Whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei, formerly Penaeus vannamei), also known as Pacific white shrimp or King prawn, is a variety of prawn of the eastern Pacific Ocean commonly caught or farmed for food.L. vannamei is a decapod crustacean which is native to the Eastern Pacific Coast of Central and South America from Tumbes, Peru in the south to Mexico in the north. It has been introduced widely around the world since the 1970s, but especially since 2000, as it has become the principle cultured shrimp species in Asia. The species itself is not considered a major threat to biodiversity, does not appear to have formed breeding populations, and has generally resulted in positive economic impacts in non-indigenous areas. An examination of current lists of invasive species published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Invasive Species Specialist Group (IUCN, 2004) revealed no listings for L. vannamei. As mentioned, L. vannamei has been anthropogenically introduced as an aquaculture species to several areas of the world to which it is not native. , Nazmul Haque Syekat

1. Course Title : Fish Pathology
Course Code : FIMS 3207 , Year 3 Term 2
An Assignment On : “Introduce to Whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus
vannamei) is a threat in Aquaculture of Bangladesh or vice versa ”
Submitted to
Dr. Shyamal Kumar Paul
Assistant Professor ,
Department of Fisheries & Marine Science ,
Noakhali Science & Technology University
Submitted by
Nazmul Haque Syekat
Roll: ASH1802050M
Date of Submission : 12th April 2021
Noakhali Science & Technology University
Sonapur, Noakhali -3814
Department of Fisheries and Marine Science

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INDEX OF THE ASSIGNMENT
SL NAME OF CONTENTS PAGE
1 Introduction 3
2 Historical Background 4
3 Scientific Classification 5
4 Morphology of Litopenaeus vannamei 5
5 Life stages and Colour 7
6 Distribution of Litopenaeus vannamei : 8
7 Fishery and Aquaculture 9
8 Why Culture L. vannamei in Bangladesh? 10
9 Advantages And Disadvantages of L. vannamei 11
10 Risks And Threats Culturing vannamei 12
11 Biodiversity And Impacts on Wild Stocks 14
12 L. vannamei Shrimp Cultivation in Bangladesh 14
13 Shrimp Exporters to enjoy edge as vannamei
farming
16
14 Conclusion & Reference 18

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Introduction:
Whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei, formerly Penaeus vannamei), also known as Pacific
white shrimp or King prawn, is a variety of prawn of the eastern Pacific Ocean commonly caught
or farmed for food.
Fig: Whiteleg shrimp ( Litopenaeus vannamei )
L. vannamei is a decapod crustacean which is native to the Eastern Pacific Coast of Central and
South America from Tumbes, Peru in the south to Mexico in the north. It has been introduced
widely around the world since the 1970s, but especially since 2000, as it has become the principle
cultured shrimp species in Asia. The species itself is not considered a major threat to biodiversity,
does not appear to have formed breeding populations, and has generally resulted in positive
economic impacts in non-indigenous areas. An examination of current lists of invasive species
published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Invasive Species Specialist
Group (IUCN, 2004) revealed no listings for L. vannamei. As mentioned, L. vannamei has been
anthropogenically introduced as an aquaculture species to several areas of the world to which it is
not native.
Introduce to Whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) is a
threat in Aquaculture of Bangladesh or vice versa

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Historical Background
The first spawning of this species was achieved in Florida in 1973 from nauplii spawned and
shipped from a wild-caught mated female from Panama. Following good pond results and the
discovery of unilateral ablation (and adequate
nutrition) to promote maturation in Panama in
1976, commercial culture of Penaeus
vannamei began in South and Central America.
Subsequent development of intensive breeding
and rearing techniques led to its culture in
Hawaii, mainland United States of America, and
much of Central and South America by the early
1980s. From this time, the commercial culture
of this species in Latin America showed a rapidly
increasing trend (with peaks every 3–4 years during the warm, wet 'el niño' years), punctuated by
declines co-incident with disease outbreaks during the cold 'la niña' years. Despite these problems,
production of L. vannamei from the Americas has been increasing – after declining from its earlier
peak production of 193 000 tonnes in 1998 to 143 000 tonnes in 2000 it had grown to over 270
000 tonnes by 2004. Asia has seen a phenomenal increase in the production of P. vannamei.
Although no production was reported to FAO in 1999, it was nearly 1 116 000 tonnes by 2004 and
had overtaken the production of P. monodon in China,
Taiwan Province of China and Thailand, due to a number
of favourable factors. However, due to fears over
importation of exotic diseases, many Asian countries
have been reluctant to promote farming of P.
vannamei, so that its culture remains officially
confined to experimental testing only in Cambodia,
India, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Philippines.
Thailand and Indonesia both freely permit its
commercial culture but have official restrictions, so
Litopenaeus vannamei postlarvae in a plastic bag.
Cleaning and processing harvested white shrimp.
that only SPF/SPR broodstock may be imported. Similarly, most Latin American countries have
strict quarantine laws or bans to prevent importation of exotic pathogens with new stocks.

