Of shrimp production Technologies shaping the future

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Of shrimp production Technologies shaping the future
Benchmark
 Insights
 SHRIMP 2019   ISSUE 1

  Technologies
shaping the future
		of shrimp
        production
Of shrimp production Technologies shaping the future
Foreword

Shrimp production is one of the fastest
growing protein sources, worth around
US$ 39 billion worldwide in 20171.
Growth, however, is impacted by disease
outbreaks which have been reported to
result in losses of up to 40%, amounting
to billions of dollars annually.
We are seeing increasing awareness
amongst all stakeholders around the
environmental, ethical and economic
impacts of aquaculture. A recent report
published by FAIRR2 highlighted 10 key
risk factors in aquaculture including
animal welfare, disease, effluents, habitat
destruction, antibiotic use, and fish feed
supply (see below).

                     Key risk factors in aquaculture2

                                                                         Transparency
                                    Antibiotic use
                                                                         and food fraud

                                                                         Habitat destruction
                                    Disease
                                                                         and biodiversity loss

                                    Greenhouse gas
                                                                         Effluents
                                    emissions

                                    Animal welfare                       Working conditions

                                    Feed supply                          Community resistance

                     1
                          uture Market Insights (2017) Shrimp Market.
                         F
                     2
                         FAIRR Report (2019).
Of shrimp production Technologies shaping the future
In a recent participatory poll
                                                                                                    Now is the time to bring
                                  Demonstrating social responsibility
                                  is now an essential part of proactive
 conducted by Benchmark,          reputation management, as well as

‘citizens’ came out on top        affecting a company’s ability to attract
                                  top talent, community partners and                                all of our considerable
 as the stakeholder group
 which will be the biggest
                                  consumers. Research published by the
                                  London Business School found that                                 expertise to the table for
 force for positive change in
                                  companies that genuinely adopted ESG
                                  (Environmental, Social, Governance)
                                  policies beat their peers who did not
                                                                                                    the benefit of all
 the next five years. Public      by 4.8 per cent a year over 18 years1.
 awareness around how our         Brands that establish a reputation for
                                  environmental stewardship among
 food is produced is no new       today’s youngest consumers have an
 thing – farmers, producers,      opportunity to not only grow market
                                  share but build loyalty among the power
 retailers and consumers are      spending generations of tomorrow2.

 all citizens and we can and      We know that none of us
 need to drive change.            are as good as all of us
                                  Through this report we would like to
                                  create insight into the key challenges
                                  in the shrimp industry, highlight experts’
                                  perspectives from multiple disciplines
                                  and showcase the opportunity for this
                                  healthy and nutritious protein source.
                                  There is huge potential in co-ordinating
                                  the biological drivers behind the
                                  efficiency of production. Sustainability
                                  cannot be owned by one company alone.
                                  Collaboration is key in order to share
                                  expertise and develop effective solutions
                                  to positively impact people, animals and
                                  the environment.

                                  1
                                       dmans, A. (2012) The Link Between Job Satisfaction and
                                      E
                                      Firm Value, With Implications for Corporate Responsibility.
                                  2
                                      Nielsen (2015) The Sustainability Imperative.
Of shrimp production Technologies shaping the future
Putting the right tools in the   08    Introduction
farmers hands will give them     08    History of shrimp farming
the greatest control they have   10    Production overview
ever had over their stocks.
                                 16   	Sustainability

                                 16    Sustainability challenges
                                 20 	Disease is one of the industry’s
                                      most limiting factors
                                 24 	Setting a new benchmark
                                      for fish welfare

                                 30    Expert insights

                                 32 	A sea of opportunity
                                      — Philippe Léger, Benchmark
                                 36 	Pioneering genetics
                                      — Marcela Salazar, Benchmark
                                 42 	Adopting new technologies
                                      — Nonglak ‘Anne’ Thaisin,
                                      Quality Farms
                                 50 	Insight into disease challenges
                                      — Andy Shinn, Fish Vet Group
                                 60 	Better data management
                                      — Ralf Onken, Benchmark
                                 66 	Data-driven decisions
                                      — Liris Madungtyas, Jala Tech
                                 72 	Raising the bar in
                                      sustainable aquaculture
                                      — Christoph Mathiesen,
                                      former WWF
                                 76 	Antibiotic-free shrimp production
                                      — Loc Tran, ShrimpVet
                                 80 	Aquaculture advocate
                                      — George Chamberlain,
                                      Global Aquaculture Alliance

                                 84   	Benchmark at a glance

                                 86 	Benchmark’s offering
Of shrimp production Technologies shaping the future
History     Dedicated shrimp farming began            Major milestones
            on a global scale in the 1970’s with      Shrimp farming in its earliest

            production of 9,022 tonnes1, escalating   form began centuries ago in Asia

of shrimp
                                                      where wild shrimp juveniles
            to over 1 million tonnes in 2000 to       migrated into tidal impoundments
                                                      intended primarily for milk fish,
            over 4 million tonnes in 2017, making     mullet and other coastal finfish.
            it one of the fastest growing food        This resulted in incidental crops

farming
                                                      of 100-200kg/ha/year of shrimp
            commodities in the world2.                with no additional input aside
                                                      from trapping/harvesting.
            The history of shrimp farming             On the West coast of India,
            is comparable to that of terrestrial      Bangladesh, and the Mekong
                                                      Delta of Vietnam, extensive
            animal husbandry where traditional        production techniques performed

            culture of wild animals at low density    well due to abundance of wild
                                                      juveniles and tidal ranges
            in a natural setting progressed to        of up to 7m. Farmers would
                                                      harvest by trapping shrimp as
            intensive culture of domesticated         they migrated out with the tide.
            animals in a controlled setting. The      These systems would produce
                                                      as much as 400kg/ha/year
            difference is that domestication of       with selective harvesting, water
            terrestrial animals began thousands       management, and fertilisation,
                                                      but harvests of 200kg/a/year
            of years ago, but that of penaeid         were more common.

            shrimp began in the last few decades.     Little advancement in technology
                                                      occurred until the twentieth
                                                      century. The primary obstacle
                                                      to development was the poorly
                                                      understood life cycle of penaeid
                                                      shrimp, which involves an oceanic
                                                      reproductive phase, a complex
                                                      series of larval stages, and an
                                                      estuarine juvenile phase.

                                                      Reproduced by kind permission of
                                                      5m Publishing from the Shrimp Book.

                                                      1
                                                           shton, E. (2010) The impact of shrimp
                                                          A
                                                          farming on mangrove ecosystems.
                                                      2
                                                           lobal Aquaculture Alliance (GOAL)
                                                          G
                                                          (2018) Global shrimp production review
                                                          and forecast.

08                                                                                                  09
Of shrimp production Technologies shaping the future
Production
     overview

           Despite making up 6 per cent
           of global production, shrimp is
           responsible for 16 per cent of
           the production value of traded
           seafood1. The shrimp market is
           expected to grow at a compound
           annual growth rate of 5.7 per
           cent between 2017 and 20202.

           1
               SOFIA (2018).
           2
                alifornia Environmental Associates (CEA) (2018) Shrimp
               C
               Aquaculture Landscape report prepared for Gordon and Betty Moore
               Foundation’s (Moore) Ocean and Seafood Markets Initiative (OSMI).

