Dr. Manoj M. Sharma
Shrimp Farmer
Mayank Aquaculture pvt Ltd

Mayank Sharma
Shrimp Farmer
Mayank Aquaculture pvt Ltd

INTRODUCTION

Shrimp farming industry exists in India since more than four decades now with its commercial roots back in 1983 driven by scientific shrimp farming practices, growing demand of shrimps and government policies and mandate to promote seafood export. Earlier the shrimp industry growth in India was largely dominated by Black Tiger Shrimp culture (P. monodon) and Indian white shrimp (Fenneropenaeus indicus) to lesser extent. Black tiger culture growth led to the development of entire ecosystem and value chain in the shrimp farming where corporates like hatchery, feed millers and input suppliers played a very catalyzing role in the growth of Black Tiger culture (A. Victor Suresh, 2020). 

Shrimp farming activity gained pace in between year 1991-1992 with production increase 40,000 ton to 1,43,000 ton by 2006-2007 mostly in east coast of India (MPEDA, 2008) (Ramaswamy, U.N., Mohan, A.B. and Metian, M, 2013). Followed by in the west coast of India this was gained roots in late 1990s in terms of area, production as well as socio-economics. 

Despite the growth in the shrimp industry by the Black tiger shrimp, its cultivation had some setbacks such as reliance on wild stocks, lack of proper domestication and inconsistent seed quality, non-uniform growth rates or poor growth rates, disease incidences like Vibrio spp., loose shell, hepatopancreatic virus and the most devastating viral disease White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV). This led to gradual decrease in the Black tiger shrimp production in India.

Later, after coming across the tremendous production potential of American white leg shrimp, L. vannamei, it was introduced in India on trial basis in year 2003 and after through cohabitation studies made officially in year 2009. This exotic shrimp was able to be reared in the existing shrimp ponds and hence was readily introduced in the existing infrastructure of shrimp ponds in India. 

Existing shrimp farmers of India and the industry readily accepted this transition due to many reasons such as Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) broodstock and shrimp seed of SPF status, cope up with higher stocking densities, high production per unit area 3 to 5 tons per hectare compared to 1 to 1.5 tons per hectare of Black Tiger shrimp, uniform quality of seeds and uniform growth rate and faster growth rate than P. monodon even above 20 gram size. 

This gave Indian shrimp industry a push in the shrimp production by many folds making India the top shrimp exporter in the world. L. vannamei was predominantly in East India with Andhra Pradesh being the major producer but the positive effects of L. vannamei success was also seen in states like Gujarat as well. 

THE VANNAMEI ERA: REASONS FOR GROWTH

The growth of L. vannamei shrimp farming and its comparison with Black tiger shrimp is explained in the table below;

The L. vannamei growth gave growth opportunities to many companies hatchery, feed millers, input suppliers and animal healthcare companies and more importantly gave growth to the shrimp farmers of India. There were various genetics being developed for L. vannamei and they are SPF -, SPR (Specific Pathogen Resistance), Hardy lines adapting to extreme or unfavourable conditions and APE (All pathogen exposed). More than 90% of the commercial shrimp produced in India was attributed to L. vannamei. 

Its growth also resulted in development of new management practices adoption of intensive and super intensive culture and transition from Semi intensive culture mode which further boosted the white leg shrimp production in India. Another important aspect of growth of L. vannamei was the acceptability of the shrimp at various sizes and various categories of value-added segment as well. India saw a production of close to 1 million metric tons during the “Vannamei Era”.

DOWNFALL, PRODUCTION RELATED AND SUPPLY DEMAND ISSUES IN L. VANNAMEI FARMING

However, with the increased shrimp production the shrimp farmers of India gradually started facing carrying capacity issue and production related issues in L. vannamei farming such as Vibriosis, White gut, White fecal disease due to high organic load and poor water quality which was the result of intensification. Diseae like EHP (Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei), White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV), running mortality and Atrophy of hepatopancreas also severely impacted vannamei shrimp farming in terms of less survival, poor growth performance and crop failure.

1. Salient features of P. Monodon v/s L. vannamei farming

Additionally, due to the advent of COVID-19 pandemic which affected the entire world and impact the world trade, it had also left its negative impact on economy which resulted in reduced price realization of shrimp exports which in turn affected the farm gate price of vannamei followed by increase in cost of production of shrimp due to increase in feed cost, seed cost, labour and energy cost. India was impacted with COVID-19 in March 2020 and affected the shrimp farming sector in various ways. Shrimp processing businesses faced the possibility of factory shutdowns, cancellations and postponements of purchase orders, and difficulties acquiring the harvested shrimp as many farmers panicked and harvested their shrimp. Consequently, the price of shrimp fell down. SPF broodstock could not be brought in due to the cancellation of overseas flights.  The lack of workers and feed-related problem since feed movement was restricted and costs increased as a result of a shortage of raw supplies and shortage of seed as a result of restricted mobility and a shortage of skilled labor.

