The giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii occurs in freshwater rivers in the tropical IndoPacific region, extending to Northern Australia. Aquaculture of the species in 37 countries produces about 30 000 tonnes of prawns per annum. In Australia, no commercial venture has successfully established hatchery production of juveniles in the north, despite several attempts Morrissy 1983. Robert Emiliani operated a successful pilot hatchery at Independent Seafoods establishment in Perth during 1992 and this report describes a spawning and larval rearing trial at the Western Australian Marine Research Laboratories WAMRL in 1993. The early, planktonic larval life of the species is dependent on brackishwater estuarine levels of salinity for survival, unlike, longer postlarval juveniles and adults which live entirely in freshwater. Adults breed very readily during the summer wet season and in captivity; however, the larvae develop through 11 stages, requiring a moderate level of hatchery technology and considerable husbandry skill for rearing New and Singholka 1982; New 1988; Thompson pers. comm..

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