The Seafood Industry Research Fund (SIRF) is sponsoring an industry wide research plan to identify the causes and potential solutions for the shrimp disease, Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS).
SIRF chairman Russ Mentzer said that a coordinated effort is now essential to understanding and resolving the pervasive shrimp disease, which since its appearance in 2009, has damaged shrimp stocks in Asia, affecting global supply.
“Shrimp aquaculture has weathered setbacks before. The industry will overcome and continue to thrive as it has in the past through shared responsibility and strategic collaboration,” he said.
The EMS research plan targets the disease with scientific objectives which will be spearheaded by the formation of a team of scientists by the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA).
The crux of the case study is a comprehensive survey of shrimp farms in six countries in Asia and Latin America that consistently achieve good results even though neighbouring farms are impaired by EMS. The survey results will be entered into a database from which hypotheses will be formulated regarding the proper management of EMS. The hypotheses will then be tested in the field.
The survey results will also be summarised in a report and presented in October 2014.
The hope is that identifying the common denominators of proper management will lead to the adoption of better shrimp-farming practices industry-wide.
