| Author | Niran Warin |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.AQ-20-01 |
| Subject(s) | Macrobrachium rosenbergii--Transportation
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| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Live marketing of the giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii significantly enhances its value. An experiment to develop the protocols for conditioning of prawns at different salinities before live packing and waterless storage was conducted by applying cold-anaesthetisation technique. Three treatments of salinity levels, viz., 0 ppt [T1], 5ppt [T2], and 10ppt [T3] were tested to acclimatise the prawns at a low ambient temperature of 22-23 0C for 48 h before the cold-treatment. Two marketable size groups of farm-grown prawns, 32.01 ± 4.51g and 50.13± 4.46 g (mean ± SD) were used in the trial. A custom-made, recirculating water chilling unit was used for cold-anaesthetisation of prawns at a moderate chilling rate of 3oC/h to a packing temperature of 14.50C. The prawns were then packed in Styrofoam boxes in oxygen-filled plastic bags and using polyfoam filter material as the packing media. The packed boxes were stored inside a cooling cabinet set at 20 ± 2 0C and maintained at the low temperature for three durations of 18 h, 22 h, and 26 h. The results revealed that the prawns of both small and bigger sizes conditioned at 5ppt had cent percent survival for a duration of 18 h of live storage, whereas the treatment at 10 ppt had the lowest survival rate. A preliminary simulated transport trial was also carried out by transporting packed prawns that were conditioned at 5 ppt salinities from AIT to Ubon Ratchathani Province by various modes of transport such as bus, van, and train over a transit duration of 18 hours. A survival of 70% was obtained after 18 h of transit, although the best transport conditions could not be ensured in this trial. The total hemocyte counts (THC) of prawn hemolymph were evaluated in prawns corresponding to the conditioning salinities tested, as an indicator of stress to the prawns during live storage. In the case of small-sized prawns, the THC values of 4.19 ± 0.47 x106/ml (at 0 ppt) and 3.85 ± 0.73 x106/ml (at 5 ppt) were not significantly different (p>0.05), while both of these were significantly different (p<0.05) from the THC values at 10 ppt (5.66 ± 0.59 x106 /ml) after 18 h of storage . Similar trend was also observed in the case of big-sized prawns. Longer duration of storage was found to elicit a significant elevation of the THC levels. In conclusion, acclimation salinity is critical to achieve high survival and least stress to the packed prawns, and THC can be used as one of the stress indicators for M. rosenbergii during waterless live storage. The prawns acclimatised at a salinity of 5 ppt resulted in cent percent survival up to a duration of 18 h, which is a reasonable transit time for live shipment of prawns from their production centres to the major live markets in Asia. |
| Year | 2020 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources Management (AQ) |
| Chairperson(s) | Salin, K.R. |
| Examination Committee(s) | Kumar, S.;Yakupitiyage, Amararayne;Loc Thai Nguyen |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Her Majesty the Queen's Scholarships (Thailand) |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2020 |