Development and Biodiversity Survey of Palaemonid Prawns

Abstract

     The population has been increasing at an alarming rate for the last five decades. This has created a wide gap in the supply and demand of basic commodities, such as food, clothing, shelter, fuel for man and also fodder for their livestock. In India, 60-70 per cent of the people are living in rural areas who neither have adequate land holdings nor alternate service opportunities to meet their livelihood. Over 85 per cent of the rural income is from agriculture and allied areas. They spend about 75-80 per cent of their earnings for food. Livestock is an important source of supplementary income. Another area where the rural people are going to depend on is aquatic resources. In the present context, the paper has been compiled and presented here to highlight the importance of freshwater prawn biodiversity as a source of food and livelihood security. The paper provides a complete picture on the diversity of freshwater prawns of India. The species are grouped under six broad categories on the basis of habitat preferences. It is noteworthy to see that only a few species are utilized at present either as capture or culture fisheries. The paper highlights on the other feasible areas of the diversity utilization, namely, introduction of new potential candidate species for aquaculture, ornamental purposes, as forage organisms etc. A new method of organic farming is also described in the paper. A detailed management planning process is described for proper and sustainable utilization of freshwater prawns. Food security is regarded as the major index of development of a country. Every effort should be oriented towards this goal. Freshwater prawns form an important dollar earning commodity, proper managerial planning is absolutely necessary for sustainable utilization of the resources. The foregoing discussion may help in this line for food and livelihood safety.