India’s Coastal Aquaculture Authority (CAA), which is responsible for regulating activities connected with aquaculture in coastal areas, is going to clamp down on the illegal culture of the whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei).
The authority is also going to take steps to shut down shrimp hatcheries and farms that are unregistered. Even registered farms and hatcheries that are culturing and breeding whiteleg shrimp without the approval of the CAA will be shut down. Out of 14,549 CAA registered farms in the state only 246 have permission to cultivate whiteleg shrimp.
Action will be initiated against hatcheries using banned antibiotics as reported by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA).
The whiteleg shrimp, also known as the Pacific white shrimp, is a prawn of eastern Pacific Ocean.
The production of whiteleg shrimp exceeded that of the tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) by 2004 itself, but the production of this variety of shrimp is limited by its susceptibility to various diseases, including the white spot syndrome, taura syndrome and vibrio bacteria.
