Speaker Category: Speaker

Abstract

The global shrimp aquaculture industry is embracing innovative practices to enhance productivity, biosecurity, and sustainability. Among these, shrimp nurseries have emerged as a transformative tool, acting as an intermediary stage between hatchery-reared post-larvae (PL) and grow-out ponds. These facilities, designed to rear shrimp PLs for 25-30 days, offer significant advantages such as improved survival rates, disease management, acclimatization to farm conditions, and operational flexibility.

Shrimp nurseries can be indoor or outdoor, utilizing various designs and materials, and operate under controlled conditions to produce robust post larvae. Their strategic value includes better health screening, acclimatization to salinity, enhanced feed efficiency, and flexible stocking and harvesting schedules. The multiphase farming approach further optimizes production cycles, resource allocation, and economic efficiency.

The benefits are as follows:

• Proper seed screening and health management.
• Salinity acclimatisation which provides better survival.
• Reduction in days of culture (DOC) increases or doubles crop yields with better economies of scale. Shrimp can reach marketable size before white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) outbreaks.
• Better average daily growth (ADG) after post-compensatory growth. The caveat is genetics, stocking density, farming management and days of culture.
• Helps in combating summer stress, white gut, white faecal disease and running mortality efficiently.
• Stocking post larvae in nursery tanks to effectively manage the crop and also maintain positive cash flow management.
• Switching between black tiger and vannamei shrimp is flexible to meet production goals with changing demand.

Mayank Aquaculture Pvt. Ltd. (MAPL) in Gujarat, India, has pioneered an isolated multiphase shrimp nursery model, incorporating advanced water treatment systems and innovative rearing approaches. This model ensures biosecurity, reduces culture days, improves growth rates, and enhances survival rates. The nursery concept is particularly beneficial for regions with low success rates, such as Asia, where biosecurity and disease mitigation are critical.

While nurseries are not a universal solution, they serve as a valuable tool for farmers, enabling better crop planning, cost efficiency, and consistent success rates. For small-scale farmers, collaborative setups can make high-quality nurseries accessible. Ultimately, shrimp nurseries represent a promising approach to sustainable and profitable shrimp farming.

Abstract

Farmed shrimp is a commodity with a global trading value of approximately USD68 billion a year. Asia and Latin America are the two regions that produce the majority of the shrimp traded. In Asia, shrimp are commonly farmed using a super-intensive model, while in Latin America, the extensive model is more common. Over the past two decades, shrimp productivity has improved rapidly, increasing from 0.5-3 tonnes/ha to the current 30-60 tonnes/ha.

However, the expansion of shrimp production also comes with several burdens such as the use of water, land, energy and forage fish. Despite current challenges such as low farm gate prices, diseases, profitability, and tariffs, sustainability remains a key challenge for the next 10 to 20 years.

This presentation provides a comparative analysis of the Asia model and the Latam model, including our current shrimp feed formula for both regions and a futuristic formula. We aim to address sustainability challenges in several areas such as feed efficiency, novel ingredients, plant-based diets, functional feed, processing technology, and genetics improvement. By doing so, we identify the key drivers for making shrimp farming more efficient and sustainable. In Asia, shrimp farming is mostly done at the family business level. The younger generation is now joining the industry, bringing innovation from other disciplines. Shrimp farming is not just a business; it is also a shrimp farmer’s legacy.

Abstract

Vietnam’s shrimp industry is undergoing a period of profound stress, driven by persistently low farm-gate prices, escalating input costs, and increasing scrutiny over environmental sustainability. These structural challenges are further intensified by global competition, particularly from cost-efficient producers such as Ecuador and India, resulting in a prolonged price crisis and declining profit margins for Vietnamese farmers.

In response, EcoSeafood Group (E.S.G) – a newly established enterprise building upon the technological foundation and field experience of ShrimpVet – has introduced a novel, systems-based shrimp farming model. This model integrates modular farm design, advanced production technologies, and mangrove agroecological integration to enhance productivity while minimizing environmental impact. With a current pilot site of 30 hectares, the system is engineered to optimize resource efficiency, reduce labor dependency, and lower carbon footprint through automation and scale.

E.S.G aims to expand this model to 50 modules by 2030, accounting for just 1% of Vietnam’s total shrimp farming area, yet potentially matching national production levels through intensified yield. Beyond economic efficiency, the model addresses a broader socio-structural issue: attracting a new generation of farmers by offering a high-tech, profitable, and sustainable alternative to conventional shrimp aquaculture.

