Coastal Aquaculture and Mariculture

Unit 6- Crustaceans

6.1. Penaeid shrimps
India is one of the major producers of marine crustaceans. One of the crustacean groups, penaeid shrimps belong to the family Penaeidae of the class Crustacea under the phylum Arthropoda. The penaeid shrimps constitute the backbone of seafood export industry as the major foreign exchange earner as well as a source of livelihood for millions of fishermen. Frozen shrimp contributes to about 70% of the total export value of our country and the share of capture fisheries is about 60% in quantity.
Distribution
Global
They are distributed along the entire east coast of Africa, Madagascar, Pakistan, India, Srilanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Phillippines, New Guinea and Australia.
India
They are distributed along both the east and west coasts of India.
Common shrimp species
Important species of penaeid shrimps that form commercial fisheries along the Indian seas are Fenneropenaeus indicus (Indian white prawn), P. semisulcatus (Green tiger prawn), P. monodon (Giant tiger prawn), P. merguiensis (Banana prawn), P. japonicus (Kuruma prawn), P. penicillatus (Red-tail prawn), Metapenaeus dobsoni (Flower-tail prawn), M. monoceros (Speckled prawn), M. affinis (Jinga prawn), M. kutchensis (Ginger shrimp), M. brevicornis (Yellow prawn), Parapenaeopsis stylilera (Kiddi prawn), P. hardwickii (Spear prawn), P. sculptilis (Rainbow prawn), P. maxillipedo (Torpedo prawn), P. uncta (Uncta prawn), Tranchypenaeus curvirostris (Rough Prawn), Metapenaeopsis stridulans (Fiddler shrimp), Parapenaeus longipes (Flaming prawn), Solenocera crassicornis (Coastal mud prawn) and S. choprai (Coastal mud prawn). The species such as Parapenaeopsis stylilera, Metapenaeus dobsonii, M. monoceros, Penaeus indicus, Solenocera crassicornis, Trachypenaeus curvirostris, Metapenaeopsis stridulans, S. choprai, P. canaliculatus and P. japonicus are the major constituents of penaeid fishery along west coast. Penaeus semisulcatus dominate the fishery at Tuticorin. P. semisulcatus, M. stridulans and T. pescadorensis are the common species along Mandapam coast. M. dobsoni and P. indicus are the dominant species along Chennai coast. In the east coast, M. dobsoni dominate the catch, followed by M. monoceros, Metapenaeopsis spp., P. semisulcatus, P. indicus, P. maxillipedo, Trachypenaeus spp., Solenocera spp., P. stylifera, P. hardwicki and P. monodon, Metapenaeopsis andamanensis, Aristeus alcockii, Penaeopsis jerryi and S. hextii are the important deep sea shrimps along the southwest coast.