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Scientific Classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Metazoa
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Subclass: Eumalacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Dendrobranchiata
Unknown: Penaeoidea
Family: Penaeidae
Genus: Litopenaeus
Species: Litopenaeus vannamei
Morphology of Litopenaeus vannamei
Shrimp of the family Penaeidae follow a similar body design to that of most Malacostracans. That
is, they are laterally compressed, elongate decapods, with a well-developed abdomen adapted for
swimming. Each somite (segment) is enclosed by a dorsal tergum and ventral sternum. It is usual
to call the side plates (and any extensions thereof) of each somite the pleura .
In the Penaeidae the head (five somites) and thorax (eight somites) are fused into a cephalothorax,
which is completely covered by the carapace. The pleura of the cephalothorax form the
branchiostegite or gill cover. The carapace has characteristic ridges (carinae) and grooves (sulci).
The rostrum is always prominent, with a high median blade bearing dorsal teeth and, in some
genera, ventral teeth as well. The compound eyes are stalked and laterally mobile and the somites
of the head bear, in order, pairs of antennules, antennae, mandibles, maxillules (maxillae 1) and

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Fig: Morphology of Litopenaeus vannamei
maxillae (maxillae 2). The thorax has three pairs of maxillipeds and five pairs of pereiopods (legs),
the first three being chelate and used for feeding, and last two simple (non-chelate) and used for
walking. The abdomen consists of six somites, the first five with paired pleopods. The mouth is
situated ventrally and the cephalic appendages surrounding it, plus the first and second maxillipeds
and sometimes the third as well, may be referred to collectively as the ‘mouth parts’. The anus is
on the ventral surface of the telson, towards its base .
Penaeids are dioecious and the external structures of the genital system are the major dimorphic
features. The male has two pairs of modified abdominal appendages on the first and second
abdominal segments (the petasma and appendix masculina) that deliver sperm to the female's
external receptacle (the thelycum) located between the bases of the fifth walking legs. The
petasma, appendix masculine and thelycum are located on the ventral surface (Bailey-Brock and
Moss, 1992).

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Life stages:
L. vannamei has six nauplii stages, three
protozeal stages, and three mysis stages
in its pelagic larval life history .
Subsequently, it becomes a post-larva
and adopts a benthic lifestyle.The
carapace length (CL) of L.
vannamei postlarvae ranges from 0.88 to
3.00 mm . The larval stages (1.95-2.73
mm CL) can be recognized by the lack
of a thoracic spine on the seventh
sternite, and relative rostral length
against the length of eye plus eye stalk
ranges from 2/5 to 3/5, rarely 4/5 . The
most distinguishable morphological
character is the development of
supraorbital spines in the second and
third protozoea.
Colour
The colour of L. vannamei is typically translucent-white. The body can display a bluish hue that
is due to a predominance of blue chromatophores which are concentrated near the margins of the
telson and uropods . Colour variations are also shown in cases of nutritional deficiencies. The legs
of L. vannamei can often appear white; hence the common name, white-legged shrimp.

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Distribution of Litopenaeus vannamei :
The main producer countries of L. vannamei are shown in the map, while the whole list include:
China, Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Venezuela, Honduras, Guatemala,
Nicaragua, Belize, Viet Nam, Malaysia, Tawian P.C., Pacific Islands, Peru, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Panama, El Salvador, the United States of America, India, Philippines, Cambodia, Suriname, Saint
Kitts, Jamaica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Bahamas.
Fig: Main producer countries of L. vannamei (FAO Fishery Statistics ,2006)
L. vannamei typically occurs in the Gulf of Panama (Perez Farfante and Kensley, 1997). Its range
in the eastern Pacific is from Sonora, Mexico, south to Tumbes, Peru (Perez-Farfante and Kensley,
1997). A suitable environment for outdoor pond culture of this species is any location in which
water temperature remains within 26-32°C for at least one growout period and in which salinity
does not rapidly change within 2-45 ppt. Any attempts at culture outside a salinity range of 15-35
ppt should be undertaken with adequate acclimation of postlarvae/juveniles to ambient conditions.
Year-round outdoor culture is possible along the west coast of Mexico, Central America and South

