Penaeus monodon, commonly known as King Kong shrimp, black tiger shrimp, cinnamon shrimp, grass shrimp, etc., is the largest of the shrimp genus, its shell is slightly thicker and solid, and the body surface has a black, dark brown or dark green ring color band, because of the tiger-like markings are also called tiger shrimp. Penaeus monodon is one of the traditional cultured shrimp species in southern China, its meat is delicious, nutritious, has high economic value, is suitable for breeding in brackish freshwater or seawater, fresh water resources rich shrimp breeding area, very suitable for large-scale aquaculture. In the cultivation of Penaeus vannamei, the scale of Penaeus monodon is second only to Penaeus vannamei, and in the current environment of Penaeus vannamei shrimp farming, Penaeus monodon is expected to become an important supplementary alternative species, and its development potential is huge.
tiger shrimpThe origin of "red fire" - high content of astaxanthin
Penaeus monodon shrimp is rich in astaxanthin, which is 20 higher than that of ordinary shrimp. Astaxanthin is a type of carotenoid that has strong antioxidant function, and eating shrimp meat rich in astaxanthin can significantly improve symptoms such as atherosclerosis. When the protein is destroyed or denatured, or separated from the pigment, astaxanthin will change back to its original orange-red color. The fact that shrimp turn red when cooked is due to protein denaturation. Due to the high astaxanthin content of Penaeus monodon, it will show a bright orange-red color after cooking, so it has become a must-have "red hot dish" for banquets in southern China. 
"Red Cabbage" - Litopenaeus monodon shrimp (** from the Internet).
Progress in the breeding of "Nanhai No. 1" and other series of varieties
In the traditional monodon shrimp farming, broodstock are basically caught in natural sea areas. The seedlings produced by this broodstock are of uneven quality and easy to carry viruses, so the breeding benefits are very unstable. In 2005, Jiang Shigui's research team from the South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences started the research on the breeding of Penaeus monodon on the basis of overcoming the technical problems of large-scale artificial cultivation of Penaeus monodon broodstock.
Litopenaeus monodon "Nanhai No. 1" (species registration number: GS-01-009-2010) was obtained from wild populations in Sanya, Lingao, Wenchang and southern Thailand (Phuket) in Hainan Island in the South China Sea. This variety has the characteristics of fast growth and high yield, and its body weight growth rate increases by 21 on average6%~24.4%。"Nanhai No. 1" is the leading fishery species of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in 2020, which is most suitable for coastal aquaculture in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Fujian and other coastal areas in China, and is more suitable for coastal aquaculture in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, etc., especially suitable for shrimp aquaculture in brackish water or seawater fresh water resources.
Broodstock shrimp monodon "Nankai No. 1" (body length 32 cm, body weight about 300 g).
Litopenaeus monodon "Nanhai No. 2" (species registration number: GS-02-002-2017) is an F1 generation obtained by crossing the African strain of Penaeus monodon "Nanhai No. 1" introduced from the waters near southern Africa in 2009 and obtained by 5 generations of family breeding. This variety has the characteristics of fast growth and high survival rate. Under the same breeding conditions, the survival rate of 4-month-old shrimp was increased by 12 on average compared with that of the female parent "Nanhai No. 1".4% (relative) and an average growth rate of 10 percent higher than that of the African strain of the male parent24%；Compared with the first-generation seedlings propagated by the African wild population of Penaeus monodon, the growth rate of 4-month-old shrimp increased by 26 on average45%, and the survival rate increased by 13 on average5%。"Nanhai No. 2" is a new fishery variety promoted by the Guangdong Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in 2019 and the leading fishery species in 2020, which is suitable for shrimp breeding in China's coastal shrimp breeding areas, especially in brackish water or seawater fresh water resources rich in aquaculture. In Guangdong, Hainan and other places, the "Nanhai No. 2" promotion and breeding have been carried out, and good economic and social benefits have been obtained. The average yield per mu reached 203 510 kgThe average yield per mu reached 50 150 kg. 
Penaeus monodon shrimp "Nankai No. 2".The main culture mode of Penaeus monodon shrimp
Penaeus monodon is a broad-salt shrimp, and there are high-salinity tolerant varieties and low-salinity varieties in actual production. The main modes of shrimp culture are pond monoculture (intensive, semi-intensive, extensive culture), pond polyculture (shrimp and crab polyculture, shrimp and shell polyculture, shrimp and fish polyculture), factory culture, rice and shrimp culture, etc. Among them, rice and shrimp cultivation is a new type of ecological agriculture model, there are two ways of shrimp-rice symbiosis and pond field joint cropping, which makes full use of the ecological characteristics of salt-alkali tolerant seawater rice and low-salt tolerant varieties of Penaeus monodon, seawater rice efficiently absorbs shrimp metabolic waste, stabilizes water quality, and can also provide shelter to reduce shrimp self-harm, improve the survival rate of shrimp, and increase the planting area of ecological rice, achieving the effect of one water and two harvests. 
Monoculture model of Penaeus monodon pond Courtesy of Cao Yucheng
Polyculture model of Penaeus monodon pond Courtesy of Zhu Changbo.
Litopenaeus monodon factory farming model Courtesy of Dong Hongbiao.
Seawater rice-Penaeus monodon rice shrimp planting and breeding model Courtesy of Zhu ChangboFuture outlook
Litopenaeus monodon was once the most popular shrimp, as early as the 80s of the 20th century, the Asian region began to breed Penaeus monodon, and then gradually replaced by Penaeus vannamei shrimp due to disease, slow growth and other reasons. In recent years, with the development of the breeding of Penaeus monodon and the improvement of shrimp growth performance, this species has seen a significant revival in many places.
China has a vast territory, the climate, hydrology and breeding mode of different regions are different, and there is more demand for the diversification of Penaeus monodon species, and the existing improved varieties can no longer meet the needs of the development of its aquaculture industry. At present, the research team has cultivated a new species of Penaeus monodon "Nanhai No. 3" (submitted, pending approval) suitable for cultivation in low-salinity areas, and has also cultivated a number of new strains of Penaeus monodon that are resistant to ammonia nitrogen and roughage-tolerant (please click to read the original text at the bottom left for details on the breeding of ammonia nitrogen resistance and freshwater tolerance traits), and the breeding of new varieties of Penaeus monodon with high content of astaxanthin and suitable for factory farming is also in progress. In the future, it is expected to cultivate more new varieties of Penaeus monodon suitable for breeding in different regions, which will further improve the aquaculture efficiency and inject new momentum into the revival of China's monodon shrimp aquaculture industry.
Litopenaeus monodon germplasm resources and genetic breeding innovation teamRelated Articles:
Zhou Falin, Yang Qibin, Huang Jianhua, Jiang Song, Yang Lishi, Zhang Tangsheng, Jiang Shigui*Estimation of genetic parameters of ammonia nitrogen tolerance and freshwater stress traits of Penaeus monodon[J].South China Fisheries Science, 2019, 15(5): 63-68Click "Read More" below to learn more.
Written by |Jiang Song.
Edit |Glory.
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