Evaluation of reproductive capacity in pond-reared penaeus monodon after unilateral eyestalk ablation

Abstract

This study investigated the reproductive capacity of pond-reared female Penaeus monodon after unilateral eyestalk ablation. A total of 240 females (57.0-143.3g) were used as broodstocks in a continuous three-year breeding experiment. After unilateral eyestalk ablation, the relationships of egg and nauplii at the first spawning event and female bodyweight were evaluated. At each spawning, a female could produce 120000-1250000 eggs which hatched into 80,000-950,000 nauplii. The egg hatching rate at each spawning varied from 27.4% to 86.3% without particular patterns of correlation with female body weight. The fecundity of pond-reared female P. monodon varied from 2 100 to 9 400 eggs per gram of bodyweight, and females with medium size of 85-120 g showed greater fecundity (around 9000 eggs/g) in comparison with smaller and larger counterparts. This study indicates that reproductive capacity of pond-reared female P. monodon is significantly related to bodyweight with a desirable size of 85-120 g as female broodstocks.