10                                                                                 11
Of shrimp production Technologies shaping the future
Shrimp aquaculture production
by world region: 2010-2020
                                                                                            Producers and exporters                                                 The market is segmented into
                                                                          2017–2020
                                                                     Projected CAGR: 5.7%
                                                                                            The majority of shrimp production                                       three species. The two main farmed
                   5.5

                   5.0
                                                                                            originates in Southeast Asia with
                                                                                            the three largest exporters being   Penaeus vannamei                    species are Penaeus vannamei
                   4.5                                             5.6%
                                                                                            India, Ecuador and Vietnam.         (or whiteleg shrimp)
                                                                                                                                                                    (~80% in 2018), the Pacific white
                                                                                            China is the leading producer,
                   4.0
                                                     -5.9% -0.8%
                                                                                            contributing ~60% of farmed                                             shrimp (or whiteleg) native from the
                   3.5                                                                      shrimp to world production. The                                         west coast of South America and
Production (MMT)

                                                                                            highest demand for shrimp comes
                   3.0

                   2.5
                                                                                            from Europe, the United States
                                                                                                                                Penaeus monodon
                                                                                                                                                                    P. monodon (~15% in 2018), the giant
                   2.0
                                                                                            and Japan.
                                                                                                                                (or black tiger shrimp)             or black tiger shrimp native from Asia.
                   1.5                                                                                                                                              Intensification of whiteleg shrimp
                   1.0
                                                                                                                                                                    is responsible for most of the growth
                   0.5

                   0.0
                                                                                                                                                                    of shrimp production, while tiger
                         2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
                                                                                                                                Macrobrachium
                                                                                                                                rosenbergii (or giant
                                                                                                                                                                    shrimp production remains stable1.
                         Southeast Asia   Americas     Middle East/N Africa
                         China            India        Other
                                                                                                                                freshwater river prawn)

Sources: FAO (2018) and GOAL surveys (2011-2017) for 2010-2016; GOAL survey
(2018) for 2017-2020. Southeast Asia includes Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh,
Malaysia, Philippines, Myanmar and Taiwan. Macrobrachium rosenbergii is not included.

                                                                                                                                Systems                             Table 1: Characteristics of shrimp farming systems2

                                                                                                                                Shrimp farming systems are very     Parameter             Traditional    Extensive       Semi-           Intensive       Super-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         intensive                       intensive
                                                                                                                                diverse in their management, size
                                                                                                                                and the people involved. Shrimp         Stocking
Of shrimp production Technologies shaping the future
Supply chains
The export-oriented farmed shrimp
supply chain always consists of four major
segments: inputs (feed and PLs), farm,
processor, and importer. The consolidation,
vertical integration, and inter-segment
interactions differ considerably across
regions, but can be broadly grouped by
geography into Latin America and Asia.
Latin American farms tend towards
vertical integration model.
Most farms in Southeast Asia, India
and China are highly disaggregated,
family-operated production units that feed
into a large, opportunistic, and informal
network of traders and brokers who in
turn supply hundreds of processors1.

Certification
Certifications and rating agencies include
Best Practices in Aquaculture (BAP), Global
G.A.P., Aquaculture Stewardship Council
(ASC), Naturland, and Seafood Watch. To
date, certifications only cover a small
fraction of production in each of the top
producing countries2.

1
    California Environmental Associates (CEA) (2018)
    Shrimp Aquaculture Landscape report prepared
    for Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s (Moore)
    Ocean and Seafood Markets Initiative (OSMI).
2
    Global Aquaculture Alliance (GOAL) (2018)
    Global shrimp production review and forecast.

14                                                      15
Of shrimp production Technologies shaping the future
Sustainability
                                                  Top business critical risks in shrimp
                                                  production — key environmental, economic
                                                  and ethical concerns and challenges

challenges                                        Disease                                       Biodiversity loss
                                                  There are significant mortalities resulting   There has been extensive mangrove
                                                  from episodes of current and emerging         deforestation in the past for growing
                                                  disease challenges. On average 40%            shrimp. In some countries mangrove
                                                  of shrimp production is lost to disease.      clearances are now banned.

                                                  Genetics                                      Employment opportunities
                                                  There is a need for quality seedstock         and livelihoods
                                                  and access to disease free broodstock.        Local poor communities sometimes
      Faced with a growing global population                                                    may not benefit from the profits of shrimp
      but finite natural resources to call upon   Food safety/antibiotic use                    farming bringing social imbalance.

      there is an urgent need to increase         There is a need to ensure that products
                                                  are antibiotic free. Hotspots of antibiotic
                                                                                                There are a number of groups promoting
                                                                                                socially-responsible farming.
      the productivity and efficiency of          use in shrimp production can accelerate
      aquaculture, creating a healthy and         development of antimicrobial resistance
                                                  (AMR) and increase export risks.
                                                                                                Welfare
      sustainable source of protein.                                                            Eyestalk ablation remains the major
                                                                                                welfare concern. Ablation in shrimp
                                                  Pollution                                     production is the removal of one (unilateral)
                                                  Major environmental issues include            of a broodstock females eyestalks.
                                                  the pollution of waterways with pond
                                                                                                Stocking density in intensive production
                                                  effluents, chemicals and medicines,
                                                                                                is often overly high. High stocking densities
                                                  soil and groundwater salinization.
                                                                                                contribute to disease problems.

                                                  Shrimp feed                                   Education
                                                  Wild fish is often processed into
                                                                                                There is a need for technological
                                                  fishmeal and incorporated into shrimp
                                                                                                improvement of farming methods which
                                                  feed. There is a requirement to replace
                                                                                                requires considerable efforts in education
                                                  the high volume of fish meal needed in
                                                                                                and technology transfer to farmers.
                                                  diets in a cost effective way.
                                                  There are also issues related with
                                                  feed quality. The long-term expansion
                                                  of aquaculture requires sustainable
                                                   and scalable supplies of alternative
                                                  feed ingredients.

16                                                                                                                                        17
Of shrimp production Technologies shaping the future
Sustainable food    Aquaculture plays a big and increasing
                    role in meeting the global protein demand.
production is one
of the biggest      World production of shrimp:                            A good FCR

challenges today
                    capture fisheries & aquaculture                        Aquaculture has a lower feed conversion rate
                    Aquaculture accounted for 54% of world                 (FCR) than that of terrestrial animals.
                    shrimp supplies in 2016.

                    1990       26%
                    2016       54%                                         1kg Beef                         1kg Salmon

                                 Aquaculture      Capture Fisheries        3.5–9.0kg                        1.1–1.3kg

                    Sources: FA O(2018) and GOAL (2011-2018).
                    China includes freshwater production of P. vannamei.

                                                                           1kg Sheep                        1kg Shrimp

                                                                           4.0–6.0kg                        1.1–1.9kg

                                                                           1kg Pork                         1kg Bass

                                                                           2.6–4.4kg                        1.3–1.6kg

                                                                           1kg Poultry                      1kg Tilapia

                                                                           1.4–1.8kg                        1.2–1.6kg

                                                                           Source: Rabobank 2018.

18                                                                                                                        19
Disease is one of                                                                                                                  Top three disease
                                                                                                                                   challenges in shrimp
                                                                                                                                                                                 WSSV*
                                                                                                                                                                                 White spot syndrome virus (WSSV)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         AHPND†
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         A pathogenic isolate of Vibrio

the industry’s most
                                                                                                                                                                                 is a large DNA virus that only          parahaemolyticus, a rod-shaped
                                                                                                                                                                                 infects crustaceans; it is an OIE       bacterium, that carries a plasmid
                                                                                                                                                                                 (the World Organisation for Animal      encoding two toxins that results

