BFAR destroys infected white shrimps

DAGUPAN CITY — About 1,100 pieces of imported white shrimps known as "Peneaus vannamei," costing $35 each, will be "destroyed" today, following recommendation by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC) to Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Director Malcolm Sarmiento.

The shrimps, which were imported from Hawaii and cultured at the BFAR office, were found infected with a disease.

Several groups from the media and the SEAFDEC were invited to witness the destruction of the shrimps. But, Westly Rosario, the BFAR center chief here, belied reports that that the disease found in these breeders was the deadly Taura syndrome virus, a kind of prawn disease initially found among shrimps in the Ecuador river in 1992.

In a letter to Sarmiento, the SEAFDEC transmitted the results of the exhaustive tests on the P. vannamei breeders from the National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center-BFAR in Bonuan Binloc here.

"In brief, the PCR tests showed that all the samples are negative of White Spot Syndrome Virus and Taura Syndrome Virus, but the last sample obtained personally by Dr. Leobert de la Peña was positive of the Infectious Hypodermal and Haematopoietic Necrosis Virus or IHHNV.

The havoc caused by this virus on cultured P. vannamei in the Americas was the driving force to develop Specific Pathogen-Free (SPF) stocks. Thus, its presence in the broodstocks currently at the NIFTDC, Bonuan is totally not acceptable," said Rolando Platon, SEAFDEC chief.

Platon added that the histopathology showed that 100 percent of the samples were positive of the hepatopancreatic Parvo Virus or HPV and that in all likelihood the broodstock came from postlarvae that were already infected by HPV.

He added that the presence of melanized tissues show that the animals suffered from but survived chronic vibriosis during their development. This is an indication that husbandry during their rearing may have been poor and resulted in bacterial infection.

"Under such condition we are constrained to recommend the immediate destruction and proper disposal of the entire P. vannamei broodstock in NIFTDC," Platon said.

On August 28, 2004, BFAR and the AgriFisheries World Incorporated, a private entity engaged in the culture of various species of fish, principally ‘Peneaus vannamei," and is supported by Chinese, Taiwanese and other ASEAN fishery experts, entered into a memorandum of agreement for the culture of this kind of shrimps notably available in Hawaii and other Asian countries.