Although relatively young, the shrimp farming industry in recent decades has rapidly developed thanks to the application of advances from the fields of science, especially genetic technology and microbiological technology. As of 2017, shrimp farming is already a global industry with an output of 4.2 million tons with a total production value of about $23.5 billion; in which, China, Thailand and Vietnam are the three leading countries in terms of shrimp farming area and output.

Shrimp ponds in Vietnam

Shrimp farming in its earliest form appeared in Asia many centuries ago, where shrimp migrated into intertidal flats to forage and breed, producing random shrimp crops of 100-200kg/ha per year without doing much other than setting traps/harvesting.

However, to really become a modern livestock industry, it was not until the 1930s that the shrimp was researched and tested by Motosaku Fujinaga, a scientist in Japan. Then it took another four decades, when Fujinaga’s method was spread through the United States and Taiwan, where the climate was more favorable and the breed was more suitable, the shrimp was grown commercially and gradually accepted by the market

Entering the 1980s, the shrimp farming industry officially entered the development stage and based on the characteristics of the seed source, we can divide it into 3 clear stages as follows: The catching period, the hatching period and the period. Breeding.

1982 – 1987: Breeding period

This is the golden age of the shrimp industry in the world. The market has accepted and there is a high demand for commercially farmed shrimp leading to the proliferation of shrimp farms, especially in Taiwan and Ecuador. Due to the low density of farming, the disease is also limited, shrimp farmers are less risky and profitable to reinvest to expand, boosting shrimp production by more than 100% per year during this period.

In Asia, farms mainly raise black tiger shrimp (P. monodon), while vannamei shrimp (P. vannamei) is selected by the Americas. The source of breeding for this stage is mostly postlarvae collected from the wild with a simple pond culture method.

1988 – 1996: Breeding period

With production five times that of the Americas, Asia’s black tiger shrimp was the dominant species during this period. However, with the exploration of the shrimp farming industry as well as the trend of increasing stocking density to increase profits, the source of naturally collected breeds is starting to reach a tipping point and affect the growth rate of the whole industry during this period.

To solve the problem of breed sources, hatcheries began to invest in development with the source of broodstock collected from the wild. This, in the long run, has a negative impact because hatcheries do not control pathogens from broodstock, leading to the risk of disease spreading through the source of the shrimp breed. The worldwide spread of white spot disease in the early 1990s is a prime example.

With great obstacles from diseases as well as limited seed sources, the growth rate of the shrimp industry during this period quickly declined, to only 2% per year.

1997 – 2007: Breeding period

This period witnessed the rise of vannamei shrimp. In 1998, whiteleg shrimp production accounted for only 10% of total global shrimp production, by 2006, this figure was 75%. The cause of this change comes from the disease-free seed (SPF) that was developed by the United States in the early 1990s to deal with the white spot epidemic. This was followed by an increasing domestication of vannamei, especially since 1997 when the US company High Health Aquaculture initiated a breeding program to develop Taura syndrome (TVS) resistant seed stock, simultaneously growing rapidly.

Whiteleg shrimp

With the development of breeding programs and genetic selection, the global shrimp farming industry has gradually become proactive in the source of seed, both in quantity and in disease resistance. Moreover, selective breeding also improves the growth rate of shrimp through each generation, shortening the grow-out period, thereby cutting costs for shrimp farmers. Combined with the adoption of safe and modern farming methods, this has restored growth momentum, helping the shrimp farming industry to achieve a growth rate of more than 20% per year during the 10 years of this period.

Global shrimp production through 3 periods of development

Entering the 21st century, despite previous major failures due to diseases, the global shrimp industry is still on a strong growth momentum by taking advantage of advances from other sectors. Genetic technology helps to proactively and improve breed sources, and easily detects viral diseases early. The feeding and health care of shrimp populations has also benefited significantly from discoveries in probiotic technology. In addition, the innovations of information technology have been applied to the management process as well as the logistics supply chain of the industry. Global shrimp production through 3 stages of development.

Until now, vannamei is still the dominant species in the shrimp industry, but its production success also leads to oversupply and lower prices for small and medium sized shrimp in the world market. This also directs industry interest back to black tiger shrimp, with domestication and breeding plans similar to that done with vannamei. The future is unpredictable, but whether it is vannamei, black tiger shrimp or any other shrimp species, the use of quality breeding through selective breeding for high yield and disease-free breeding is still important. Key factors help shrimp farmers limit risks and reduce costs to make profits.

