Bangladesh is a major producer of the giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii). Improving welfare and sustainability in this important sector benefits millions of small-scale farmers.
Freshwater prawns exhibit complex behaviors including territory defense, dominance hierarchies, and apparent pain responses. Male giant freshwater prawns develop into morphologically distinct forms and fight aggressively for mating access, causing injury and death in crowded conditions. Stocking at appropriate densities and providing habitat complexity through submerged structures reduces aggression. Poor water quality — low dissolved oxygen, high ammonia — causes physiological stress and increased mortality. The precautionary principle applied to crustacean sentience suggests that harvest methods should minimize suffering; live boiling of prawns is common but increasingly questioned on welfare grounds. Supporting improved husbandry in Bangladesh helps both animal welfare and the livelihoods of farming families.