limiting factors
                                                                                                                                                                                 Health) listed notifiable disease.      in AHPND. This disease is
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         commonly called ‘early mortality
                                                                                                                                                                                 Signs/symptoms: In culture
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         syndrome’ or ‘EMS’ by farmers.
                                                                                                                                                                                 systems, the shrimp may not
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Infection resulting in AHPND is
                                                                                                                                                                                 show any distinctive signs but
                                                                                                                                   *
                                                                                                                                        hite spot syndrome virus —
                                                                                                                                       W                                                                                 also an OIE listed disease.
                                                                                                                                       the top viral agent.                      may be lethargic, stop feeding
                                                                                                                                   †
                                                                                                                                        cute hepatopancreatic necrosis
                                                                                                                                       A                                          or begin aggregating at the            Signs/symptoms: Infection
                                                                                                                                       disease — caused by pathogenic isolates   edge of ponds. Clinical signs           results in significant shrinkage
                                                                                                                                       of Vibrio parahaemolyticus (and other
                                                                                                                                       species) bearing a Pir toxin releasing    can include the presence of             of the hepatopancreas and
                                                                                                                                       plasmid — the top bacterium.              white calcium deposits up               the shrimp frequently have
                                                                                                                                   ‡
                                                                                                                                       Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei               to 3 mm in diameters which             soft shells and guts with
                                                                                                                                        — a fungal microsporidian causing
                                                                                                                                        hepatopancreatic microsporidiosis        can link to form larger plates,         discontinuous contents or
                                            Disease constrains growth                                                                   — top parasite.                          shrimp can appear dark with             no content. Early signs of an
                                                                                                                                                                                 a red/pink colour to the body and       infection include slow growth, a
                                            The graph below shows the percentage year-on-year                                                                                    appendages, may have heavily            shrunken, pale hepatopancreas.
                                            change in the growth of Asian and global shrimp production.                                                                          fouled gills and external shell,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Losses: Infections can result
                                            Episodes of disease have been a key factor in shaping growth.                                                                        and, heavily infected shrimp may
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         in entire loss within 30 days.
                                                                                                                                                                                 have a white midgut.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Infection resulting in AHPND
                                                                                                                                                                                 Losses: Infections can result           is currently the number one
                                                   IHHNV              TSV, WSSV, YHV                            AHPND/EHP                                                        in a typical 40% loss of stock          bacterial pathogen problem
     60
                                                                                                                                                                                 over the first two years of infection   within the global shrimp industry.
                                                                                                                                                                                 on site; historically, this is the
     50                                                                                                                                                                          most significant pathogen               EHP‡
                                                                                                                                                                                 impacting on commercial
     40                                                                                                                                                                          crustacean production.                  EHP infects the hepatopancreas
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         of shrimp which can result in
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         severe growth retardation,
     30
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         morbidity and, in heavy chronic
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         infections, mortality.
     20
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Signs/symptoms: Although
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         shrimp continue to feed, there
     10
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         is arrested growth; a drop in food
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         conversion ratios (FCR) may
      0
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         provide the first indication of
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         a potential EHP infection.
     -10
            1970        1975        1980        1985        1990        1995      2000        2005       2005    2010   2015
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Losses: While mortality
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         rates may be low, the farmer’s
           IHHNV = Infectious Hypodermal            AHPND = Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease             World       Asia                                                                                         decision to prematurely
           and Haematopoietic Necrosis Virus        previously known as Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS)
                                                    EHP = Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         harvest may be based on
           TSV = Taura Syndrome Virus
           WSSV = White Spot Syndrome Virus         YHV = Yellow-head Virus                                                                                                                                              farm production economics.

           Source: Shinn et al. (2018) Asian Fisheries Science, S31, 210-255.
                                                                                                                                   Image: WSSV infection in shrimp carapace.

20                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        21
At least US$ 45 billion
                                                                  Scale of                              AHPND hit Asia hard in 2009,             The industry responded well
                                                                                                        firstly in China, then Thailand          and have done well to manage
                                                                  the problem
                                                                                                        and Vietnam. In Thailand as an           AHPND but outbreaks and losses

was lost to shrimp
                                                                                                        example, production of whiteleg          still occur. This bacterial disease
                                                                                                        shrimp in 2010 was close to              is now causing major problems
                                                                                                        600,000 tons which subsequently          elsewhere in Asia for example,
                                                                                                        crashed to 189,000 tons. Losses          in India.

diseases in whiteleg                                                                                    up to 2017 were in the region of
                                                                                                        US$ 7 billion but closer to US$
                                                                                                        11 billion if you take into account
                                                                                                                                                 In Thailand, the main concern
                                                                                                                                                 is now EHP — which causes
                                                                                                                                                 shrimp growth to arrest. Mortalities

shrimp (P. vannamei)
                                                                                                        for losses in feed sales and value
                                                                                                                                                 result from chronic infection;
                                                                                                        added product through export.
                                                                                                                                                 calculating precise losses is
                                                                                                        Across Asia the losses due to            difficult but for Thailand these

production alone over
                                                                                                        this one disease were approx.            are estimated to be in the order
                                                                                                        US$ 45 billion (assuming the             of US$ 180 million per annum.
                                                                                                        same levels of production could

the past decade and is
                                                                                                        have been sustained).

the biggest barrier to
sustainable production.1                                          Figure 1: Geographical distribution
                                                                  of (EMS/AHPND) in the world

                                                                                                                                                    2009

                                                                  2013                                                                                               2012
                                                                                                                                                                     2010
                                                                                                                                          2011

1
    Shinn et al. (2018) Asian Fisheries Science, S31, 210-255.

22                                                                                                                                                                               23
CASE STUDY
WELFARE
             Setting a new    Eyestalk ablation, or removal
                              of the eyestalk, to manipulate
                                                                                     Growing consumer demand
                                                                                     for higher welfare products

             benchmark for    hormone synthesis making egg
                              production more predictable and
                                                                                     The idea that the welfare of shrimp and
                                                                                     prawns would one day receive similar
                                                                                     recognition to other farmed species was

             shrimp welfare   efficient is common practice in
                              shrimp hatcheries worldwide.
                                                                                     once considered unlikely, but influential
                                                                                     organisations like the FAIRR Foundation
                                                                                     and the Business Benchmark for Farm
                                                                                     Animal Welfare (BBFAW) are leaving no

                              With global aquaculture                                stone unturned in the drive for greater
                                                                                     transparency and action on sustainability
                              under increasing pressure                              throughout the food chain — reviewing
                                                                                     and ranking FTSE companies right through
                              to improve animal welfare                              to upstream suppliers and producers.
                              standards. Sourcing commercial                         While the power-spending customers
                                                                                     of tomorrow (millennials and generation
                              strains of non-ablated shrimp                          X & Z) are seeking out products that
                              is high on the list of priorities                      give solid assurances across a range of
                                                                                     sustainability factors, including animal
                              for producers and retailers as                         welfare and are quick to reject brands that

                              consumer demand for higher                             fall short on their sustainability pledges.

                              welfare seafood grows.                                 Leading challenge
                                                                                     for EU retailers
                                                                                     Retailers are taking note and, when
                                                                                     it comes to shrimp and prawn products,
                                                                                     the quest for non-ablated shrimp is
                                                                                     a top priority.
                                                                                     The practice of eyestalk ablation has

                              79%
                                                                                     been used in global shrimp production
                                                                                     since the 1970s to offset the effects of
                                                                                     captive conditions which can prevent
                                                                                     females from developing mature ovaries,

                              of EU citizens want                                    and cause unpredictable egg production.
                                                                                     Removal, or the ablation of, one of a

                              higher fish welfare                                1   shrimps eyestalks reduces the levels of
                                                                                     a hormone that prevents reproduction,
                                                                                     ensuring shrimp mature on a regular basis,
                                                                                     making egg production more predictable
                                                                                     and efficient. It is now common practice
                                                                                     in shrimp hatcheries worldwide to ablate
                                                                                     one eyestalk (unilateral ablation) of the
                                                                                     female broodstock.

                              1
                                   omRes (2018) EU citizens and leading fish
                                  C
                                  stakeholders demand better welfare for fish.

24                                                                                                                            25
A welfare concern                              Public concern about the practice led
                                                    to the European Commission introducing
     A number of studies indicate it is highly      organic standards in 2009 that prohibit
     likely that ablation causes pain and stress.   ablation. Some food retailers have also
     Studies noted behaviours associated            started to report the percentage of their
     with pain such as flicking, non-sheltering,    shrimp supply coming from non-ablated
     recoil and disorientation1,2. Moreover,        broodstock in efforts to improve transparency.
     experiments using local anaesthetics prior
                                                    Someone with first-hand knowledge
     to the ablation process show an inhibition
                                                    of the demand for non-ablated shrimp is
     of various responses associated with the
                                                    Ruth Layton, co-founder of Benchmark,
     presence of noxious stimuli akin to those
                                                    who has been working with blue-chip
     observed in vertebrates, suggesting that
                                                    companies to drive improvements in the
     crustaceans can indeed experience pain
                                                    food chain for over three decades.
     during the ablation process1.