This presentation outlines the conceptual framework, preliminary outcomes, and long-term vision of this transformative approach to sustainable shrimp production in Vietnam.

Abstract

Indonesia’s shrimp sector, while economically significant, is increasingly affected by climate variability,
environmental degradation, and inconsistent yields. A critical environmental legacy is the large-scale conversion of mangrove forests (approximately 250,000 hectares), into shrimp ponds, leading to biodiversity loss, weakened coastal protection, and increased greenhouse gas emissions.

JALA is an aquaculture technology and supply chain company with over 3,000 active shrimp farms across Indonesia using its digital platform and services. The JALA App and Baruni provides farmers with real-time data monitoring, water quality analysis, and cultivation-related prediction and analytics, empowering them to make informed decisions on-farm. Beyond supporting farm management through data-driven tools, the company operates more than 25 hectares of shrimp farms and has recently expanded into shrimp exports to various Asian markets. It is committed to improving farm productivity, environmental responsibility, and access to sustainable markets.

To address these intertwined challenges, JALA, together with Conservation International, launched the Climate-Smart Shrimp Farming (CSSF) project. This initiative blends digital aquaculture tools, responsible farming practices, and regenerative environmental strategies. At the core of CSSF is the reintroduction of mangroves in and around ponds to restore biodiversity, sequester carbon, and strengthen farm resilience to climate impacts. It also enables the production of traceable, high-quality shrimp that meets global sustainability standards.

Piloted in Lalombi, Central Sulawesi, CSSF achieved a tenfold increase in productivity during its first harvest. This early success illustrates the potential for shrimp aquaculture to become a regenerative, climate-smart solution that supports both livelihoods and ecosystem recovery; contributing meaningfully to Indonesia’s broader environmental goals.

Abstract

Shrimp pathogens can move from invisible to crop-threatening in days, yet many farms still test only after problems appear. Embedding routine molecular checks—before, during and after each critical production phase—shifts disease management from reaction to prevention. Weekly screens flag subclinical infections while loads are still low, giving managers time to adjust biosecurity, isolate affected units or harvest early.

Longitudinal test logs also feed predictive models that optimise stocking densities and feed schedules, cutting antibiotic use and boosting survival rates. Making pond-side diagnostics a standing practice transforms uncertainty into actionable insight—turning precision into tangible gains in both productivity and profitability.

Abstract

The strategic transformation in shrimp farming practices implemented at Krabi Kieang Seng – Kitcharoen Farm, Thailand addressed four key challenges commonly faced in shrimp aquaculture: high operational risk, prolonged grow-out periods, elevated production costs, and inconsistent yields. By transitioning from conventional approaches to a structured, data-driven methodology, the farms adopted a new model built around risk mitigation, cost efficiency, productivity enhancement, and reduced days of culture.

The pre-stocking phase incorporated rigorous water quality testing (e.g., NTU, alkalinity, minerals), post larvae (PL) quality screening using a microscope, and stress test, as well as vibrio detection through selective agar media. During culture, continuous monitoring of shrimp health, water parameters, probiotic usage, and sediment control was standardized to ensure optimal conditions. Weekly sampling was introduced to monitor average daily gain (ADG) and period growth rate (PDG) and size progression.

Outcomes from the new approach showed an improvement in key performance indicators: reduction in grow-out cycle from 120-140 days to 90-110 days, an increase in average shrimp weight from 35g – 55g, and yield enhancement from 2- 3 tonnes/rai to 5-8 tonnes/rai (one rai=0.16ha).

These results demonstrate the potential for the scalable and sustainable intensification of shrimp production under a modern aquaculture system in Thailand.

*Joint presentation with Yanisa Klomsuwan

Abstract

The shrimp farming industry continues to face significant threats from infectious diseases such as Vibrio parahaemolyticus, white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP), and gregarines like Nematopsis spp. All these contribute to substantial economic losses in Asia and Latin America.

This presentation will outline the regional economic impacts of these pathogens and explore their infection mechanisms, including bacterial virulence systems, viral replication pathways, and intracellular parasitism. Particular attention will be given to host immune responses, oxidative stress, and gut epithelial integrity.

Drawing on published trials and shrimp gut models, the focus will be on functional nutrition, specifically blends of organic acids and phytogenic compounds, as a strategic tool to enhance disease resilience and sustainability in shrimp production. Data will include both in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrating reduced pathogen colonization, inflammation, and mortality. A field case study from Thailand where AuraAqua application led to a dramatic drop in WSSV prevalence will be presented.