In addition to that, India had also got a major competitor and it began from the year 2021 till present 2025 that is Ecuador which significantly skyrocketed their production to approximately a million metric tons in 2021-22 to current production of 1.2 million metric tons. This growth was largely possible due to the APE (All pathogen exposed) line of broodstock in Ecuador, followed by improvement in feeding management, pond management, per unit hectare land holding and operation scale which was greater than India. Moreover, Ecuador had more vertical integration in terms of production to final produce in compare to Indian shrimp industry which is fragmented that allowed large economy of scale for the shrimp farming industry in Ecuador offering shrimps at a competitive price than India.

2. Comparative economics of 30 counts P. monodon v/s L. vannamei
Note: The costing is a reference example as per early days post introduction of L. Vannmaei

All these cumulative factors resulted in stagnating and hampering the growth of the shrimp industry in India as the shrimp produced by the farmers of India got less economic for the buyers and they started to look for Ecuador as a potential supplier to cater certain shrimp sizes and grades. The production related issues followed by reduced price realization had a severe impact on the shrimp farmers success and sustainability as there produce started to become less competitive and this severely affected many regions especially regions like Gujarat where the production of L. vannamei shrimp went down from 45,000 tons to hardly 26,000 tons.

This was due to difficulties in producing large sized vannamei shrimp above 25 grams due to aforementioned technical hurdles and this was something which was very important for states like Gujarat where cost of production was high due to supply of seed and feed to Gujarat from East India followed by high unit electricity energy cost than Andhra Pradesh which was the major shrimp producing state of India. To give an example, the cost of production after factoring seed, feed, energy, workforce, other inputs including healthcare to produce 30 to 40 count per kg of L .vannamei shrimp in Gujarat was approximately with an average of USD 3.80 per kg while of Andhra Pradesh USD 3.25 per Kg respectively. 

To summarize, above mentioned factors and concerns such as production efficiency, input cost, disease issues, price reduced realization and price competitiveness had a profound impact on shrimp farmers profitability and this has been seen all over the shrimp producing nation to lesser or higher extent (Jory, 2023).

Gujarat Comparative economics of 30 count P. monodon v/s L. vannamei: Present

REVIVAL OF BLACK TIGER FARMING IN INDIA DUE TO SPF P. MONODON

Black tiger has always been predominantly an Asian variety and has its significance and relevance in Asia. Since 1993, production has been variable, ranging from a low of 480 000 metric tons in 1997 to a high of 781 582 metric tons in 2010 (Ramaswamy, U.N., Mohan, A.B. and Metian, M, 2013). Due to various reasons of production, disease, market dynamics and price sensitivity the growth of the L. vannamei shrimp farming in India is hampered. However, due to the recent introduction of SPF (Specific Pathogen Free) P. monodon seeds the shrimp farmers in India especially the coastal regions in India and more importantly Gujarat has seen a ray of hope for revival and stability of their region in terms of production and profitability. 

The resurrection of Black Tiger farming was possible due to various reasons:

• Improvement in domestic SPF genetics (domesticated broodstock) 
• Establishments of broodstock multiplication centre and dedicated hatcheries in P. monodon producing regions such as China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Madagascar, Malaysia and India. 
• Tolerate high temperature comparatively to vannmaei and are resistant to EHP where Indian farmers struggle with.
• Good growth rates Example – Moana technologies and Chaoren Pokphand group offers growth of 40 to 45 grams of shrimp in 110 to 120 days which is an average daily growth rate of 0.37 grams which is higher than conventional wild stocks at 0.25 grams average daily growth. 
• More importantly the domesticated brood stocks have resulted in increase in Black Tiger shrimp production especially from China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Madagascar, India and Malaysia from 382,000 metric tons in 2019 to 546,000 metric tons in 2021 (ShrimpInsights, 2022).
• In India, there are predominantly three genetics currently available for seed supply and they are Moana Technologies, Unima – Madagascar, Rajiv Gandhi Centre For Aquaculture (RGCA).

All these factors including the availability of the SPF Black Tiger seeds in India has resulted into revival of black tiger in India especially in the region of Gujarat and certain high salinity brackish or seawater salinity regions of India more particularly East India. The farmers who are failing in vannamei farming due to disease, production efficiency and not able to compete with current farm gate price of vannamei and making loss are gradually shifting to SPF Black Tiger farming. 

The gradual increase in Black tiger production in India is attributed to bigger size and high profit margins for the farmers and increased genetic potential of the domestic SPF genetics of P. monodon to reach sizes above 50 grams which fetches premium price for the farmers and higher profit. 

CASE STUDY OF GUJARAT SHRIMP FARMING

As mentioned earlier, due to disease, production issue and lack of market competitiveness, the vannamei farming in Gujarat is almost negligible and farmers have shifted to culturing black tiger shrimps with using SPF P. monodon genetic lines to produce large sized premium quality shrimps as they used to successfully do during the peak “Vannamei growth era”. 

As the average daily growth and the genetic potential of the SPF P. monodon is very good the farmers in Gujarat are also able to cater sizes from 20 count per kg (50 grams) to as low as 10 count per kg (100 gram). However, the sizes 85 grams to 100 grams have niche oremium market and require 250 to 300 days of culture and continuous monitoring of the site and stringent biosecurity. So, the farms which can get 300 days of culture without any disease incidence predominantly WSSV can surely try to achieve this size. More importantly, the water parameter of Gujarat, especially the salinity 15 ppt to 30 ppt average favours the growth of Black tiger and allows optimal growth of shrimp till the desired size.

