October 16, 2007

Shrimp farms in India's Gujarat state report white spot disease outbreak

Shrimp farms in the western Indian state of Gujarat have reported an outbreak of the white spot syndrome.

Some 40 percent of the farms in the coastal belt of Olpaad in the state have been hit by the highly lethal and contagious disease, according to The Economic Times, an Indian publication. Losses have been estimated at Rs 30 crore (US$7.63 million)

The disease could have spread to all the farms in the entire area, the paper reported. The Olpaad region exports 2,000 tonnes of tiger prawns yearly, according to the paper. Destinations include Europe, the US, Japan, South Africa and Gulf countries.

Farmers now fear that the outbreak may wipe out all the shrimp farms in Olpaad, causing losses of Rs 70-80 crore. (US$17.8 million to US$20.3 million), the paper reported.

Although the cause of the outbreak is still under investigation, farmers told the paper that the cause could have come from low quality shrimp seeds some farmers had bought from suppliers in Mumbai.

Although the White Spot Syndrome is present in wild stocks, especially in the coastal waters near shrimp farms, mass die-offs of wild shrimps has not happened, indicating that the virus source came from the shrimp farms themselves.

Similar outbreaks in India in 1994-96 left the shrimp industry shattered.

Shrimp farmers in Olpaad are reportedly using disinfectants prodigiously to prevent the outbreak from spreading.