Experiments on the growth of Penaeus vannamei Boone

Abstract

Growth rates of Penaeus vannamei Boone were estimated from field and laboratory experiments using both marked and unmarked shrimp. Field results with unmarked shrimp indicated growth rates of between 0.05 mm increase in carapace length per day (mm c.l./day) and 0.17 mm c.l./day, although rates of up to 0.31 mm c.l./day were also recorded. Moult intervals ranged from5.5 to 34 days with a mean of 12.5 days. Moult increment ranged from 0.2 mm c.l./moult to 1.4 mm c.l./moult with an overall mean of 0.7 mm/moult. Growth was negatively correlated with size over all size ranges, with a marked decrease in growth rate occurring at about 28 mm c.l. Shrimp marked with Floy streamer tags generally grew more slowly than unmarked shrimp, but this was exaggerated by the stress of regular handling in some experiments. The relevance of these findings is discussed in relation to the existing commercial fishery.