Major company opens innovative shrimp hatchery
OMAN
Wednesday, January 30, 2002
http://www.fis.com/
Oman International Shrimp Company's (OISC) hatchery manager Glen Bieber says
the company is actively involved in shrimp cultivation at the Marine Science
Centre in Muscat.
The company also plans to build a commercial 10-hectare shrimp hatchery in
Seeb that will include maturation and breeding facilities. The new hatchery
will be the first of its kind in the country, Bieber added.
"High-revenue yielding shrimp farming can only be a success if only the
correct type of disease control and prevention is adopted," he told The
Times of Oman, especially as diseases have caused significant drops in
global annual harvests. Unless disease resistance is achieved, shrimp
culture will not meet sector growth expectations nor will it meet growing
consumer demand, he added.
On a global level, shrimp farming took off about 25 years ago and during the
past decade, White Spot has affected the sector in a number of countries.
"This pathogen is carried by the sea, but it does not affect humans but
kills the stocks, which is a major problem for farmers," Bieber said.
At the new OISC hatchery, new research to curb the spread of diseases such
as White Spot is being developed, but Bieber warned that pathogens can be
spread if contaminated shrimp are introduced as brood stocks - especially as
these are usually wild specimens.
Strict hygiene and quarantine regulations remain the most effective
practices against the spread of viruses. Multiple tests are conducted on
items that are brought in for breeding at OISC's new hatchery, and
prevention against disease is taken with acute care especially when items
are transported from one country to another, because the potential of
disease transfer is higher.
"Therefore, when we bring the specimens here we quarantine them at the
hatchery for 45 days, constantly checking their blood and sending the
results to the University of Arizona that has the world's most acclaimed
diagnostic laboratory to make sure they are free of viruses," Bieber
explained.
To date, 100 items have been brought from Africa for breeding and almost
Oman rial (OMR) 100,000 (USD 259,000) has been spent on testing. Once they
breed, the shrimp are tested again. The larvae are also tested and once it
is established they are disease free, they are packed and shipped to the
farm.
Since OISC announced its hatchery project, there have been a number of
people that have tried to start farms without really understanding the
sector's technical aspects. "If people try to bring shrimp for breeding
from abroad, it will definitely affect the ones hatched here," Bieber
said.
The rapid and generally uncontrolled development of aquaculture has led to
frequent outbreaks of infectious diseases, which have been threatening the
sustainability of region's aquaculture, he concluded.
By Ioan Einion
FIS.com
(From Aquaculture Info List, e-mail: dave.conley@sympatico.ca)