Niamaimandi and Zarshenas: Economic valuation of stock enhancement of Fenneropenaeus merguiensis in the Strait of Hormuz 
45 
the giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) in a peri- 
odically enclosed lagoon of Sri Lanka was reported to 
be economically feasible and successful in increasing 
catches (Davenport et al., 1999). Despite a long his- 
tory of prawn stock enhancement in Japan and Chi- 
na, economic reports on efforts there do not indicate 
a profitable experience in all instances. For example, 
only 5 out of 40 attempts at stock enhancement of the 
kuruma prawn in Japan proved economically profitable 
(Loneragan et al., 2006). In evaluations of the bioeco- 
nomics of stock enhancement programs for the fleshy 
prawn in China, cost-benefit ratios of 1:5.2, 1:7.8, and 
1:8.5 were reported (Xu et al., 1997; Wang et al., 2006). 
However, it was not clear what costs were included in 
these calculations or whether these cost-benefit ratios 
provided accurate estimates of the real economic re- 
turns from stock enhancement (Loneragan et al., 2006). 
The results of our study on the stock enhancement 
of the banana prawn in the Persian Gulf are limited. 
Further studies are essential to clarify the economical 
feasibility and biological justification of shrimp stock 
enhancement programs in this area. Marking in mul- 
tiple locations with multiple colors and different sizes 
may provide a better evaluation of stock enhancement 
operations. Additional studies are needed to assess po- 
tential release sites at nursery grounds in this area, to 
determine optimum size at release, and to improve tag- 
ging methods. Hatchery practices may also introduce 
deleterious effects on the genetic makeup of released 
stock and, therefore, threaten the wild population. Such 
effects may range from mild, or undetectable, to severe 
(Ward, 2006). For future studies in the Persian Gulf 
area, it would be beneficial to determine and monitor 
the genetic structure of both wild prawn populations 
and populations held in captivity before release and 
throughout the study period. Experimental studies of 
the effects of other factors, such as the size of prawn at 
release (different sizes could be released), time of year 
of release, and the fitness of released prawns before 
release, also would give information that could increase 
the probability of success. 
Although attempts at prawn stock enhancement in 
the Persian Gulf by the Iran Fisheries Organization 
occurred over the 15-year period of 1995-2010, the re- 
sults of this activity have not been previously docu- 
mented. The study described here investigated the eco- 
nomic return of the stock enhancement effort for one 
year only, 2010. 
In general, the model used in this study estimated 
that it would require about 200,000 juveniles, each 
about 1 g in weight, to produce 1 t of additional catch 
for the total catch of wild banana prawns. Therefore, 
200 million juveniles would be needed to produce an 
additional catch of 100 t. Some of production costs, 
such as capital investment, are not fully known and 
were not included in the model used in this study. 
These expenses would increase the estimates of the 
cost of production. On the basis of the market price for 
banana prawn (USD 3.440 kg -1 ), the costs of juvenile 
production (USD 0.004 g -1 prawn), and our analysis of 
2010 data, it is clear that stock enhancement of this 
species in Iran is not profitable. 
Acknowledgments 
This study was funded by the United Nations Com- 
pensation Commission and Iranian Fisheries Research 
Institute. The authors wish to thank K. Aeenjamshid 
for their assistance with equipment and field work and 
M. Momeni, M. Darvishi, K. Khajehnoori, I. Ghaeeni, 
and the staffs of the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea Eco- 
logical Research Institute, Hormozgan branch of the 
Iran Fisheries Organization, and Pars Abzistan Co. for 
participation in the tagging program and use of their 
facility. 
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