Design and field validation of thermal anesthetization system for waterless live transport of giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii)

Waterless live transport of freshwater prawns (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) offers a promising alternative to traditional water-based shipment, drastically reducing freight costs and physical trauma. However, its commercial adoption has been hindered by the lack of a reliable, scalable method for safe anesthetization without cold shock or mortality. Therefore, this study aims to develop and validate an integrated, engineering-standardized shipment protocol to enable practical, high-survival waterless transport of M. rosenbergii.We designed a dual-output refrigeration prototype that simultaneously generates chilled (5 °C) and hot (43 °C) water via custom-designed heat exchangers, precisely controlled by a PLC to deliver a consistent chilling rate of 9.87 ± 0.63 °C/h (or lower, if required). This gradually reduced prawn temperature from ambient (25–27.5 °C) to 16.5 ± 0.2 °C over 60–75 min. The system was paired with a five-stage commercial protocol: acclimatization, thermal anesthetization, moisture-preserving live packing, temperature-stable transport (16–18 °C), and revitalization.Performance was validated through simulated (8–14 h) and real 10-h road transport trials. The approach achieved exceptional survival rates (91.3–98.65 % in simulation; 95.63 % in field trials), demonstrating that accurately controlled thermal anesthetization and an appropriate live transport protocol can safely replace immersion transport. This work presents the first fully engineered, field-validated system for waterless live shipment of M. rosenbergii—scalable, energy-efficient (COP = 3.16), and directly applicable to tropical aquaculture supply chains.