The government of Bangladesh has granted permission for the commercial cultivation of non-native vannamei shrimp (also known as whiteleg shrimp). This decision comes after experimental farming in three farms in the southern coastal region demonstrated higher yields compared to locally farmed black tiger shrimp.
Litopenaeus vannamei, has gained popularity globally due to its outstanding yield potential, better resistance to diseases, shorter production cycles, and lower production costs. Countries like India have successfully revitalised their shrimp industry by adopting commercial farming of vannamei shrimp, replacing the low-yield black tiger shrimp
One project was run by Shushilan at the Saline Water Centre of the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) in the coastal Paikgachha upazila of Khulna. It launched farming in March 2021 and harvested its first batch of 13,896 kg of shrimp in July 2021.
However, the other one by the Agribusiness Enterprise Development and Services did not start operations. Following the success of the first pilot project, the DoF allowed 11 more firms, including M.U. Sea Foods Ltd, Grow tech Aquaculture ltd, and Fahim Seafood Ltd, at different times to farm the shrimp variety on a trial basis.
Frozen fish exporters have long been demanding that the government allow vannamei farming, as Bangladesh’s black-tiger shrimp species has lost price competitiveness in key western markets, like the United States (US) and the European Union (EU).
The export volume and earnings from the frozen shrimp sector will simply double within five years by exporting such a variety of shrimp, an official said, adding that it will also help meet the local demand for shrimp.
The country once boasted about 100 frozen-fish factories and this sector ranked second among the export-oriented sectors even a decade ago.
According to Md Roushon Jamal, School of Environment and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW-2351, Australia and Ministry of Agriculture, Dhaka, Bangladesh, in Aquaculture International, in recent years, Bangladesh’s shrimp industry has already started to lose global competitiveness due to the deficient production (0.0347 tonne/ha) of traditionally cultivated black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon), which is highly susceptible to white sport syndrome diseases. His opinion article aims to spark a policy stimulation justifying the immediate policy measures to introduce high-yielding Litopenaeus vannamei species to revitalise the declining shrimp industry in Bangladesh. Read the full article:Can vannamei shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) revitalise Bangladesh’s dying shrimp industry?
