November 4, 2003

Malaysia Issues Warning to Stop Virus-Prone Prawn Imports

Prawn breeders in Malaysia have been given until the end of the year to stop importing exotic prawns which carry viral diseases, possibly wiping out the RM763 million Malaysia earns annually from the prawn farming industry.

Malaysian Fisheries director-general Junaidi Che Ayub threatened "drastic action" unless prawn breeders in the country stop illegally importing the virus-prone Litopenaeus vannamei.

This includes working in tandem with agencies such as the Land Office, Tenaga Nasional and water management companies to shut down the operations of farms that are guilty of breeding the prohibited prawn species.

He said this was necessary as the white prawn, or L. vannamei, from South America carried the highly contagious Taura Syndrome Virus (TSV), and local prawns that were not resistant to this disease could be killed off.

It is learnt that the Fisheries Department is also investigating claims that TSV has already hit prawn farms in Sitiawan, Perak, where L. vannamei has been illegally farmed for the past four months.

It is feared that the prawn farming industry in Malaysia will be seriously damaged if TSV spreads to other species such as tiger prawns or Penaeus monodon, which raked in RM744 million in 2001 alone.

Junaidi said apart from prohibiting the farming of exotic prawns, the department had also come up with an alternative to the South American white prawn which was cheaper to breed and matured faster.

Fenneropenaeus indicus, the local white prawn species, is marketed at the same price as the South American species.

However, it is cheaper and easier to obtain and can be harvested after only 90 days.

"We have embarked on roadshows since May to educate prawn breeders nationwide of the dangers of illegally importing exotic prawns.

"We have also provided them with a viable option to the L. vannamei.

"We will begin auditing prawn farms after the grace period ends and breeders caught still farming the exotic prawns will be dealt with accordingly," he said.

Junaidi said this after a working visit to the department's Brackish Water Aquaculture Research Centre, here, to witness the harvesting of the F. indicus species.

He added that prawn breeders should have learnt a harsh lesson from the devastating effects of White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) which caused losses amounting to more than US$500 million (RM1.9 billion) across Asia in 1996.

"At least we now have control measures to put in place in case of another WSSV outbreak.

"But we could suffer heavy losses should a prawn virus not endemic to Malaysia strike our prawn farming industry," he said.