Industry hopeful on new shrimp breed

PHILIPPINES - Leaders of the Philippine Shrimp Industry Association (PHILSHRIMP) are pinning their hopes on a new breed of white shrimp with the exotic scientific name of Litopeneaus vannamei, native to South America.

After hurdling some quarantine and bureaucratic red tape, the local shrimp industry, in partnership with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) succeeded in importing breeding stocks for the white prawn for controlled production in government experimental farms.

The exotic varieties of shrimp was brought in only for research and development only to be commercially produced if proven to be more productive and less prone to diseases as the legendary tiger prawn.

Results of the pilot farm projects are to be known during the convention by the middle of 2006.

On which will anchor a new program to revitalize the industry by popularizing and new shrimp variety or industry players and the government will go back to the experimental farms to develop a disease-resistant member of the tiger prawn family.

This early, results have been encouraging. It is now perceived that the white prawn, will hasten the industry s goal to enhance prawn production and augment the incomes of farmers, traders, exporters, processors and feed millers.

Source: Manila Bulletin