                                       Ablation in the shrimp industry has been
                                       on the agenda of retailers in the UK and
                                       Europe since the 90’s. It’s encouraging
                                       to see several high-profile retailers now
                                       include information about ablation in
                                       their public reporting and others looking
                                       to source non-ablated shrimp.
                                       RUTH LAYTON
                                       CO-FOUNDER OF BENCHMARK

     1
         Barr et al. (2008).
     2
         Diarte-Plata et al. (2012).

26                                                                                                   27
Meeting growing demand                          Oscar Hennig, Operations Director,
                                                                                                                                                               Benchmark Genetics, commented:
                                                                                                               Geneticists at Benchmark first started
                                                                                                                                                               “Our trials comparing ablated and non-
                                                                                                               trialing rearing non-ablated females in
                                                                                                                                                                ablated shrimp allowed us to quantify
                                                                                                               2008 and this is now standard practice
                                                                                                                                                                the production parameters, including
                                                                                                               across several of their sites. At Benchmark’s
                                                                                                                                                                understanding how much nauplii to
                                                                                                               multiplication site in Florida, the team
                                                                                                                                                                expect from a non-ablated female.
                                                                                                               receive the grandparent stock from the
                                                                                                               hatchery in Colombia and produce crosses        Whilst we have seen a consistent 30%
                                                                                                               which are then sent to Benchmark sites          reduction in nauplii production, this is
                                                                                                               overseas and direct to farmers.                 offset somewhat by a higher survival
                                                                                                                                                               during larval rearing in offspring of
                                                                                                              The team have conducted commercial-
                                                                                                                                                               non-ablated stock. We have found that
                                                                                                              scale trials assessing the production
                                                                                                                                                               non-ablated females tend to have a
                                                                                                              parameters of their non-ablated stock.
                                                                                                                                                               longer life reducing the total number
                                                                                                                                                               of breeders needed and require a lower
                                                                                                                                                               female-to-male ratio.”
                                                                                                                                                               Hennig explained there is no need to
                                                                                                                                                               change any protocol at the hatchery but
                                                                                                                                                               that additional training may be required
                                                                                                                                                               for technicians to navigate new husbandry
                                                                                                                                                               requirements. For example, non-ablated
                                                                                                                                                               females are quicker to respond which can
                                                                                                                                                               make them slightly harder to catch.
                                                                                                                                                               The Benchmark team are further
                                                                                                                                                               refining their non-ablated lines to
     Business case for an alternative                Spawning and hatching rate per
                                                     day were similar between non-ablated
                                                                                                   I saw the dedication of the team                            enhance productivity and improve
                                                                                                                                                               nauplii, while maintaining health and
     While ablation may raise ethical                and ablated females. Mating success,          and the care they have for the                              welfare. Feeding also has an impact.
                                                                                                                                                               High-quality supplementary moist feeds,
     concerns over crustacean welfare,
     there is also a strong economic argument
                                                     mortality of female and number of eggs
                                                     and nauplii per tank per day of non-ablated
                                                                                                   shrimp. Speaking to them and                                particularly in the pre-maturation stage,
     for commercial producers to look for            group were significantly lower than ablated   watching them work, it was                                  improves condition and performance and
                                                                                                                                                               is highly correlated with egg production.
     alternatives to a process that can increase     female. The number of eggs and nauplii
     energetic demands and result in a loss in       per female per day, however, was higher       clear they were relieved they                               Layton visited the facility in Colombia
     egg quality and larval mortality. Although
     eyestalk ablation is still the most effective
                                                     in non-ablated than ablated females.
                                                     In addition, the off-spring of non-ablated
                                                                                                   no longer had to carry out the                              to see the work first-hand.

     means of ensuring a steady supply of            females had significantly higher survival     ablation process.                                           “I saw the dedication of the team and the
     juvenile decapods for the crustacean            to salinity stress test than larvae from                                                                   care they have for the shrimp. Speaking
     aquaculture industry, it appears that           ablated females. Identical survival, final    RUTH LAYTON                                                  to them and watching them work, it was
     some species can be effectively produced        weight, weekly growth, feed conversion        CO-FOUNDER OF BENCHMARK                                      clear they were relieved they no longer
     in captivity without resorting to ablation.     rate and yield were observed in nursery                                                                    had to carry out the ablation process.”
                                                     and grow-out stages. Overall, the study                                                                   Layton concluded, “The next step for the
     A collaborative study between the
                                                     demonstrated that non-ablated females                                                                     team is to verify the quality parameters
     University of Stirling (UK), Lyons Seafoods
                                                     can have comparable level of productivity                                                                 such as egg lipid content, survivability etc.
     (UK) and Seajoy (Honduras)1 evaluated the
                                                     to ablated females in intensive commercial                                                                in order to help further strengthen the
     reproductive performance of non-ablated
                                                     hatchery conditions.                                                                                      case for non-ablation.”
     Paneus Vannamei and the quality of their
     offspring under commercial conditions.

28   1
         Zacarias et al. (2019).                                                                                                                                                                           29
Expert
      insights

      Hear from professionals
      working across the industry
      on how their work is
      driving sustainability in
      shrimp production.

30                                  31
Can you start by explaining
                                                                           your background, and how

A sea of
                                                                           you started working in the
                                                                           aquaculture industry?
                                                                           I graduated in 1978 with an MD in

opportunity
                                                                           Pharmaceutical Sciences and was invited
                                                                           to study further for a PhD in virology,
                                                                           toxicology and organic pharmaceutic
                                                                           synthesis. I did, however, choose to
                                                                           do something ‘different’. I enrolled for
                                                                           an MD in Environmental Science and
                                                                           Management. In classes on mariculture
                                                                           — where I first learned about aquaculture
                                                                           — I met Patrick Sorgeloos as a captivating
                                                                           teacher who is now referred to as the
                                                                           ‘father of Artemia’. He invited me to
                                                                           undertake a PhD on the application of
                                                                           Artemia as a food source in aquaculture.
                                                                           Aquaculture at that time was a very
                                                                           small and emerging industry that really
                 Philippe Léger, former CEO                                fascinated me for its potential of radically
                                                                           changing the way seafood could be
                 of INVE Aquaculture (INVE)*,                              produced in a sustainable way. Already

                 the pioneer of advanced nutrition                         at that time overfishing and pollution of
                                                                           oceans was in the news.
                 products, explains how he entered                         During my PhD there were a number of
                 the aquaculture industry in the                           interesting things we discovered as a team
                                                                           of young bioengineers and biologists. Our
                 80’s. The mission to produce                              findings motivated us to set up a spin off
                 protein that will support a growing                       from the University of Ghent and in 1983
                                                                           the company was incorporated as Artemia
INTERVIEW WITH
PHILIPPE LÉGER
                 population is what inspired                               Systems (now INVE).

                 Philippe at the outset, and still                         Our pioneering work stemmed from our

                 does today.                                               scientific findings and ideas. Translating
                                                                           them into technical products that were of
                                                                           interest to solving some biological hurdles
                                                                           faced by the aquaculture industry under
                                                                           development. At that time hatchery
                                                                           production of shrimp and fish fry was the
                                                                           bottleneck for the growth of the industry.
                                                                           Alongside this we worked to specify
                                                                           and improve the quality parameters of
                                                                           artemia as a hatchery feed and developed
                                                                           a number of products that we still sell today
                                                                           as artemia and live food enrichment diets.

