June 23, 2008
P. Vannamei can push global competitiveness for Philippine shrimp industry
The adoption of penaeus vannamei (white shrimp) production by the Philippines can make the country a viable player in the global shrimp industry.
The country may not yet be in the league of biggest shrimp producing countries like Thailand, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Ecuador and Brazil but it expects substantial growth in shrimp output as it follows the patterns of major shrimp producing countries owing to the white shrimp.
The South East Asian Fisheries Development Council Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC-AQD) said the introduction of white shrimp to Asia from Ecuador eight years ago has hiked production to 1,000 percent to nearly 1.6 million tonnes in 2005.
In contrast, tiger shrimp only increased 15 percent in the same period. Shrimp production is now dominated by white shrimp 78 percent and most 74 percent are produced in Asia, said SEAFDEC.
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provision of settling and treatment ponds, filtration system, and reservoirs in shrimp farms
- the use of probiotics (several products are commercially available),
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installation of biosecurity measures, including tire bath at farm entrance, footbath and hand disinfection at the pond entrance, nets and high-density polyethylene liners as crab fence, bird scaring devices, individual paraphernalia for each pond, and hygiene facilities for farm personnel,
- continuous monitoring of shrimp stock for disease symptoms. BFAR and other institutions like Seafdec-AQD have disease diagnostic laboratories where shrimp farmers can send shrimp samples
- use of specificpathogen free (SPF) or specific-pathogen resistant (SPR) broodstock and "high-health" fry. Broodstock should only be from government-approved sources (10 US facilities certified by the Oceanic Institute or the United States Marine Shrimp Farming Program Consortium.
- Hatcheries producing "high-health" fry from these broodstock have to be Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-accredited. Accreditation is contingent upon water treatment (incoming and effluent water), physical isolation, aeration, and sanitation & disinfection facilities and practices.
- marketing of the right size of shrimp demanded by consumers and in compliance with the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) food safety regulations.