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America in the western hemisphere from Sonora, Mexico, to Tumbes, Peru. These latitudes are
also appropriate for the east coasts of Mexico, Central America and South America, but can also
include islands in the Caribbean Sea and western Atlantic (e.g. the Bahamas), where the species
must be introduced. Suitable areas for culture have been identified and are being increasingly used
in South-East Asia and mainland China at similar latitudes; however, this has lead to transboundary
movements of exotic diseases (e.g. monodon slow growth syndrome, Taura syndrome virus,
infectious myonecrosis virus and necrotizing hepatopancreatitis), so future introductions warrant
further scrutiny.
Fishery and Aquaculture
During the 20th century, L. vannamei was an important species for Mexican inshore fishermen, as
well as for trawlers further offshore. In the late 20th century, the wild fishery was overtaken by the
use of aquaculture; this began in 1973 in Florida using prawns captured in Panama. In Latin
America, the culture of L. vannamei showed peaks of production during the warm El Niño years,
and reduced production during the cooler La Niña years, due to the effects of disease.
Production of L. vannamei is limited by its susceptibility to various diseases, including white spot
syndrome, Taura syndrome, infectious hypodermal and haematopoietic necrosis, baculoviral
midgut gland necrosis, and Vibrio infections.
By 2004, global production of L. vannamei approached 1,116,000 t, and exceeded that of Penaeus
monodon. In 2010, Greenpeace International added the whiteleg shrimp to its seafood red list.
This lists fish that are commonly sold in supermarkets around the world, and which have a very
high risk of being sourced from unsustainable fisheries. The reasons given by Greenpeace were
"destruction of vast areas of mangroves in several countries, overfishing of juvenile shrimp from
the wild to supply shrimp farms, and significant human rights abuses". Whiteleg shrimp, Penaeus
vannamei, production was 53% of the total production of farmed crustaceans in 2016 globally.

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Why Culture L. vannamei in Bangladesh?
There are many reasons for the introduction of L. vannamei outside its natural range. Despite the
presence of various international, regional and country-specific regulations, the private sector
(and/or government) often initiates introductions due to problems with the culture of their
indigenous species and the (rightly or wrongly) perceived production benefits of the exotic species.
There may be marketing advantages, and a desire to expand, intensify and/or diversify aquaculture
systems. Additionally, improved transportation efficiency has removed some old limitations and
encouraged international trade in exotic species. The main reason behind the importation of L.
vannamei to Asia has been the poor performance, slow growth rate and disease susceptibility of
the major indigenous cultured shrimp species, P. chinensis in China and P. monodon virtually
everywhere else. Cultured shrimp production in Asia has been characterized by a series of
outbreaks of disease caused by viral pathogens that have caused significant losses to the culture
industries of most Asian countries over the past decade. These diseases have not been confined to
single countries but have spread throughout shrimp culture regions, apparently as a result of
transfers of infected stock. It was not until the late 1990s, spurred by the production of the imported
L. vannamei, that Asian
(and therefore world)
production levels began
to increase again.
Kazi Belayet Hossain,
president of the
Bangladesh Frozen
Foods Exporters
Association, said that
vannamei shrimp
account for 77 per cent of the global shrimp trade while black tiger shrimp accounts for 12 per
cent. Meanwhile, Bangladesh's share in global black tiger shrimp market is around 2 per cent. "We
have been demanding the government for permission to sow vannamei since 1997. It is positive
that they have allowed piloting though. If we are successful in the trail run, there will be no barrier
to cultivation and production and exports will increase," he said.

