Effects of white spot disease and bio-security on shrimp farming in Bangladesh

Shrimp culture is of central importance in Bangladesh, shrimp being the cash component of many smallholder, polyculture fish farming systems. Shrimp also contributes substantial income through exports. However, production remains low compared with other countries for a number of reasons, including low availability of good quality post larvae (PL) seed stock, lack of credit facilities, and disease problems. Ensuring access to white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) free PL combined with the implementation of best management practices at farm level will help reduce disease risk and stimulate investment, leading to improved shrimp production and improved farmer livelihoods, as argued in this paper by the WorldFish aquaculture science team in Bangladesh.