GIANT PRAWN Conferences are the premier global events dedicated to the farming of freshwater prawns, Macrobrachium spp. The GIANT PRAWN conferences were founded by Michael New, and the inaugural conference took place in Bangkok (GIANT PRAWN 1980). Subsequent conferences were held in Kochi, India (2003 and 2011), Bangkok, Thailand (2017 and 2023), and Shanghai, China (2019). Since 2017, the Aquaculture Program of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand, has led the organization of these conferences. Beginning in 2019, AIT has collaborated with Shanghai Ocean University (SHOU), China, to host the conferences alternately in Thailand and China.
The GIANT PRAWN 2025 is set to return to China, promising to showcase significant advancements in the farming and conservation of freshwater prawns in the Macrobrachium genus. The event will highlight China's pivotal role in producing a substantial share of improved prawn broodstock. Although the conference title may suggest a focus on the Giant Malaysian prawn (M. rosenbergii), the event encompasses all Macrobrachium species currently under cultivation.
The first GIANT PRAWN Conference was organized by Michael New in 1980 for the Thai Department of Fisheries and took place in the original Erawan Hotel in Bangkok. At that time, Michael was working for the FAO as a co-manager of a UNDP-supported project aimed at expanding the farming of freshwater prawns as an emerging aquaculture industry. It focused on several areas of prawn farming, including:
Platform for fresh water farming
Modern Prawn research
Discussions & Seminars
Innovative food processing techniques
Awareness to aquafarmers
Summarizing and planning section
GIANT PRAWN 1980 brought together researchers, practitioners, and stakeholders involved in freshwater prawn farming for the first time. The conference set priorities for future research and development in the field. A comprehensive proceedings volume summarizing the latest research on Macrobrachium at the time was published by Elsevier.
In 2003, another landmark conference, Freshwater Prawn 2003, was organized by C. Mohanakumaran Nair at the College of Fisheries, Kerala Agricultural University, in Kochi, Kerala, India. Michael New delivered the keynote address at this conference, which was attended by nearly 500 delegates from around the world. The event provided a significant boost to freshwater prawn farming in India. Selected papers were published as a special edition of the international journal Aquaculture Research (Wiley), while the full proceedings were published by Allied Publishers in New Delhi, India.
In 2011, Michael New collaborated with C. Mohanakumaran Nair at Kerala Agricultural University and the World Aquaculture Society to organize GIANT PRAWN 2011, the second conference in the series, held again in Kochi. This event coincided with the Asian Pacific Aquaculture 2011, the annual conference of the World Aquaculture Society - Asian Pacific Chapter. Selected papers from the conference were also featured in a special issue of the journal Aquaculture Research (Wiley).
In 2017, Michael New partnered with Krishna R. Salin to organize another Giant Freshwater Prawn Conference at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Bangkok, Thailand. The conference attracted 150 delegates from 35 countries and highlighted the status of Macrobrachium aquaculture across several nations.
The GIANT PRAWN 2019 Conference, the fifth in the series, was held at Shanghai Ocean University’s Lingang Campus in the Pudong District of Shanghai, China, collaborating with Xuxiong Huang at SHOU. This conference provided a valuable platform for the global freshwater prawn farming community to review recent research findings and set priorities for future development.
In 2023, the 6th edition of this Conference (GIANT PRAWN 2023) was jointly organized by the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Shanghai Ocean University (SHOU), and the Department of Fisheries, Thailand, in Bangkok, Thailand. Themed “Another Giant Leap for Sustainability,” the conference brought together 180 participants from 17 countries, further advancing global discussions on sustainable freshwater prawn farming.
| Registration | 8 June 2025 |
| Conference Days | 9 & 10 June 2025 With invited keynote speakers, submitted presentations, and interactive sessions. |
| Field Trip | 11 June 2025 Field trip to prawn hatchery and nursery farms in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, China |
| Location | Dongwu New Century Grand Hotel Huzhou, No.555, Laodong Road, 313000 Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
Hotel Website |