Shrimp disease hurts Mekong Delta farmers

Vietnam Shrimp farmers in coastal provinces of the Mekong Delta are suffering unprecedented losses due to a disease that has infected tiger shrimp in 40,000 hectares of farm area. Pham Hoang Giang, head of the Bac Lieu Aquaculture Department, said microsporidiosis was the main cause of the losses. 



Right now there is no specific remedy for the disease and farmers can only prevent it by testing the breeding shrimp to make sure they are disease-free before raising them, he said. Over 11,000 hectares of shrimp farms in Bac Lieu have been destroyed, Luong Ngoc Lan, head of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said. 

Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Aquaculturists, published and supported by the International Aquafeed Magazine from Perendale Publishers

Panama: Aquatic animal health program 2011

A major international conference will help to demonstrate the important contribution of aquatic animal health programs to improving aquaculture productivity and sustainability, and alleviating poverty globally. The World Association for Animal Health (OIE) Conference on Aquatic Animal Health, will take place on June 28 - 30, 2011 in Panama.

The conference will help to raise awareness of the need for good governance of Aquatic Animal Health Services (both governmental and private sector), and the involvement of veterinarians and other partners in assuring the production of aquaculture products that are safe for human consumption and appropriately certified to meet international trade requirements.



Aquaculture is one of the world's fastest growing industries and already provides nearly 50 percent of the seafood and high quality animal protein for the growing human population. 

As aquaculture develops and expands in all regions of the world, there is an increasing need for improved aquatic animal health to increase production, and to facilitate safe trade in aquatic animals and their products. The goal is to help feed the global population while avoiding risks to human health, aquatic animal health, and the aquatic environment. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Aquaculturists, published and supported by the International Aquafeed Magazine from Perendale Publishers

Are GM plants safe for fish feed?

After reviewing numerous publications, Norwegian researchers have presented their findings on the current state of knowledge about the use of genetically modified (GM) plant ingredients in fish feed. The review focuses on fish performance and health, and the fate of DNA fragments from GM plants in the fish. 



The researchers are from the National Institute of Seafood and Nutrition Research (NIFES), the Aquaculture Protein Centre’s (APC), the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science (NVH), and the National Veterinary Institute (VI). The researchers base much of the review on experiments they have performed themselves. 



The researchers concerns with GM were over the way the new DNA settles in the host plant as it can lead to new characteristics that have not been accounted for. For example, changing the level of nutrients or toxicants in the GM organism. These unknown characteristics may then effect the feed it helps create and then the animal eating it. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Aquaculturists, published and supported by the International Aquafeed Magazine from Perendale Publishers