32               *
                     INVE Aquaculture is part of Benchmark Holdings plc.                                              33
What drives you                                What are the challenges
on a daily basis?                              you see for the industry in
What drives me today is the same as
                                               the next few years?
what drove me at the outset. I was thrilled    The aquaculture industry is still very young
that there was a new industry emerging         and faces multiple challenges. One of the
and one that was holding a big promise         biggest I would say is the consistency
in feeding the world with healthy seafood.     and predictability of outputs and volatility
I believed that I could make a bigger          in the industry due to disease, along with
impact in aquaculture rather than in the       antibiotic use, use of water resources,
crowded pharmaceutical business. Today         cost of raw materials, animal welfare and
the seafood challenge has not diminished       climate change.
with the population growing faster than
was predicted 40 years ago.                    Volatility in market prices is a big challenge
                                               we are facing today and the lack of
It was thrilling and truly inspiring to        equilibrium and distribution of profits in
work closely with the pioneers of shrimp       the value chain is an issue.
and marine fish aquaculture. We learnt
and understood the challenges they             I believe that all of these challenges can
were facing, and developed products            be addressed through research efforts like
and technologies that could help to            Benchmark is doing and other partners
solve them.                                    in the industry — working together is the
                                               answer to all of these.
The industry still faces many challenges
so the same aspect of working closely          Not being discouraged when ‘the going
together with customers, forging strong        gets tough’ …only then ‘the tough gets
partnerships and product development           going’! I’m a strong believer of this
is a stimulating driver for us. Contributing   attitude. Never give up.
to the success of this promising industry
has driven me for nearly 40 years now.

                             Not being discouraged when
                            ‘the going gets tough’ …only
                             then ‘the tough gets going’!
                             I’m a strong believer of this
                             attitude. Never give up.
                              PHILIPPE LÉGER

34                                                                                              35
INTERVIEW WITH                                            Can you tell us a little                What impact did                       experience in plant breeding,
MARCELA SALAZAR                                                                                                                         veterinary and human medicine,
                                                          bit about yourself and                  becoming part of
                                                                                                                                        biology and genetics, which is
                                                          what inspired you to                    Benchmark have on                     important when dealing with
                                                          become involved in                      your shrimp breeding

Pioneering
                                                                                                                                        shrimp — they always like to have
                                                          shrimp genetics?                        programmes?                           the last word and the last laugh.

                                                          I’m a medical doctor by training,       Becoming part of a big company
                                                                                                                                        What facilities do you
                                                          but I’ve always preferred research      that, from the beginning, believed

genetics
                                                          over clinical practice. I was trained   in the potential of our shrimp was    have at your disposal?
                                                          in immunogenetics in Boston,            exciting. As CENIACUA we were         Our main laboratory is
                                                          where I worked on projects that         mainly focused on achieving the       located on the Atlantic coast
                                                          included designing new methods          breeding goals but did not have       of Colombia, near Cartagena,
                                                          for histocompatibility testing in       the resources to commercialise        and is isolated from all other
                                                          bone marrow transplantation.            the product. As part of Benchmark     aquaculture facilities in Colombia.
                                                          When I got back to Colombia,            we are focused on producing           The climate is optimal for the
                                                          I joined CorpoGen, a biotechnology      the best animals for the market       growth of P. vannamei, and we
                                                          company that was pioneering             conditions, using state-of-the-art    have plenty of space to expand
                                                          molecular biology research              technology and facilities, and on     and produce the number of
                                                          in Colombia.                            selling them to our customers, all    broodstock required by the
                                                                                                  within the scope of sustainability.   market. We also have access
                                                          Getting into the world of shrimp
                                                          was an accident — inspired by           Being part of Benchmark               to a laboratory on the Pacific
                                                          the appearance of white spot            also means we can count on            coast of Colombia where we can
                                                          syndrome virus (WSSV) on the            the support and collaboration         work with a white spot resistant
                                                          Pacific coast of Colombia in            of other parts of the group,          strain without compromising
                                                          1999. At the time CENIACUA              such as Morten Rye and his            the biosecurity of the breeding
                                                          (The Center for Aquaculture             team at Benchmark Genetics;           nucleus. Meanwhile our challenge
                                                          Research in Colombia) asked             Oscar Hennig, Bruno Decock            test facilities are located in Bogotá,
                                                          Corpogen to implement the PCR           and the team in Asia, who             more than a 1000 km from the
                                                          diagnostic test for the pathogen        are doing an incredible job           breeding nucleus, allowing us to
                  Marcela Salazar, Benchmark’s shrimp     and to help in the prevention and       of showing the potential of           safely work with pathogens that
                  production manager and one of the       control of this virus.                  our animals under trials and
                                                                                                  commercial conditions; and
                                                                                                                                        are exotic to Colombia.

                  pioneers of shrimp genetics, explains   I was involved from the
                                                          beginning and found a new,
                                                                                                  working with INVE (Benchmark          What areas are you
                  how shrimp breeding programmes          exciting field with an excellent
                                                                                                  Advanced Nutrition) to create
                                                                                                  a synergy between genetics
                                                                                                                                        currently focusing your
                  have evolved and outlines future        team of young researchers.
                                                                                                  and nutrition that will help both
                                                                                                                                        research on?
                                                          I was hired as scientific director
                  opportunities with the introduction     of CENIACUA in 2000 and since
                                                                                                  companies. Learning from the
                                                                                                  experience of other breeding
                                                                                                                                        We are currently introducing
                                                                                                                                        genomic selection for
                  of new technology.                      then I have been researching
                                                          shrimp diseases and genetics.
                                                                                                  programmes has enriched ours          resistance to WSSV and acute
                                                                                                  enormously too.                       hepatopancreatic necrosis
                                                                                                  I’m also proud to be working          disease (AHPND) in our
                                                                                                  with one of the best teams you        populations. Our priority is to
                                                                                                  can find — we’ve been working         produce clean, safe, specific
                                                                                                  together for many years and           pathogen-free (SPF) animals
                                                                                                  have people with experience in        with high growth potential, but
                                                                                                  all fields of shrimp breeding. We     these must also be resistant
                                                                                                  are a multi-disciplinary team with    to pathogens and adapted to
                                                                                                                                        environmental conditions.

