Move to replenish shrimp seed stock in sea

By Our Staff Reporter

VISAKHAPATNAM, MARCH 26. The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) is considering a proposal for enlisting the help of shrimp hatcheries in replenishing the stock of shrimp seed in the sea, according to Dr.K. Haribabu, MPEDA member.

Inaugurating a training programme on `Health management in shrimp culture' organised by the Ocean Science and Technology Cell (OSTC) in Andhra University on Monday, he said that traditional fishermen were expressing concern over the practice of capturing shrimp seed from the wild and gravid shrimp from the sea for the aquaculture sector as they feared that it would deplete the stocks of prawns and affect their catches.

Given the six-month lean season experienced by the prawn hatcheries every year when their production did not fetch a remunerative price, the MPEDA was examining the proposal of releasing the seed from the hatchery sector into the sea by offering subsidy to hatchery operators, he pointed out.

Dr. Haribabu said that the MPEDA was seized of the problem of quality of seed supplied to the acquaculture sector and that it had initiated the process of registration of all hatcheries to enforce regulatory measures in the infrastructure set-up and the production of seeds to prevent outbreak of viral diseases in the ponds. The MPEDA was also offering Rs.5 lakhs subsidy for setting up PCR technology laboratories at every hatchery for diagnosis and treatment of disease at the seed level, he added.

Referring to the significance of the fishery sector in boosting the foreign exchange account of the country, the MPEDA member said that export of marine products had the least import components, compared to the other sectors and that it provided for the highest net foreign exchange earnings. Export of marine products during the current fiscal had touched the highest level of Rs.5,875 crores exceeding the target set, he said.

The OSTC is organising the three-day training programme in the light of the outbreak of diseases in shrimp farms, which is mainly attributed to poor management practices and environmental stress. The OSTC, which has been set up with the assistance of the Department of Ocean Development, finds prevention to be the best method in dealing with diseases in shrimp farming which could be achieved by proper management practices like control of phytoplankton bloom, regulation of feeding at an appropriate level, monitoring of water quality and regular cleaning of pond bottom. It also advises farmers on the correct dosage of antibiotics to facilitate growth of shrimp to attain marketable sizes and preventing building up of drug resistance.

Prof.K.V. Ramana Murty, research coordinator of OSTC, said the training programme would focus on various issues relating to health management in shrimp hatchery including disease control through prophylaxis, application of immunostimulants, vaccines and determination of bacterial load in water and shrimp.

Mr.J.V.H. Dixitulu, editor of Fishing Chimes, said that the problem of disease outbreak was far from over in the aquaculture sector and that academia-industry interaction was essential to evolve proper health management practices.

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