Conservation and aquaculture of native freshwater prawns: the case of the cauque river prawn Macrobrachium americanum (Bate, 1868)

Abstract

Latin America has a high diversity of Macrobrachium prawns, some of them with commercial interest. Among them, the cauque river prawn Macrobrachium americanum is a large prawn of the western coast with commercial value due to its size and taste, but it has been extensively subjected to fishery exploitation, leading to population decline. Cultivation is an option for commercial production and conservation. Some research focused on domestication has been performed. Here, we revise the status of that research and discuss possibilities for sustainable freshwater prawn aquaculture in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America.