Despite of the cost of production challenges which Gujarat faces with world market for vannamei and with the Indian state itself that is Andhra Pradesh, they are doing very good with the Black Tiger culture in terms of fetching higher farm gate price and more success rate in farming compared to vannamei. To sum up, vannamei is very difficult to grow in Gujarat above 25 grams with standard cost of production and hence the chances of loss are high and replicating the success rate is very difficult. However, the black tiger culture gives stability to the farmer above 25 grams where it starts making sizeable profits at 16 count to 20 count per kg of shrimps which is achievable within 140 to 180 days timeframe depending on type of genetics, stocking and farming management model. 

In short, Black tiger has brought stability to the shrimp farmers of Gujarat and maintain their profit margins. 

Moreover, as average size of black tiger is above 30 count per kg and most farmers are able to grow Black tiger up to 45 to 50 grams easily they fetch minimum profit of USD 2 to 2.2 per kg. At sizes above 62.5 grams the profit margins increase exponentially to USD 3 to 5 per kg of shrimp produced.

THINGS TO LOOK UPON:

Despite the huge success and potential of Black Tiger farming in India there are certain aspects which should be look upon to ensure its guaranteed success.

World shrimp production: World shrimp production is approximately 5.6 million metric tons with vannamei being the most predominant species with Black tiger hardly being about 10% of the total shrimp basket and largely China, Vietnam, Malaysia and other Asian countries have a strong domestic presence as well which limits the world shrimp basket.

Market: Black tiger is an Asian variety and is more popular at sizes above 25 grams with predominantly China, EU and Japan market.

Sizes: Vannamei shrimp is acceptable at all sizes and range from 5 gram to 50 grams while Black Tiger is sellable above 25 grams.

Disease: White spot Disease or WSSV is still a major bottleneck which poses a risk for getting desired days of culture to reach marketable size and hence, maintaining proper biosecurity measures and quality assurance check of seed is vital. Addressing high organic load to avoid Zoothamnium spp. along with stable water parameters is important.

Farmers’ experience: Farmers in India are more familiar and experienced with vannamei and have to adopt to black tiger culture especially feeding management. Vannamei is predominantly column feeder while Black tiger is a benthic feeder. Hence, farmer will have to learn to adapt to Black tiger farming. Moreover managing the farms of 200 days is something farmers especially ones who only did vannamei farming are not experienced to combat black tiger specific challenges and hence will gradually get used to it by trial and error.Moreover, with Black tiger there is only one crop per year compared to minimum 2 crops pr year for vannamei.

Indian industry can surely increase their Black tiger shrimp production from their current average of 50,000  metric tons. But will require marketing efforts, reinventing and exploring the Black tiger market and try to gradually stretch the market to fit in with traceability, various sizes and grades offer as per countries’ demand with assurance of consistent supply and volume. There are emerging concepts like nursery, automated feeders (moving feeders and acoustic based) that will surely be encouraging and catalyzing black tiger growth in India.

CONCLUSION

India’s pursuit to revival of black tiger farming is commendable and they have been doing great work with providing necessary technical foundation (Seed, Feed, Technical knowledge and relevant inputs). For ensuring success and stability they should definitely address structural gaps such as market size, production SOPs, diseases and creating demand. India’s leadership in shrimp farming offers a foundation—but reviving P. monodon requires a differentiated strategy, not just replication of the vannamei model. With the right partnerships, policy, support, and branding, Black Tiger shrimp could reclaim its premium space in the global seafood market—albeit as a targeted, high-value niche, not a volume commodity. 

Elements such as “patience, product and promotion” will drive the farmers’ success. Also its not about the volume but the value Black tiger shrimp creates for Indian shrimp industry and more importantly its farmers as prime objective for farmer is to “Success and Sustain” with sizeable profits.

REFERENCES

• Shrimp Insights (2022, October 3). Black Will Really Be Back. Big Time, Shrimp Insights. https://shrimpinsights.com/blog/black-will-really-be-back-big-time

• Victor Suresh (2020, October 5) How India became the world’s top shrimp producer, Global Seafood Alliance. https://www.globalseafood.org/advocate/how-india-became-the-worlds-top-shrimp-producer/

• MPEDA (2008). MPEDA Newsletter, June 2008. Kochi, MPEDA. 1 p.

• Ramaswamy, U.N., Mohan, A.B. and Metian, M (2013). On-farm feed management: practices for black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) in India. In M.R. Hasan and M.B. New, eds. On-farm feeding and feed management in aquaculture. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper No 583. Rome, FAO. pp. 303–336. 

• Jory, D. (2023, October 9). Annual farmed shrimp production survey: A slight decrease in production reduction in 2023 with hopes for renewed growth in 2024 - Responsible Seafood Advocate, Global Seafood Alliance. https://www.globalseafood.org/advocate/annual-farmed-shrimp-production-survey-a-slight-decrease-in-production-reduction-in-2023-with-hopes-for-renewed-growth-in-2024/