36                                                                                                                                                                        37
What achievements are                                  What are the key                      specific pathogens for at least      a misconception that resistance
                                                                                             24 months and must be raised         is a qualitative trait and animals
you most proud of in the                               traits sought by shrimp
                                                                                             in highly biosecure facilities,      are either resistant or susceptible,
shrimp field to date?                                  producers — both in                   following biosecure management       while tolerance is a quantitative
We’re very proud of having been
                                                       your region and globally?             measures, with a suitable            trait with different degrees of
able to keep the breeding programme                                                          surveillance programme in place      tolerance that can be affected
                                                       The main trait targeted by
going during very hard times. In terms                                                       that uses both molecular and         by the environment. In reality
                                                       shrimp producers in all regions
of academic achievements, we described                                                       histopathological tools. The key     both traits are qualitative, and
                                                       is growth — we all need an
the effect of hyperthermia in WSSV                                                           term here is ‘specific’ — SPF        both can be affected by the
                                                       animal that grows fast. In Latin
infection, we showed that apoptosis                                                          does not mean they are free from     environment. It is very difficult
                                                       America, the widespread use
is part of the antiviral shrimp response,                                                    all pathogens, so the relevant       therefore to say if a given line
                                                       of large earthen ponds means
we identified the negative correlation                                                       pathogens should always be           is resistant or tolerant and the
                                                       that robustness is also a priority.
between growth and WSSV resistance                                                           listed. On the other hand, APE       market is using the term SPR/
                                                       In recent years, after several
in P. vannamei and we have been able                                                         (all pathogens exposed) is a         SPT. As for SPFs, if a line is
                                                       outbreaks of disease, Asia has
to produce robust shrimp with high                                                           term used to describe animals        marketed as SPR or SPT it should
                                                       also been looking for animals
growth potential.                                                                            that have been raised in ponds       list the pathogen(s), they are
                                                       with high survival, making it a
                                                                                             or tanks where they have been        resistant or tolerant against.
                                                       very interesting market for our
                                                                                             exposed to one or more pathogens
Is the commercial shrimp                               SPF/SPR animals. The key lesson
                                                                                             — either via challenge tests or      What are the main
sector increasingly interested                         here is that one size does not fit
                                                                                             under culture conditions. The
                                                       all. We are developing different                                           challenges the shrimp
in the power of genetics?                                                                    term is misleading because the
                                                       lines — for example, early growth,
                                                                                             animals will never be exposed        sector needs to overcome
Yes, although selective shrimp breeding is             low salinity and WSSV-resistant                                            and which of these
                                                                                             to all pathogens, but is the term
relatively recent compared to other species            — that can be distributed to
                                                       different environments and
                                                                                             used at the moment. Those            would you most like to
such as salmon, the market for broodstock                                                    animals can be carriers of the
has been steadily growing. The most                    culture conditions.                                                        have a role in solving?
                                                                                             pathogens and are a risk for
reliable data on the export of genetically                                                   transboundary movements.             The main challenge for us
improved P. vannamei broodstock comes                  Can you explain the                                                        is to produce a fast-growing
from Hawaii, home to the some of the main                                                    The second group of terms,
                                                       difference between                    specific pathogen resistant
                                                                                                                                  shrimp that is not only resistant
breeding programmes in the US. It shows
                                                       SPR, SPF, SPT and                     (SPR) and specific pathogen
                                                                                                                                  to pathogens but is also resilient
that, from 2003 to 2015, the numbers of                                                                                           under commercial culture
broodstock increased from nearly 100,000               APE shrimp?                           tolerant (SPT), refer to way the
                                                                                                                                  conditions. Growth in shrimp
in 2003 to 800,000 in 2015. In 2017, the                                                     shrimp deals with the pathogens.
                                                       Let’s start by classifying the                                             has a very good heritability
export value was nearly US$ 30 million.                                                      Resistance is defined as the
                                                       four terms into two different                                              and is very easy to select for.
There are also several breeding programmes                                                   ability to limit parasite burden,
                                                       groups: a) SPF and APE and b)                                              However, the negative correlation
in Asia that are growing year by year.                                                       in other words to fight the enemy.
                                                       SPR and SPT. The first group is                                            of these traits with resistance
                                                                                             Tolerance, on the other hand,
                                                       based on the sanitary status                                               to some pathogens, such as
                                                                                             is the ability to limit the damage
                                                       of the breeders. Specific                                                  WSSV, and with environmental
                                                                                             caused by a given parasite
                                                       pathogen-free (SPF) animals                                                conditions, such as low oxygen
                                                                                             burden — in other words, to live
 i                                                     are those that have been tested                                            levels, makes our work more
        What is specific pathogen                      and determined to be free of
                                                                                             with the enemy. There are two
                                                                                             different types of defence against
                                                                                                                                  interesting and challenging. It’s
        resistant (SPR)?                               designated pathogens. Under           pathogens present in plants,
                                                                                                                                  a question of how to increase
                                                                                                                                  growth rates without increasing
                                                       the guidelines established by         invertebrates and vertebrates
                                                       USMFSP, SPF shrimp stocks                                                  mortality levels.
        SPR shrimp refers to genetic characteristics                                         and both mechanisms can
        that allow them to be resistant to infection   must come from a population           even be negatively correlated.
        from a particular pathogen or tolerant to      that has tested negative for          In shrimp literature there is
        the development of the disease caused by
        a particular pathogen.

38                                                                                                                                                                 39
The numbers of
broodstock increased
from nearly
 100,000

			  in 2003
 800,000
 to
				in 2015

40                     41
Adopting
new technologies

                 Nonglak ‘Anne’ Thaisin, founder       What inspired you to                         What have been your hardest
                                                       start producing shrimp?                      challenges to overcome so far?
                 and CEO of Quality Farm, has been
                 producing vannamei shrimp in          Before starting my own shrimp business,
                                                       I worked at the government’s revenue
                                                                                                    Shrimp farming is a never-ending learning
                                                                                                    path. Challenges such as disease and
                 Thailand for 27 years. Here she       department. One day, while on the bus        shrimp prices are a farmer’s daily concern
                 explains how adaptability and the     to work, I heard people talking about
                                                       how successful a shrimp farmer was in
                                                                                                    and evolve and change frequently. This
                                                                                                    makes us need to constantly monitor and
                 development of new production         Kanchanadit District. After a good harvest   analyse situations, think about solutions and

                 systems as well as new feeds and      this farmer had made 400,000 THB profit
                                                       per pond, which, at that time, was very
                                                                                                    quickly adapt to these evolving challenges.
                                                                                                    Compared to when I first started, shrimp
INTERVIEW WITH
NONGLAK ‘ANNE’
                 health products is essential to       impressive. This made me want to try
                                                       growing shrimp and I started by renting
                                                                                                    farming is getting more and more difficult,
THAISIN          maintaining sustainable production.   a small six pond farm with help of a bank
                                                                                                    due to the increased frequency of new
                                                                                                    diseases and combination of diseases,
                                                       loan. After a successful harvest I was
                                                                                                    such as, acute hepatopancreatic
                                                       able to use the profit to open a store
                                                                                                    necrosis disease (AHPND), enterocytozoon
                                                       distributing aquaculture-related products.
                                                                                                    hepatopenaei (EHP), white faeces syndrome
                                                       Three years later I resigned from my         (WFS) and shrimp hemocyte iridescent
                                                       government job in order to focus full time   virus (SHIV), as well as challenges related
                                                       on the shrimp industry as an aquaculture     to environmental pollution.
                                                       product distributor and shrimp farmer.
                                                       I’m now producing about 280-330 tonnes
                                                       of shrimp per year.

