June 2, 2009

Government-funded scientists in Indonesia have genetically developed a stronger farmed shrimp by crossbreeding Indonesian shrimp with US broodstock.

The new disease-resistant shrimp, IVN-1, grows faster and is better adjusted to the local climate which makes cultivation cheaper.

IVN-1 is highly resistant to shrimp diseases and can be harvested faster for a more affordable price, said Made L. Nurdjana, Director General for Aquaculture of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries.

Last week, two facilities in Situbondo and Karangasem in Bali were already producing IVN-1 shrimp for distribution to farmers nationwide. Shrimp farmers will be able to purchase the product at a lowest price of IDR50,000-IDR75,000 (US$4.90-US$7.34), just 16-18 percent of the US broodstock cost, Nurdjana said.

Indonesian shrimp farms need a vannamei broodstock of 900,000 to 965,000 per year but the country was unable to meet that demand. It resulted in expensive US imports that costs IDR300,000-IDR400,000 (US$29.37-US$39.16) per pair, equivalent to IDR35 (US$0.0034) per fry.

IVN-1 takes three and a half months to grow to harvest size as opposed to Florida shrimp’s four-month period, which will reduce production costs.