Penaeid prawn resources and potential for prawn culture

Abstract

Our knowledge of the penaeid prawns of Andaman and Nicobar Islands is based on the pioneering works of Wood-Mason (1891, 1893), de Man (1892, 1911), Alcocfc and Anderson (1899), Alcock (1901, 1905, 1906) and Balss (1925), who reported about 120 species, most of them deep water forms. Recently, Silas and Muthu (1976 a, b) and Thomas (1977) recorded 12 littoral species for the first time from this region, of which one is new to science. Though data on the landings of penaeid prawns from these islands are available from 1965 onwards, no infor mation is available on the biology of the exploited stock. Basic information on the biology of important prawns n Andaman and Nicobar Island s collected during the survey, along with the data collected earlier are presen ted here. The potential for prawn culture is indicated.