42                                                                                                                                            43
Which ones do                                   bacteria, viruses and microsporidia), conduct
                                                                                                                                                      intestinal checks and histopathology and
                                                                                                      you use and why?
                                                                                                                                                      check the water chemistry.
                                                                                                      In terms of feeds I use the Sano S-PAK          Once we have the analysis reports from both
                                                                                                      range as well as FRiPPAK Raceway, as            the lab and our on-site visual observations,
                                                                                                      I don’t have a nursery at my farm but stock     we will take actions accordingly and fine-
                                                                                                      the post-larvae directly from the hatchery      tune our production protocols if necessary.
                                                                                                      to the grow-out farm. This means the
                                                                                                      shrimp are small when first stocked into        For example, if we see a rise in vibriosis
                                                                                                      the grow-out ponds and would otherwise          count in the environment over time, we will
                                                                                                      struggle to find feed due the strength of       use INVE’s Sanocare PUR to disinfect the
                                                                                                      the currents from the paddle wheels as          water, in order to reduce the concentration
                                                                                                      well as the size of my ponds. The S-PAK         of vibriosis in the environment. Six hours
                                                                                                      range is therefore very important at the        later we will apply Sanolife PRO-W, INVE’s
                                                                                                      early stages, as its high quality protein       Bacillus-based probiotic, which is designed
                                                                                                      content makes it very enticing as well as       to improve rearing conditions in the pond
                                                                                                      giving it good water stability. This product    (degrade waste and control algal bloom).
                                                                                                      is very complete in terms of nutritional        As a consequence of improved rearing
                                                                                                      value but will also boost their health          conditions, the abundance of harmful
                                                                                                      since it contains immune-enhancer               bacteria is reduced.
                                                                                                      (not provided in regular starter diets).
                                                                                                      FRiPPAK Raceway has very suitable
                                                                                                                                                      How do you choose
                                                                                                      pellet sizes for the early stages of shrimp     which products to be used
                                                                                                      culture. It has the most complete nutritional   in each pond?
     What has been your                                Good feed also helps keep our workers          profile for good shrimp growth, particularly
                                                                                                                                                      There are countless health products in
                                                       motivated, as they recognise particular        at the early stages when the growth rate
     proudest moment as a                                                                                                                             the market, for a wide range of prices and
                                                       brands for quality that brings them success    is the highest.
     shrimp producer to date?                          in production. At the end of a production                                                      I choose them based on their value and
                                                                                                                                                      returns. Some might appear expensive
     My proudest moment was when I produced            cycle it is the workers who request to use     How do you help to ensure                       but are actually helping improve farm
                                                       a particular brand for the next crop.
     330 tonnes of premium quality shrimp in                                                          the health of your shrimp                       condition, performance and profitability.
     a single year. These shrimp were large,                                                          and maintain suitable water
     attractively coloured and met both GAP            Why did you decide to                                                                          Another important point is their ease
                                                                                                      quality in the pond?
     2011 and BAP 2019 production standards.           start using INVE’s advanced                                                                    of use. For instance, Sanolife PRO-W
     I’m proud that our shrimp are attracting                                                                                                         environmental probiotics are highly
                                                       nutrition products?                            Firstly analysis is done, based on
     buyers from the European market.                                                                 visual observation compared to optimum          concentrated (5x10e10 CFU/g) and do
                                                       First of all, INVE is a trustworthy company    health standards and experience in              not require fermentation. As the product
     How important are diets in                        and known to be reliable. Since starting to    shrimp production. This analysis is done        can be directly applied to the water there’s
                                                       work with them I’ve been producing shrimp                                                      no risk of cross-contamination, unlike
     ensuring the consistency and                                                                     on the feed tray, by observing shrimp
                                                                                                                                                      those that require fermentation. When
                                                       successfully, and their products have helped   behaviour, their colour, the content of
     quality of shrimp production?                     me to prevent and solve the main production                                                    applying it in the pond we are sure
                                                                                                      the gut, their shape, the faeces and the
                                                       challenges, such as white faeces syndrome      leftover feed in the tray.                      about what is going into the environment
     The quality of the feed is extremely
                                                       (WFS), early mortality syndrome (EMS),                                                         and get the results expected: control
     important and many factors affect the                                                            Additionally, we sample the water and the
                                                       environmental pollution and vibriosis. Being                                                   of harmful bacteria, a reduction of pH
     quality, such as the size of the feed                                                            shrimp once or twice a week and these
                                                       a distributor of aquaculture products,                                                         fluctuations and the creation of an
     particles, palatability and smell, stability                                                     samples are then analysed in a lab. These
                                                       I’ve wanted to share my experience and                                                         optimum environment for the shrimp
     in the water, the protein content and                                                            tests will help to check the water quality
                                                       recommend and encourage my customers                                                           throughout the culture period.
     nutritional profiles. If the feed is correct it                                                  as well as the shrimps’ biological condition
     helps us reduce the feed conversion rate          to use INVE products in order to be as
                                                       successful as me.                              and we screen for pathogens (such as
     (FCR) and thus maximise profitability and
     the consistency of a diet is vital too.

44                                                                                                                                                                                              45
How has optimising your                         How do you think INVE can
     feed and health strategies                      help you achieve your goals?
     affected the performance                        By continuing to supply top quality             Shrimp farming must constantly
     of your shrimp ponds?                           products following good standard
                                                     manufacturing processes. Continuous
                                                                                                     evolve and new farming and
     Optimising our feed management
     and health protocols have helped us
                                                     development of such products and                production methods should be
     achieve a consistent and sustainable
                                                     services to answer farmers’ needs in
                                                     a sustainable way will definitely help
                                                                                                     studied and evaluated to overcome
     level of production, which helps us
     manage our cash flow. It has also
                                                     our shrimp business too.                        future challenges.
     reduced the risks of challenges such
     as disease outbreaks and our shrimp             How do you see the shrimp
     now have a consistent growth rate.              sector as a whole developing
     In our farm area in Surat Thani, for            over the next decade?
     example, white spot syndrome virus
                                                     Shrimp farming will become more difficult
     (WSSV) outbreaks are very common,
                                                     every year. Problems and challenges such
     but our farm has managed to avoid
                                                     as diseases, shrimp prices and regulations
     infections from WSSV by using smart
                                                     will affect production. Added to that, global
     disinfectants and probiotics to increase
                                                     competition is getting tougher, which also
     biosecurity. Besides WSSV, WFS has been
                                                     has an impact on the business.
     adversely affecting the zoo-technical
     performance of the farms in the area            The environment is deteriorating and
     for about two years. We have also seen          water and soil are getting more and more
     this syndrome but only 10-15 per cent of        polluted. Shrimp farming must therefore
     our shrimp are affected and we can still        constantly evolve and new farming and
     control production until the shrimp reach       production methods (such as indoor
     our target harvest size, which tends to be      farms, nurseries and zero-water exchange
     between 15-25g, depending on market             systems) should be studied and evaluated
     demand. Other farms in the area have had        to overcome future challenges.
     to harvest prematurely when hit by WFS.
                                                     Another key factor for the successful
                                                     future of the shrimp industry is the ongoing
     How would you like to see                       genetics work: improvements in disease
     your own farm develop?                          resistance, growth rates and the adaptability
                                                     of shrimp to changing environmental
     Shrimp farming relies on the surrounding        parameters will be another factor needed
     environment. Using products that are not        for the sustainable development of
     environmentally friendly and safe can           our industry.
     reduce the sustainability of the whole
     shrimp industry. Our farm will therefore
     develop in an environmental friendly way
     to ensure the sustainability of the industry.
     Our farm only uses registered products
     that are safe for the environment and
     our production methods have to be
     sustainable — for example, minimising
     the release of waste water and treating
     it before release. Safety for the workers
     must also be considered.

46                                                                                                                                       47
Penaeus vannamei is
the leading farm-raised
species, representing
~80% of production   1

1
     alifornia Environmental Associates (CEA). (2018) Shrimp
    C
    Aquaculture Landscape report prepared for Gordon and Betty Moore
    Foundation’s (Moore) Ocean and Seafood Markets Initiative (OSMI).

48                                                                      49
Insight into
disease
challenges
                                                       Can you describe your career                  I also play a role in the development
                                                                                                     of cPCR diagnostic kits for shrimp, which
                                                       and experience to date?
                                                                                                     is a piece of technology that we have
                                                       I have 30 years’ experience of working        been using in the salmon industry for
                                                       with aquatic parasites and hold a PhD         some time to provide quick real-time
                                                       in Veterinary Aquaculture. Before joining     analysis of disease outbreaks. We are
                                                       Benchmark, I was the former head of           trialing these cPCR kits as part of a project
                                                                                                     aiming to improve health management in
                 Andy Shinn is Director of Fish Vet    Aquatic Parasitology and senior lecturer
                                                       at Stirling University.                       shrimp farms in Thailand in collaboration
                 Group Asia, and a world renowned      I joined Fish Vet Group (FVG) in Asia
                                                                                                     with IDH — the Sustainable Trade Initiative,
                                                                                                     the Walmart Foundation and the Sustainable
                 aquatic parasites expert. Here Andy   five years ago, where I set up a research
                                                       aquarium and challenge facility in Chonburi
                                                                                                     Fisheries Partnership (SFP).
                 explains why disease challenges       to conduct disease challenge work.            As well as testing new products and

                 in shrimp production is one of the    What activities are you
                                                                                                     identifying disease, another area of my
                                                                                                     work is to understand some of the factors
                 industry’s most limiting factors.     currently involved in, and how
                                                                                                     that contribute to episodes of disease.
                                                                                                     We have, for example, through a series
                                                       does your work contribute to                  of published trials looked at biofloc and
INTERVIEW WITH                                         the sustainability of the sector?             tilapia-conditioned greenwater on AHPND
ANDY SHINN                                                                                           related mortalities in whiteleg shrimp.
                                                       We now have three labs in Chonburi,
                                                       Thailand and I assume the management          Disease and chemical use is a huge
                                                       of these. Our core activities include         challenge not only for the shrimp industry
                                                       disease challenge work on whiteleg            but for global aquaculture and if we are
                                                       and tiger shrimp, Nile tilapia, Asian         able to develop preventative solutions to
                                                       sea bass and grouper where we create          mitigate disease and reduce chemical and
                                                       environments for different bacterial          antibiotic use this is a good step forward
                                                       and viral pathogens to trial our health       for the industry.
                                                       and nutrition products and vaccines.
50                                                                                                                                             51
Can you describe the                        In a cultural context, this can be
                                                                                                              complicated and while it perhaps
                                                                  current major disease
                                                                                                              unfair to overgeneralise, the following
     We stand on the edge of a great                              challenges in production?                   factors may contribute to increased
     sea of possibilities, with the right                         The top three disease challenges            rates of certain diseases:

