Giant freshwater prawns are farmed extensively across tropical Asia, with welfare considerations around their complex social behavior, aggression, and harvest methods.
Freshwater prawn welfare is complicated by their complex social behavior. The dominant blue-clawed males are highly aggressive, killing subordinate males and limiting production efficiency in high-density culture. Subordinate males experience chronic stress from dominant male aggression, with associated physiological stress responses. High-density culture that disrupts normal social spacing causes chronic aggression-related welfare harm. Harvest by pond draining involves extreme crowding as water levels fall, followed by oxygen depletion and handling for sorting. Live trade practices include extended air exposure and high-density transport that may cause stress and mortality.