries due to the detection of antibiotic residues.

Officials at the Marine Products Export Development Authority said there was a huge potential to spread freshwater prawn culture in states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Bihar and Kerala. Production is limited to small quantities in the country at present. As a result, exporters were not getting sufficient quantities for export. The officials cited the shortage of good-quality seeds as the reason for the decline in production. Competition from other species like the Vannamei has also affected the spread of freshwater prawn culture in India, said Micheal New. Water quality is another issue that the country had to address, he added. Global production of freshwater prawns was now at 4,50,000 tonne, he said. The conference will hold an exclusive conference on freshwater prawns as part of the meet here.