Indian prawn

The Indian prawn (Fenneropenaeus indicus, formerly Penaeus indicus), is one of the major commercial prawn species of the world. It is found in the Indo-West Pacific from eastern and south-eastern Africa, through India, Malaysia and Indonesia to southern China and northern Australia. Adult shrimp grow to a length of about and live on the seabed to depths of about . The early developmental stages take place in the sea before the larvae move into estuaries. They return to the sea as sub-adults. The Indian prawn is used for human consumption and is the subject of a sea fishery, particularly in China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand. It is also the subject of an aquaculture industry, the main countries involved in this being Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Iran and India. For this, wild seed is collected or young shrimps are reared in hatcheries and kept in ponds as they grow. The ponds may be either extensive with reliance on natural foods, with rice paddy fields being used in India after the monsoon period, or semi-intensive or intensive, with controlled feeding. Harvesting is by drainage of the pond. F. indicus is known by many common names around the world, including Indian white prawn, Tugela prawn, white prawn, banana prawn, Indian banana prawn and red leg banana prawn, some of which may also apply to the related species Fenneropenaeus merguiensis. The name white shrimp may also refer to other species. F. indicus is a marine decapod with estuarine juveniles. It prefers mud or sandy mud at depths of . It grows to and has a life span of 18 months. After hatching, free-swimming nauplii are obtained, which further passes through protozoea, mysis and then to postlarval stage, which resembles the adult prawn. The postlarvae migrate to the estuaries, feed and grow until they attain a length of 110–120 mm, and these sub adults return to the sea and get recruited into fishery. It is also commonly used in shrimp farming. The world's production of shrimp is about 6 million tonnes, of which approximately 3.