July 17, 2007

India to introduce pathogen-free shrimp

After 5 years of selective breeding and testing, India is finally ready to introduce its pathogen-free shrimp.

The growing need to meet shrimp broodstock for aquaculture prompted India's Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) to develop pathogen-free shrimp at Port Blair in Andamans, five years ago.

The project was then the first of its kind in India.

Three-quarters of the 137,000 tonnes of shrimps exported during the last fiscal came from aquaculture farms, which were vulnerable to shrimp diseases.

India's shrimp industry struggled with white spot virus in the 1990s, which wiped out nearly half the country's shrimp crop.

The disease prompted authorities to start a 5-year project to explore pathogen-free broodstock.

The samples collected were tested for various diseases and 11 of 16 pairs of shrimps were found healthy.

The shrimps were reared in conditions where temperature and light was modified to suit sea conditions. Through selective breeding, the project has reached maturation of the second generation families of shrimp reared in captivity.