07/01/2016: The Ginger Shrimp: Metapenaeus kutchensis: a promising species for shrimp aquaculture in coastal Gujurat State, India

by S I Yusufzai, S R Lende and P J Mahida, Department of Aquaculture, College of Fisheries Science, Junagadh Agricultural University, Gujarat, India
 
First published in International Aquafeed, November-December 2015

India earned US$2.67 billion through  the export of marine products in 2010-11. About 60 percent of it came from shrimp production. The annual estimated average landing of shrimps from the fishery in India during 2008-10 was 0.4 million tonnes of which 60 percent were contributed by penaeid shrimps. An additional 0.15 million tonnes was produced from aquaculture. 

For decades, brackishwater aquaculture has been dominated by a single species, the black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon in India, contributing to the bulk of the coastal aquaculture in the country. However, severe economic losses due to diseases lowering the shrimp production have necessitated the search for alternative species such as Litopenaeus vannamei, Fenneropenaeus indicus, F. merguiensis, Marsupenaeus japonicus etc. Under these circumstances,  the introduction of specific pathogen free (SPF) Litopenaeus vannamei was permitted by the Government of India during 2010-11 to revitalise the brackishwater shrimp farming in the country. Nevertheless, due to vannamei, a lot of changes are taking place in the Indian shrimp industry; more intensification, more shrimp produced in different pockets in peak season, price crashes and a shortage of infrastructure facilities are currently being experienced.

Read the rest of the article in International Aquafeed HERE. 

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