The Hindu Business Line : ‘Andamans, a biosecure zone for disease-free shrimps’

Recently in Port Blair The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has launched a project to culture disease-free mother shrimps in the Andaman and Nicobar islands to supply them to hatcheries to produce quality shrimp seeds for the aquaculture industry.

Disease outbreaks in the shrimp farms are among the primary reasons for the shrimp output in India stagnating at about one lakh tonnes a year over the past several years.

The reason: Hatcheries depend on brood stock caught in the sea to raise shrimp seeds to sell to the farms. But seeds raised from such shrimps are susceptible to infection in the hatchery and farms. Scientists say a healthy disease-free mother would give rise to healthy young that stand a better chance of survival in the farms and yielding better returns for the shrimp farmers.

Increasing the output from shrimp farms holds the key to growing country’s marine exports. More than 50 per cent of the $1.4 billion earned from marine products exports is from shrimps cultured in farms.

Disease-free stock

MPEDA, under the Commerce Ministry, has initiated a Rs 20-crore project to produce disease-free mother shrimps, what scientists call, specific pathogen free brood stock, essential for raising healthy young shrimps – shrimp seeds – in the farms.

The Minister said that the Andaman island area has been identified as the only ‘biosecure’ zone – clean, disease free environment – in India for the project to raise disease-free brood stock. The MPEDA project is in collaboration with the Hawaii-based Aquatic Farm Ltd, and Shrimp Biotech Business Unit, Bangkok.

Mr G. Mohan Kumar, Chairman, MPEDA, told journalists on a tour organised by the MPEDA to the project site, that if the work progresses according to schedule, the aquaculture industry would see the benefit of healthy brood stock from 2009-2010.

Potential

Cage culture of commercially important species of sea fish would also be encouraged. Such culture methods are important to promote the conservation of the marine resources. MPEDA is in the process of demonstrating cage culture of sea bass, Mr Ramesh said.