BROODSTOCK DEVELOPMENT, BREEDING AND SEED PRODUCTION OF GIANT FRESH WATER PRAWN Macrobrachium rosenbergii IN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA

Among many high value tropical shell fish that could be farmed in Saudi Arabia, the giant fresh water prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii having immense potential due to its superior meat quality and high market demand. It is one of the fast growing crustacean species encountered rarely in the capture fisheries. The species is able to acclimatize and grow well at fresh water and brackish water conditions besides its huge potential as polyculture or an aquaponics candidate. Scarcity of brood stock and insufficient quality seeds of M.rosenbergii assumed to be the major gap felt for its lack of aquaculture interest in the local conditions of Saudi Arabia, even though few attempts were made to culture this species earlier but hardly any published report available. With series of research efforts successful broodstock development, breeding and seed production of Giant Fresh water prawn has been achieved for the first time in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the Fish resources research center of King Faisal University. This presentation describes various steps followed during the brood stock development, breeding and larval rearing phases of the giant freshwater prawn carried out in the Aqua hatchery complex in the Fish resources Research center of King Faisal University. Based on our experience it confirms that, it is possible to develop good quality brood stock and post larvae of Macrobrachium rosenbergii locally therefore; culture of this valuable species could be possible in the vast inland farming areas of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia provided with good water quality successively maintaining proper stocking density, sex ratio and balanced Nutrition.