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Advantages And Disadvantages of L. vannamei
Penaeus vannamei offers numerous advantages over P. monodon for the Asian shrimp farmer.
These are largely associated with the ability to close the life cycle and produce broodstock within
the culture ponds. This removes the necessity of returning to the wild for broodstock or postlarvae
(PL) and permits domestication and genetic selection for favourable traits such as growth rate,
disease resistance and rapid maturation. Through these means, domesticated stocks of SPF and
specific pathogen resistant (SPR) shrimp have been developed and are currently commercially
available from the USA. Other specific advantages include: rapid growth rate, tolerance of high
stocking density, tolerance of low salinity and temperature, lower protein requirements (and
therefore production costs), certain disease resistance (related to SPR stocks), high survival during
larval rearing, and some marketing advantages.
There are, however, also disadvantages to the importation of P. vannamei, including its ability to
act as a carrier of various viral pathogens exotic to Asia, a lack of knowledge of culture techniques
(particularly for broodstock development) in Asia, a smaller final size and hence lower market
price than P. monodon, the need for high technology for intensive ponds, competition with Latin
America for markets, and a lack of support for farmers due to their often illegal status. The major
disadvantage of using exotic aquatic species such as P. vannamei is the potential to transfer serious
pathogens. Transboundary pathogen transfers in newly imported species often result in the
establishment of infections in naturally susceptible indigenous hosts and may lead to the adaptation
of pathogens to a new range of hosts. Due to their inherent genetic variability, rapid rate of
replication, and common occurrence as low-level latent infections in apparently healthy animals,
the transfer of viral pathogens is of particular concern. Since it is clear that the culture of P.
vannamei is already established and growing fast in the Asian Region, it is important that informed
decisions regarding these advantages and disadvantages be made and appropriate actions taken.
This would ideally develop through a close dialogue between governments, the private sector and
other concerned organizations.

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Risks And Threats Culturing vannamei
1.Although there have been numerous escapes from aquaculture production facilities into non-
native waters, and this species is regularly caught in the wild around Asia, it is as yet unproven
whether breeding populations have been established outside its natural range. Perhaps of more
concern is that L. vannamei is known to carry a range of diseases (especially viral) that can affect
both this species and the native shrimp (and other crustacean) species in countries where it has
been introduced. This can have negative consequences on its culture and the culture of the
indigenous species and possibly on wild stocks, although very little is known about this. However,
it is suspected that diseases such as Taura syndrome virus, infectious myonecrosis virus and
necrotizing hepatopancreatitis (and elements of the mondodon slow growth syndrome) have been
brought into Asia from Latin America with introductions of L. vannamei.
2. L. vannamei is now farmed and established in several countries in East, Southeast and South
Asia and is playing a significant role in shrimp aquaculture production. On the other hand, it is
also evident that viruses previously confined to Latin America, such as Taura Syndrome Virus
(TSV), are taking a toll within L. vannamei shrimp aquaculture in many countries in Asia . Also,
there have been reports of “Runt Deformity Syndrome” (RDS) in L. vannamei caused by
Infectious Hypodermal and Haematopoetic Necrosis Virus (IHHNV), which is endemic in P.
monodon in the region. The overall performance of L. vannamei as a candidate species within the
shrimp aquaculture sector in Asia is still unclear. An understanding of the social, economic, and
environmental impacts resulting from the introduction of this species into Bangladesh is still
lacking. As a newly introduced species, it is uncertain how P. vannamei will behave and perform
in the region, and what impacts it will have on the regional economy, environmental sustainability,
rural livelihoods and biodiversity. Taura Syndrome Virus (TSV), which was initially identified in
L. vannamei shrimp farms near the Taura River in Ecuador in early 1992, caused severe production
and economic losses to the shrimp sector in the Americas and remains a major constraint to sectoral
development. Similarly, White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV), which was initially identified in
P. monodon in Mainland China and Taiwan, severely affected the Asian shrimp industry and
subsequently spread to the Americas where it affected L. vannamei production systems. Although

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there is no evidence that TSV has spread to the major indigenous farmed shrimp species (P.
monodon and P. chinensis), there has been a report of infection in wild metapenaeid shrimp in
Taiwan and an accompanying genetic adaptation of the virus. In Asia, first Yellowhead Virus
(YHV) from 1992 and later WSSV from 1994 caused continuing direct losses of approximately
US$1 billion per year to the native cultured shrimp industry. In Latin America, first TSV from
1993 and later, particularly WSSV from 1999, caused direct losses of approximately $0.5 billion
per year. Ancillary losses involving supporting sectors of the industry, jobs, and market and bank
confidence put the final loss much higher.
3.It is widely believed that these three most economically significant viral pathogens (and a host
of other pathogens) have been introduced to the Asian and Latin American countries suffering
these losses through the careless introduction of live shrimp stocks. Except for China, most Asian
countries have legislated against the introduction of L. vannamei due to fears over the possibility
of importing new pathogenic viruses and other diseases from Latin America to Asia. Many
governments have allowed the importation of supposedly disease-free stocks of L. vannamei that
are available from the USA. The encouraging trial results; the industry-perceived benefits,
including superior disease resistance, growth rate and other advantages, allied with problems
controlling the imports from other countries, has lead to the widespread introduction of this species
to Asia, primarily by commercial farmers. Unfortunately, importation of cheaper, non-disease free
stock has resulted in the introduction of serious viral pathogens (particularly TSV) into a number
of Asian countries, including Mainland China, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, and possibly
elsewhere. There are now many hatcheries established in Asia that are producing PL for stocking,
although the original sources of the stocks and their current health status are quite uncertain. What
can be assumed is that many of the hatcheries are not able to maintain their stocks as SPF and
invariably they become infected with local viral diseases and quite possibly, with diseases that are
typical to the species when in Latin America (e.g. TSV). This is partly due to private-sector
hatcheries being unaware of the requirements for maintaining clean stocks and partly due to corner
cutting due to the rising demand for postlarval L. vannamei.

