India May Retain Rs 20k Crore Shrimp Production Market by Bio-Remediation - ICAR Suggests Remedy
Indian shrimp aquaculture provides an annual foreign exchange of Rs.20, 000 crore. It also offers job opportunities to the tune of seven lakh per year for in and off farm sectors and improve the rural economy. The recent research efforts on intensification in shrimp farming have enhanced the productivity and the farm income.
(Source: US Department of Agriculture, GAIN report)
However accumulation of nitrogenous wastes in aquaculture ponds due to uneaten feed and host metabolism is one of the drawbacks of high density shrimp farming. Though the permitted levels of ammonia in shrimp culture ponds is
Shrimp Production Statistics
India’s largest cultured shrimp production is in the state of Andhra Pradesh, followed by West Bengal, Tamilnadu & Puducherry, Gujarat, and Odisha. Tiger shrimps are farmed in the states of West Bengal, Odisha and Kerala, while the Vannamei species is preferred in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Odisha. Andhra Pradesh accounts for close to 65 per cent of the total shrimp production in India.
India’s Shrimp Production States-
(Source: USDA, GAIN report)
Although most of India’s shrimp production is exported, its broodstock is imported. According to industry sources, India imports specific-pathogen-free (SPF) Vannamei broodstock from USA, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore, with the United States being the dominant exporter to India: U.S. sales reached 10.8 million US dollar (98 percent of total Indian broodstock imports) in Calendar Year (CY) 2015. In addition to broodstock, Artemia Cysts, which are used as live feed during the larvae raising operations in shrimp hatcheries, are imported as well. In CY 2015, 97 percent (15.44 million US dollar) of India’s Artemia Cysts were imported from the United States.
Export Status of Indian Shrimp
(Source: USDA, GAIN Report)
Recommendation of Indian Council of Agricultural Research
Several products are available in the market containing groups of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria for application in freshwater aquaculture operations. These microbes are highly sensitive to physio-chemical parameters of the culture environment and hence cannot effectively function in brackish water environments with salinity ranging from 15 to 45 part per thousand (ppt). Through persistent research for a decade on environmentally relevant bacteria, the ICAR-CIBA has enriched a consortia of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria that are well suited for use in brackish water aquaculture systems in India to manage toxic nitrogenous compounds in brackish water aquaculture systems. CIBAMOX was developed through enrichment/characterization and development of consortia of naturally occurring chemolithotrophic ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) and denitrifying bacteria (DNB) from brackish water ecosystems of India.
The product had successfully completed field trials in 27 ponds in Surat and Navsari districts of Gujarat, 15 water-ponds in Nellore and Bhimavaram districts of Andhra Pradesh and 40 water-ponds in Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur districts of Tamil Nadu. Regular application of the product with a rate of three litre/ha once in ten days from 45 days of culture onwards till the end of culture has shown to restrict the levels of ammonia below the maximum permissible limits.
(With Inputs from: Central Institute of Brackish water Aquaculture (CIBA), Chennai & USDA)