     tools we can glide across it or                              in shrimp are white spot syndrome
                                                                                                              Farm management
                                                                  virus (WSSV), acute hepatopancreatic
     without them remain on the shore                             necrosis disease (AHPND) and                The vast majority (ca. 80%) of Asian
     wondering what opportunities                                 Enterocytozoon Hepatopenaei (EHP).          shrimp farms are of a small size which
     may have been missed.                                        The main threat of disease challenge        means that farm budgets are limited.
                                                                  is man — the Asian shrimp industry has      In many states there is no mandatory
     ANDY SHINN                                                   a mindset that must change. This includes   disease testing of shrimp leaving
                                                                  taking responsibility for the health and    hatcheries or being added to ponds.
                                                                  welfare of the stocks in their care.
                                                                                                              Biosecurity
                                                                                                              The scale of culture systems are such
                                                                                                              that the implementation of biosecurity
                                                                                                              measures are either physically difficult
                                                                                                              or expensive.
                                            i
                                                     Biofloc                                                  Water management
                                                                                                              There is a vast range of farm systems
                                                     Biofloc in intensive closed culture systems is           in operation from open, extensive through
                                                     favoured, as organic material can be recycled            to intensive, closed systems — for those
                                                     by microorganisms to help break down waste               sharing common water sources (e.g. rivers
                                                     and hazardous products (i.e. waste feed, faeces,         and lakes), the challenges of maintaining
                                                     nitrogenous compounds) into non-toxic substances         biosecurity are greater as good site health
                                                     and into aggregates of a protein-rich organic            is in part also dictated by the level of
                                                     material consisting of bacterial biomass,                biosecurity practiced by a farm’s neighbours.
                                                     microalgae, faecal material, protozoa etc., that
                                                     can be consumed back as additional protein               Health surveillance
                                                     and feed by the shrimp.
                                                                                                              The general rate of health surveillance
                                                     Interestingly, research showed significantly             of stocked populations is low — many
                                                     lower levels of mortality when we challenged             governments offer a free diagnostic
                                                     whiteleg shrimp with a pathogenic isolate of             service which somewhat arguably shifts
                                                     Vibrio parahaemolyticus causing AHPND held               some of the responsibilities of health
                                                     in biofloc or in greenwater taken from systems           management; in many states there are
                                                     in which tilapia had been cultured. Such trials          low, or in some states there are no stock
                                                     give us greater insight into the culture conditions      movement records. There is also no
                                                     facilitating to disease outbreaks but, more              compulsory destruction of diseased stocks
                                                     importantly, how we might manage and                     which means the probability for pathogens
                                                     control them.                                            to persist and to spread is higher.

                                                Image: Fish Vet Group team in
                                                action on shrimp farm in Thailand.

52                                                                                                                                                       53
How is the industry working to                Unfortunately farm production economics
                                              all too frequently overrides health and
tackle the disease challenges?
                                              biosecurity management.
There are a number of preventative            In another study we have been involved
management initiatives that have              in, we looked at a number of factors,
helped to reduce the challenge of             including the probability of a disease
disease such as:                              outbreak, the intensity of production and
• Lining of ponds with polyethylene liners    the investment in biosecurity measures.
                                              Perhaps not surprisingly, in systems with
• Installation of shrimp toilets to collect
                                              a low intensity of production with no or low
  and remove faecal waste uneaten feed,
                                              biosecurity, there are high probabilities
  moults etc
                                              of disease outbreaks, but these losses
• Better pond bottom management               are generally low when outbreaks occur.
  through the use of toilets and by
  observing the distribution of sludge        By comparison, for systems with high
  following the draining of ponds and         intensity production and with high levels
  then redeploying aerators to ensure         of investment in biosecurity, there are
  proper pond bottom cleaning                 low probabilities of disease outbreaks,
                                              however, the losses can be extremely high
• Cleaning and maintenance of liners
                                              when disease events do occur.
• Water treatment
• Installation of crab and bird               Do you think we will ever
  predator nets
                                              eradicate any of the major
• Stocking with shrimp that have been
  genetically selected to be more
                                              disease challenges?
  resistant to disease                        No, a vision of eradication I think
There is, however, much to do such as:        is unrealistic.

• Greater awareness of the routes             In most cases, the key will be in the
  of shrimp diseases                          development of better management and
                                              control to minimise the magnitude and
• Disease testing prior to stocking
                                              frequency of disease episodes and loss.
  and throughout the production cycles
• Increased biosecurity                       Some of the bacterial and viral agents         i
• Use of functional feeds that include
                                              are so ubiquitous in their infection,              What is a shrimp
                                              that their eradication is unlikely. The
  ingredients that help promote general
                                              potential for viruses to mutate and                pond toilet?
  gut and shrimp health
                                              for bacteria to acquire transposable
• Breeding of specific pathogen               disease elements which may change                  A shrimp pond toilet is essentially exactly
  resistant shrimp lines                      their current pathogenecities are also             what it sounds like. A drain in the middle of
• Closed system farms that are less           a concern.                                         a circular or square shrimp pond that is used
  susceptible to contamination and have                                                          to carry away excess solids and sludge.
  effective on-site management.                                                                  As shrimp toilets are more expensive to install
                                                                                                 and maintain, they only really make sense in
                                                                                                 intensive, super-intensive and hyper-intensive
                                                                                                 systems where the capacity for a rapid build-up
                                                                                                 of shrimp waste (or uneaten feed) can prove
                                                                                                 toxic and dangerous to stock. This is why
                                                                                                 tracking ammonia is critical.

54                                                                                                                                                 55
What diseases                        Where do you
are on the horizon?                  see the future?
Predicting the unpredictable         I see more sophisticated
is a difficult question to answer    whiteleg shrimp farms and
but perhaps not impossible           management in the future.
as history can help inform           There will always be challenges
our future.                          in any biological system,
                                     however the implementation
We can learn from our past
                                     of new technologies and better
experiences and, perhaps, where
                                     management can help to
certain threats may arise and
                                     reduce risks and create more
loosely in what form. There is,
                                     sustainable systems.
therefore, a need to be prepared
and to have in place the tools       There are a number of disciplines
for surveillance and for the early   that I see as important in moving
detection of new threats.            this forward.
As global aquaculture operations     • Data and the continued
continue to intensify, greater         development of farm analytics
environmental pressures placed         which increases farm efficiency;
on viral and bacterial communities   • Genetic technologies to
may consequentially lead to the        breed stronger shrimp that are
emergence of new isolates with         more robust and have a higher
increased virulence.                   level of resistance to disease;
With that said, we are aware         • Diagnostic methods
of some more immediate threats         with increased sensitivity,
such as shrimp hemocyte                specifically detection of
iridescent virus (SHIV) which is       pathogens at lower levels
causing losses in China. Again we      which would thereby detect
need to be vigilant and to ensure      the initial stages of infection
our programmes of surveillance         and simultaneous diagnosis
include the necessary tests to         of multiple diseases;
detect this pathogen in any          • In-pond sensing — the
given population.                      use of eDNA approaches to
                                       monitor the health of cultured
                                       populations and in the early
                                       detection of potentially
                                       pathogenic agents;
                                                                          The implementation of new
                                     • Improved welfare standards         technologies and better management
                                       in commercial production
                                       without the need to ablate
                                                                          can help to reduce risks and create
                                       an eyestalk of broodstock to       more sustainable systems.
                                       stimulate maturation, and in
                                       humane methods of slaughter.       ANDY SHINN

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