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Biodiversity And Impacts on Wild Stocks
Although TSV (Taura Syndrome Virus) does not yet seem to have affected the indigenous cultured
and wild shrimp populations, time and research effort have been insufficient to prove this. TSV is
also a highly mutable virus, capable of mutating into more virulent strains that are able to infect
other species. In addition, other viruses probably imported with P. vannamei, for example, a new
Lymphoid Organ Vacuolization (LOVV)-like virus, have been implicated as causing the slow
growth problems currently being encountered with the culture of the indigenous P. monodon.
There remain many unanswered questions regarding the possible effects of introduced species on
other cultured and wild shrimp populations in Asia. For example, at present there is still no
information available regarding whether or not P. vannamei has established in the wild and if so,
the impacts of its interactions with native crustacean species.
L. vannamei Shrimp Cultivation in Bangladesh:
The government has allowed two entrepreneurs to pilot the cultivation of L. vannamei, a non-
native species of shrimps, in the country as it decided in principle to go for introducing the variety
in the country. A fisheries ministry-formed technical committee on feasibility for introducing
vannamei on Monday allowed Shushilan, a non-government organisation in Khulna, and Agri
Business Enterprise in Chattogram to launch two separate pilot projects for introducing vannamei
under the supervision of the Department of Fisheries and the Bangladesh Fish Research Institute.
According to the decision of the meeting of the technical committee, one pilot project would be
implemented at Paikgacha in Khulna and the other in Cox’s Bazar. Country’s shrimp exporters
have been demanding for more than a decade to allow the culture of vannamei in the country to
remain competitive in the export market as the earnings from the local variety black tiger have
decreased for high prices and lower production.
The government was reluctant to allow the vannamei variety as green activists claimed that the
culture of the variety would be harmful for biosecurity. ‘Against the backdrop of the longstanding
demand from shrimp exporters, the government decided in principle to introduce the vannamei
variety, known as whiteleg shrimps, in the country,’ DoF additional director general Md Ramzan
Ali said.

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He said that the DoF allowed two entrepreneurs to pilot for one year under the close supervision
of the government and if the pilot projects achieved success, the commercial production of
vannamei would be allowed across the country. ‘Hopefully, the piloting will be successful as we
will give our full efforts to the projects so that the country can gain more production of shrimps,’
Ramzan said.
Md Golam Mostafa, former president of the Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association,
appreciated the government’s decision to allow vannamei variety in the country and said that the
government should come up with the infrastructure facility for the culture of the species. He said
that exporters had been demanding for long introduction of the species in the country as the local
item black tiger was losing its market due to high production cost. L. vannamei grabbed 80 per
cent of the market of the total shrimp export in the world while the share of black tiger decreased
to only 10 per cent. The production of vannamei is 20 times higher than the local item and
Bangladesh should have introduced the variety more than 10 years ago to retain the global market
share. The production of vannamei shrimps is 20 tonnes a hectare while the production of local
variety is one tonne a hectare.The government allowed two entrepreneurs for piloting vannamei

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cultivation but the government should have taken the initiative as it had logistics.The country’s
shrimp exporters had been demanding for 15 years introduction of vannamei in the country. It
would take three to four years to go for commercial production of the variety after piloting.
Shrimp Exporters to enjoy edge as vannamei farming
The fisheries office allowed Shushilan, a non-governmental organisation, and MU Seafood to pilot
the first culture of whiteleg shrimp in the southwestern division of Khulna, a major farming region
for export-oriented shrimp. However, the two companies have yet to initiate their trial run of
farming Vannamei shrimp, in Paikgachha of Khulna. The move comes in the face of increased
demand from shrimp processors and exporters, whose earnings from locally produced black tiger
shrimp and freshwater prawn have fallen consistently since fiscal 2014-15 owing to competition
from the cheaper vannamei shrimp farmed mainly in China, Southeast Asia, India and some Latin
American regions.Exporters fetched $333 million in the last fiscal from shrimp exports, down 40
per cent from $550 million in fiscal 2013-14, data from the Export Promotion Bureau showed. The

