The farming of the giant freshwater prawn has expanded rapidly in Thailand. Production has increased from less than 3 tons/year in 1976 to an estimated output of more than 1,200 tons in 1982. This rapid growth was largely stimulated by the Chachoengsao Fisheries Station established solely to promote culture of the prawn. Services of the station comprise the production and free distribution of post-larvae from 1976-1978, along with training and extension programmes.

This document briefly describes the status of the aquaculture in the Regional Aquaculture Lead Centre for Thailand circa 1981, in terms of available species and research priorities. Work was conducted on air-breathing catfish Clarias batrachus, snakehead Channa striatus, giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii, silver barb Puntius gonionotus, snakeskin gourami Trichogaster pectoralis, mussels Perna viridis and oysters Crassostrea spp. Includes brief descriptions of culture methods prevalent for these species at the time.