The Hindu Business Line : Scarcity of healthy seed stock worries shrimp industry

GETTING healthy seed stock is the single largest concern for the shrimp industry as shrimp farms consistently note a drop in quality of shrimp seeds from hatcheries. Reliable diagnostic techniques are key to sustaining output from shrimp farms, say industry experts.

According to Dr Y.S. Yadava, Member Secretary, Aquaculture Authority, the industry is still dependent on catches from the sea for brood stock, the mother shrimps, for seeds. This means that there are factors beyond the industry's control on sourcing healthy stock to obtain shrimp seeds. Over 60-70 per cent of the wild stock is found infected. Without a healthy brood stock shrimp farmers cannot hope to get quality seed stock.

He was addressing an international workshop on application of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for improved shrimp health management in the Asian region organised here today at the Central Institute of Brackish water Aquaculture (CIBA).

PCR is a sensitive diagnostic tool for detecting viral infection but due to various gaps in training this tool has not been used with consistent results.

Dr Yadava said domestication of brood stock of black tiger, the shrimp cultured by the aquaculture industry, was a "distant reality". Little had been done by various agencies in this direction. Therefore, the industry had to depend on catches from the sea for their raw material. PCR offers a practical route to managing disease in shrimps.

Dr C.V. Mohan of the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA) said markets were looking for safe, certifiable and traceable shrimps. Disease management was the key and PCR testing of brood stock and shrimp seeds would help farmers make an informed decision.

Dr J. Bhojan, Director, Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), said there were over 87 PCR laboratories but the results were often inconsistent. Over 350 hatcheries have been set up and these are dependent on PCR labs for identifying healthy seeds. Shrimps account for over 60 per cent of the Rs 4,200-crore seafood exports from the country. Of this, over 88 per cent is from shrimp cultivated in farms.

Dr Peter Walker from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) said PCR could effectively stop the spread of disease. But that is not happening. There is a need to train PCR technicians, he said.

The workshop is part of a regional project on shrimp health being implemented by NACA, MPEDA, ACIAR, and CIBA.

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