Giant Tiger Prawn Welfare in Southeast Asian Aquaculture

Giant tiger prawns farmed intensively across Southeast Asia face welfare concerns around stocking density, disease outbreaks, and slaughter methods.

Key Facts

Penaeus monodon is the second most important farmed shrimp species after Pacific white shrimp
Intensive pond culture systems experience frequent disease outbreaks including early mortality syndrome
Eye ablation of female broodstock to induce maturation is widely practiced in hatcheries
Eye ablation removes or destroys one eyestalk and is performed without analgesia
Disease outbreaks including AHPND cause mass mortality with significant welfare implications

Welfare Considerations

Eye ablation of female tiger prawn broodstock to induce maturation is a highly welfare-relevant practice: the eyestalk contains multiple sensory organs and is removed or damaged without pain relief. Whether prawns experience pain from this procedure is uncertain but the precautionary principle demands its minimisation. Disease outbreaks causing mass mortality mean many prawns die slowly from infection. High-density culture creating chronic stress further compromises welfare.

What You Can Do

Support development and adoption of non-ablation broodstock maturation methods
Choose prawn products from farms with third-party welfare and environmental certification
Advocate for research into humane broodstock management in prawn hatcheries
Reduce consumption of intensively farmed prawns from systems using eye ablation
Support regulatory moves to phase out eye ablation in certified shrimp aquaculture