Aquaculture Vol. 164 (1-4) pp. 3-21
Recent developments in penaeid broodstock and seed production
technologies: improving the outlook for superior captive stocks
Craig L. Browdy
Waddell Mariculture Center, POB 809, , Bluffton, SC 29910, USA
Abstract: Pond culture of marine shrimp currently
accounts for about 30% of world supply and production continues to expand. The
future success of shrimp farming will depend upon increasing supplies of
healthy, high quality seed for stocking ponds. In many areas, fry are still
collected from the wild for stocking into ponds. To stabilize seed supplies and
expand to new areas, hatchery production technologies have improved slowly over
the past 20 years. Challenges associated with disease control and reducing
reliance on natural feeds are being met through research efforts in the private
and public sectors. Improved hygiene and biosecurity, development of probiotics
and immunostimulants and improvement of artificial feeds promise better
postlarval fitness while reducing cost and improving reliability of production.
However, much of this production continues to rely on nauplii derived from wild
gravid spawners collected at sea. Although techniques for captive maturation and
spawning have been well defined, serious gaps remain in the basic understanding
of the hormonal control of reproduction, the process of vitellogenesis in
penaeid shrimp and the mechanical and physiological processes involved in
fertilization. Presently, in areas with readily available indigenous stocks of
species of choice, there is a generally accepted perception among hatchery
managers and growers that performance of nauplii and postlarvae derived from
wild matured spawners is superior to captive matured or pond reared animals. As
we approach the 21st century, wild stocks are facing increasing pressure and
shrimp farming continues to expand into new areas, away from traditional sources
of wild seed. New viral disease epidemics continue to arise and spread quickly
across entire regions, significantly impacting industry viability. Research and
development efforts aimed at closing the life cycle of several commercially
important species are underway. While significant limitations remain,
encouraging results illustrating the potential for disease control, disease
resistance and improved growth have been reported. The development of healthy,
genetically improved shrimp stocks represents a tremendous economic opportunity
while potentially improving the outlook for long term industry sustainability.
The present paper is a review of recent developments in penaeid broodstock and
seed production technologies focusing on current limitations while defining the
significant potential offered by emerging developments. © 1998 Elsevier Science
B.V. All rights reserved.
Aquaculture Vol. 164 (1-4) pp. 23-47
Penaeid genetics and biotechnology
a J.A.H. Benzie
a , Australian Institute of Marine Science and Cooperative
Research Centre for Aquaculture, P.M.B. 3, , Townsville, M.C. QLD 4810,
Australia
Abstract: The application of biotechnology to penaeid
prawn aquaculture is increasing in importance. Early doubts that such approaches
were unnecessary, given the crude state of development of the prawn aquaculture
industry, have been replaced by the recognition that sophisticated molecular
approaches will be required to tackle key problems of disease recognition and
control, and to achieve higher production through the development of
domesticated strains. Progress in penaeid genetic and biotechnological research
has been slow because of a lack of knowledge on fundamental aspects of their
biology. However, data is beginning to emerge from research projects started in
the last decade, and is likely to increase rapidly in the next 10 years. Highly
variable markers have been developed that allow the genetic variation in prawn
stocks to be assessed, even in highly inbred cultured lines. The extent to which
growth rate is under genetic control has now been assessed in some species using
rigorous experimental designs to estimate heritabilities. Highly sensitive
techniques that allow the isolation and characterisation of very small
quantities of peptides are being used to investigate the endocrine control of
reproduction, and work has begun on the isolation and characterisation of genes
that play an important role in growth and reproduction. Greater attention is
being paid to developing cell lines for prawns, and to the development of
molecular probes for the identification of pathogens. These tools will provide a
basis for a more detailed description of the penaeid prawn genome, for
understanding disease resistance, and for developing effective control of
reproduction and the development of disease free or disease resistant
domesticated lines. © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.