8 Marketing
THIS TOPIC WAS NOT DEALT with in the original FAO manual on freshwater prawn farm ing but it is hoped that its inclusion in this new manual will be useful. The information presented has been derived from Phillips and Lacroix (2000).
For marketing purposes harvested prawns are sometimes divided into a number of groups:
large or ‘bull’ males (including both BC and large OC);
small males (SM) which are mostly not seen until the drain harvest takes place, unless they are trapped by the seine;
egg-bearing (berried) females;
immature or spent females;
soft shelled (newly moulted) prawns; and
‘terminal growth’ prawns.
Good quality harvested prawns have a greenish or bluish tint with bright blue or orange chelipeds (claws).