Induced breeding of the Indian white prawn Penaeus Indicus

A steady supply of spawners is an essential requirement for effective planning of the operations in a \npenaeid prawn hatchery. The difficulty in obtaining the fully ripe spawners of the desired species from the sea as and when required, and the high cost of fishing and transporting them, are some of the main constraints in the development of hatcheries for large scale culture operations. To overcome this difficulty research is being undertaken in many countries to induce maturation of penaeid prawns under controlled conditions and to domesticate them. One of the techniques employed for the purpose is the ablation of the eye stalk in which the organs that secrete and store the gonad inhibiting hormones are situated. This note reports the successful application of the method for inducing maturation in the Indian white prawn Penaeus Indicus for the first time.