Biosafe Techniques for White Shrimp Production
Fisheries Research Institute, COA
Ming-Hua Yang (assistant researcher)
Tel：886-8-832-4121 ext.309
Email：mhyang@mail.tfrin.gov.tw
Currently, white shrimp still rely heavily on live bait clamworm to promote gonadal maturation during the breeding season. The clamworm used in Taiwan mainly comes from China. They are sourced from clamworm harvested in the wild or reared in the intertidal zone. Hatcheries feed clamworm in its fresh state to breeding shrimp. However, these clamworm have been shown to be susceptible to pathogens such as WSSV, AHPND and EHP. In order to prevent these susceptible clamworm from affecting the development of the shrimp industry, it is important to provide SPF clamworm that is hygienic, safe and meets the nutritional requirements of the breeding shrimp.
With this in mind, the Institute has developed the SPF Perinereis Aibuhitensis (Caterpillar) Breeding and Rearing Technology. The clamworm seedlings produced using this technology are self-sufficient (the seedlings are about 1/10 of the adults). The adults can be produced on an annual basis, with a short rearing period (3-5 months) and a high yield per unit area (over 7kg/m2/year). Furthermore, the Institute has not detected any shrimp-specific pathogens when feeding its own clamworm to breeding shrimp.
With global shrimp production increasing year on year and demand for Shrimp Postlarvae increasing, the demand for SPF bait clamworm, which ensures the hygiene and safety of shrimp breeding, is also increasing year on year. There is also another use for the clamworm, namely as for bait, which is also in high demand. Therefore, the future of clamworm farming is promising.
In recent years, a new form of fishery and electricity symbiosis, combining photovoltaic facilities with white shrimp farming, has become popular. With the use of indoor facilities for the cultivation of white shrimp, environmental factors such as high temperature, cold and heavy rainfall, which may cause deviations in water quality parameters and affect the normal growth of white shrimp, can be reduced. Therefore, the facilities are also effective in isolating pathogens, ensuring biosecurity and reducing the risk of disease. All these advantages can stabilize white shrimp production and increase yields. However, at present, aquaculture is mainly prevalent in the western coastal areas. The main production constraint is the lack of clean water. In addition, the lack of light in the facility makes it difficult for the algae to grow, which is very different from traditional outdoor algae farming practices. Because white shrimp has less natural carotenoid intake, such as microalgae, it has a poor surface color and is whitish in color, resulting in a poorer price. The above are the main difficulties of raising white shrimp through facilities.
The Institute has developed the "Technology for the Culture of White Shrimp in Facilities" to meet the needs of the industry. The Institute has developed a technology for the cultivation of white shrimp in facilities, which includes 1. effective disinfection of water sources; 2. bio-security measures; 3. high density cultivation of white shrimp using bio-flocculation or simple water recycling techniques, which not only significantly reduces water consumption and the risk of water pollution, but also significantly reduces the discharge of polluted water, thus achieving an environmentally friendly cultivation effect; and 4.the use of feed additives to improve the whitening of white shrimp, thus maintaining commercial quality.
The above technology not only allows high density farming of white shrimp, but also effectively maintains stable water quality. In this way, the yield per unit area of white shrimp can be effectively increased and the color of white shrimp can also be taken into account, which is conducive to the progress of white shrimp farming in facilities under the fish and power policy.