Niamaimandi and Zarshenas: Economic valuation of stock enhancement of Fenneropenaeus merguiensis in the Strait of Hormuz 
41 
Figure 1 
Annual total catches of banana prawn ( Fenneropenaeus merguiensis ), 
indicated in metric tons by the black bars, and numbers of this species 
released for stock enhancement (indicated by the line with squares) in 
waters of the Strait of Hormuz, along the coast of the Persian Gulf in 
Hormozgan Province, Iran, during 2001-2010. 
interest. The banana prawn ( Fenneropenaeus mer- 
guiensis) and Indian prawn ( F. indicus), both found in 
the Strait of Hormuz (Hormozgan Province), and the 
green tiger prawn ( Penaeus semisulcatus), found in the 
middle part of Iranian waters (Bushehr area), are the 
most commercially important shrimp stocks. The Jin- 
ga shrimp ( Metapenaeus affinis) and the kiddi shrimp 
(Parapenaeopsis stylifera), the other important species, 
are distributed throughout the Iranian waters of the 
Persian Gulf. 
The banana prawn in the Persian Gulf exhibits a 
fast growth rate and a short life span of around 15- 
18 months (Zarshenas 2 ). The spawning season is very 
short (February to March) and is followed by a peak in 
abundance of postlarvae and juveniles present in the 
shallow coastal mangrove areas from mid-April to July, 
that then move from these nursery areas to deeper wa- 
ters at the end of August. The annual catch of banana 
prawns during the period of 2001-2010 ranged from 
1776 t in 2004 to 3122 t in 2009, fluctuating as much 
as 1000 t between years (Fig. 1). 
The decline of prawn fishing in several countries 
(e.g., Japan, China, Mexico, Australia, and Kuwait) 
with growing human populations and demands for 
fishery products led to the development of stock en- 
hancement techniques (Loneragan et al., 2006). The 
high commercial value of prawns, along with the noted 
stock decline in the Persian Gulf, generated interest in 
developing stock enhancement procedures to improve 
the prawn fisheries. In the Persian Gulf region, Kuwait 
was the first country that started stock enhancement of 
shrimp, the green tiger prawn and the kuruma prawn 
( Marsupenaeus japonicus), during 1.972-1978 (Farmer, 
2 Zarshenas, A. 1991. Shrimp fishery in Hormozgan waters, 
27 p. Iranian Fisheries Research Organization, Tehran, 
Iran. [In Persian. 1 
1981). In Iran, a stock enhancement effort that started 
in 1995 with the Indian prawn was located in the Per- 
sian Gulf along the coast of Hormozgan Province. Wild 
adult Indian prawns were captured from this area to 
use for brood stock in aquaculture. However, because of 
the importance of the banana prawn as a commercial 
species, stock enhancement of this prawn was started 
in 2001. During the 15 years of shrimp stock enhance- 
ment in Iranian waters of the Persian Gulf during 
1995-2010, about 260 million juvenile prawns (mostly 
Indian prawns, banana prawns, and kuruma prawns) 
were released at sea. 
The annual number of juvenile banana prawn re- 
leased, as well as the catch of this species between 
2001 and 2010, is shown in Figure 1. The mean num- 
ber of juveniles released was 5.93 billion, and the mean 
annual catch recorded was 2392 t. Catch of the banana 
prawn has fluctuated between years during the period 
of 2001-2010. The lowest and highest levels of banana 
prawn catch were observed in 2004 (1776 t) and 2007 
(3122 t), whereas the minimum and maximum num- 
bers of prawn were released in 2001 (200,000) and 
2009 (12.7 billion). 
The objectives of this study were to determine the 
success of the banana prawn stock enhancement pro- 
gram and to evaluate the growth and movement of 
stocked prawns within the Hormozgan study area. 
Materials and methods 
The study area was located within the Strait of Hor- 
muz (56°24'E and 27°06'N to 56°26'E and 26°55'N) 
along estuarine mangrove habitat where depths were 
<1-3 m (Fig. 2). Wild adult banana prawns were cap- 
tured from Hormozgan waters and cultured in a pri- 