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downturn in export earnings from shrimp-farmed on 2.72 lakh hectares by more than eight lakh
farmers for the EU and US markets continued this fiscal year too.
Shrimp exports declined 3 per cent year-on-year to nearly $97 million between July and September of
the ongoing fiscal. The fisheries office was unwilling to allow an exotic species to be farmed here as they
feared the alien species may have a negative impact on native species such as black tiger shrimp,
according to industry insiders.
Azizul Haque, deputy director of aquaculture at the DoF, said his organisation has allowed the
farming of vannamei shrimp on a trial basis to see if there are significant results as this species is
also farmed in India."The piloting has to be done by importing specific pathogen free post larvae
(PL)," he added. The DoF also attached the condition that the pilot should be initiated only after
the PLs are quarantined and tested at labs under the DoF and BFRI.
Vannamei cultivation increased steadily from 8,000 tonnes in 1980 to nearly 50 lakh tonnes in
2018, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The total haul in 2018
was nearly double of the 24 lakh tonnes of whiteleg shrimp produced in 2009, the FAO's 2018
yearbook of Fishery and Aquaculture Statistics showed. Whiteleg shrimp accounted for more than
80 per cent of the total shrimp production for that year as well. The DoF finally allowed the
vannamei shrimp pilot based on recommendations from the national technical committee, Haque
said. The decision followed a directive from the fisheries and livestock ministry to allow vannamei
shrimp farming in the Khulna and Cox's Bazar regions. Earlier, the DoF sent an 11-point
recommendation to the fisheries ministry based on a workshop in September 2018, regarding the
exploration and feasibility of farming the exotic species. The DoF decided to grant permission to
Agribusiness Enterprise to farm whiteleg shrimp on a trial basis for one year at a meeting in mid-
September this year.
However, this tenure may be extended based on results of the first year of cultivation, according
to the meeting. Contacted, Nizamuddin Mahmood Selim, managing partner of Agribusiness
Development and Services, said he was yet to get the letter from the DoF regarding their
permission to pilot vannamei farming. "We will decide after going through the letter and terms

18. 18 | P a g e
and conditions related to trial farming the shrimp species," he added. Mostafa Nuruzzaman, chief
executive of Shushilan, said they could not start cultivation yet because of early rainfall.
Conclusion:
Wishing anonymity, a senior official at the DoF said they are not against vannamei culture. Rather
it should be launched as many countries are now producing the shrimp. But it is needed to build
necessary infrastructures and bio-security system, he said. "So it will take time to launch the
project. We don't want to launch it without proper preparation." He also said the DoF will provide
necessary training to the entrepreneurs and an experts' committee will oversee the project. "So,
there is no reason the farming will fail." Bangladesh exports only 2.0 per cent of the international
demand for frozen shrimp, according to the Bangladesh Shrimp and Fish Foundation (BSFF).The
country once boasted 110 frozen fish factories holding the second position among the total export-
oriented sectors even a decade ago. But the number has come down to as low as 50 now.
Unavailability of exportable fish, especially shrimp, in the local market is the key reason behind
this worst situation in the industry, insiders have said. According to the Bangladesh Frozen Foods
Exporters Association (BFFEA), some 96,265 tonnes of shrimp and fish were exported in fiscal
year (FY) 2011-12. The export volume fell by 68,161 tonnes in FY 2016-17. About 3.5 million
people are involved in this sector.
References:
https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/71097
http://www.fao.org/fishery/culturedspecies/Penaeus_vannamei/en
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiteleg_shrimp
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285905813_Is_white_shrimp_Penaeus_vannam
ei_a_threat_to_Asian_shrimp_culture

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https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/aquaculture/bangladesh-government-grants-
permission-for-vannamei-pilot-farms
https://www.newagebd.net/article/98145/govt-allows-vannamei-shrimp-cultivation
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/shrimp-exporters-enjoy-edge-vannamei-
farming-gets-nod-1973865
https://www.banglanews24.com/english/business/news/bd/84069.details
https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade/govt-decides-to-start-piloting-vannamei-
shrimp-farming-1550379289