Dan Fegan
Chief Impact Officer
SyAqua Group
Thailand
Email: dan.fegan@syaqua.com
Dan Fegan has been involved in shrimp aquaculture for 40 years, having worked and consulted in several Latin American and Asian countries. He has wide experience in most sectors of the industry including hatchery production, farm production, shrimp feed and genetics.
He has lived in Thailand since 1988 when he worked with one of the first vertically integrated, contract farming schemes. He then consulted for many private and public clients including the Thai National Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology (BIOTEC) where he set up the Shrimp Biotechnology Business Unit to commercialise the products of BIOTEC-funded research and provide commercial services.
In 2003, he joined Alltech to develop applications for functional feed additives to support aquatic animal health, followed in 2008 by 8 years working with Cargill as Regional Technical Manager for their Asian aquafeed businesses.
For the past 7 years Dan has worked with SyAqua, a genetics and hatchery feed business with operations in Thailand, Indonesia and the USA. During this time the company has grown into a renowned global shrimp genetics and hatchery feed supplier.
Dan is a past-President of the World Aquaculture Society and the WAS Asia-Pacific Chapter and has contributed to many international organisations.
| Session 2 | A Good Start with Genetics, Hatchery and Nursery |
| Presentation Session 3 |
Genetics and Environment - What Next? Managing Productivity with EHP Mitigation |
Abstract
We are now firmly in an era where genetics plays an important role in successful shrimp production. Most, if not all, farmers select the specific genetic stocks that suit their location and production goals. Genetics, however, is only one part of the story.
The chicken industry is often regarded as an example of how the shrimp industry can develop. However, there are several important differences that make this more difficult for shrimp. The main areas that combine to make chicken production so successful are genetics, nutrition, management, and environmentally controlled housings.
While shrimp genetics has come a long way in the past 30 years, there are still major gaps in nutrition knowledge. Shrimp are also grown in a wide range of environments and conditions, which affect both nutrition and genetic performance.
It is difficult to gain a full understanding of these differences, or to develop ways of improving performance, without looking at the bigger picture. It is difficult to extrapolate using data from a small number of farms, especially if the data collection is haphazard and not well organized.
Studying data collected from many farms in different environments and in different seasons can help to identify the best genetics for a specific set of conditions as well as providing insights into nutrition and farming practices. This in turn will improve production efficiency, sustainability, and long-term profitability.
Traditionally, Asian farmers have been reluctant to collect and use data. To build the future industry on solid foundations will require greater cooperation and collaboration across the industry from nauplius producers to farmers. This will be a challenge, but now is the time to embrace new technology for a brighter future.
