Development of specific pathogen-free (SPF) shrimp stocks and their application to sustainable shrimp farming

According to the FAO, global production of marine penaeid shrimp from farms reached nearly 3.5 million tonnes in 2009, accounting for nearly half of the world's total shrimp supply. With most of the world's shrimp fisheries at maximum sustainable yield, the ratio of farmed to fished shrimp appears likely to continue to increase. This production is from a very young food producing industry that began to emerge in the mid-1970s. The remarkable growth of sustainable shrimp farming has been accomplished in part through the successful development of domesticated shrimp stocks, many of which are free of specific diseases, and the development of the necessary infrastructure, in terms of biosecurity, diagnostic methods and trained personnel, to successfully prevent disease or to manage disease outbreaks when they occur.