Going back to the past, shrimp farming probably officially started when Japanese scientist, Motosaku Fujinaga, first bred and artificially hatched white vannamei shrimp in tanks in 1933. Fujinaga is considered the father of the industry. shrimp farming using techniques he discovered, including using Artemia eggs ( brine shrimp) as food. Since then, shrimp began to be raised more to meet consumer demand in Japan, the US and many other Western European countries, especially since the 1970s.

Shrimp Farming – Challenges and Opportunities

By 2003, shrimp farming was a $9 billion industry with an output of more than 1.6 million tons. By 2017, the total pond area was 2,124,110 hectares, and the shrimp farming industry had an output of 4.2 million tons and was valued at $23.6 billion as a whole (according to a report by the Farming Alliance of. Global Aquaculture). Southeast Asian countries (Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, …) contributed the most output (36.9%) and followed, respectively, China (31.6%) and India (11.9%). 6%). Among them, vannamei shrimp is the most commonly farmed variety, with 80% of the total global production coming from farming and valued at US$18,460 million in 2014.

The value of shrimp has gradually increased in the list of aquaculture species, surpassing tilapia and now second only to carp. However, parallel with this outstanding development also arise problems, especially the spread of disease. In Asia alone, shrimp viruses have cost farmers nearly $1 billion a year since 1994. This creates challenges that need to be addressed to improve industry efficiency.

Risk of infection

In the wild, shrimp also carry viruses that cause disease but usually do not affect their health much. But when kept in a crowded environment, they can be stressed and susceptible to diseases from potential viruses. Or when the water source is not treated well, it is easy to create opportunities for viruses from outside to enter and cause disease in shrimp ponds. When diseased shrimp mortality, they will be eaten by healthy ones, causing the disease to quickly spread to the whole pond population. This is a problem that has plagued the shrimp farming industry for decades. In particular, early mortality disease, also known as acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (EMS/AHPND) and Hepatopancreatic Microsporidiosis, are the two most frequently occurring diseases.

However, despite the continued threat of disease outbreaks over time, statistics show that the global shrimp farming industry can cope with this problem even if production is tripled or quadrupled times more. We have done it and can do better if we can coordinate the whole industry to recognize and find ways to handle this epidemic problem.

Food source

Another big problem is the limited supply of quality aqua feed. In the past three decades, along with the proliferation of farms, the demand for feed used in aquaculture has also increased sharply. However, only about 4% of total animal feed production worldwide is produced for aquaculture. This will be an important issue if the shrimp farming industry wants to expand its production scale because it needs to negotiate and coordinate with other industries, especially the terrestrial industries. Increased production of crops such as soybeans, animal by-products, as well as further research into new forms of bacterial and insect production is needed if increased production of aquafeeds is to be achieved. shrimp farming activities.

Biological safety

Another alarming problem is the overuse of antibiotics and chemicals in shrimp farming. Because when farming in the form of intensive farming, shrimp farmers often have the habit of using antibiotics and chemical products to prevent and treat shrimp diseases. However, this adversely affects the quality of shrimp in particular, and the environment in general, because there are too many antibiotics and chemicals left after harvest. To overcome this problem, probiotic technology with products from beneficial bacteria is an effective option to both maintain production and ensure quality for commercial shrimp. The application of microbial preparations has been proven to bring a number of comprehensive and great benefits such as: increased absorption, development, disease resistance, increased survival rate; improve productivity, quality, reduce environmental pollution from production activities, and at the same time save investment costs for farmers.

Applying probiotic technology to make shrimp healthier and cleaner

In addition, sustainable farming forms such as ecological shrimp farming, shrimp-forrest combination, shrimp-rice is also a development direction that needs more research and investment to improve the value of shrimp. and seek sustainable development.

The future of shrimp farming

We’ve done a great job of increasing global shrimp production four times from 1995 levels. To continue that expansion, while at the same time achieving greater efficiency, we need coordination and application. rationalize modern technical technologies into each segment. In the breed segment, the application of genetic technology has improved and selected shrimp varieties with better disease resistance and faster growth. In the nursery segment, shrimp hatcheries can enhance live feed substitution and biosecurity to ensure input quality.Grow-out segmentation must reduce rearing time through selective breeding, improving production management, efficiency, biosecurity, health management and survival. At the same time, it is necessary to expand knowledge of shrimp nutrition, to choose the right feed and functional foods (seasonal, anti-stress, immunomodulatory) and to distribute/manage the correct feeding and reasonable. Other areas of improvement include better pathogen detection, efficient use of immunostimulants and probiotics, and even packaging and processing of finished products.

Most importantly is to understand and meet the growing consumer expectations of healthy, sustainable and responsible food. The shrimp industry has significant potential to expand global production, and we can realize that potential by enhancing responsible production technologies and processes.