Development of Quality Assessment Guideline for Litopenaeus Vannamei (Whiteleg Shrimp) Post Larvae
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Date
2020
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Publisher
Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka
Abstract
Penaeus monodon is the main brackish water aquaculture species in Sri Lanka which
targets the production for the export market. Litopenaeus vannamei (Penaeus vannamei)
was introduced in 2018 as a new species expecting a rapid increase in production in the
country. As a management strategy implemented by the National Aquaculture
Development Authority (NAQDA), the assessment of post larvae quality is a compulsory
requirement to obtain a better harvest via better growth without disease infections.
Quality assessment of the P. monodon is based on 10 criteria and a minimum of 80%
marks are required to get the approval for stocking. Up to now, the same assessment
method has been used for P. vannamei, and due to some morphological and anatomical
deviations; it did not totally comply with the new species. Hence, this study aimed to
develop a post larvae quality assessment guideline for Litopenaeus vannamei with a score
allocation procedure for each quality assessment criterion. The characteristics of different
post-larvae stages (PL 1 - PL 30) from three different culture cycles of Litopenaeus
vannamei were evaluated under each criterion and performed microscopically and
morphologically. The microscopic observations were Monodon baculoviruses and
Baculovirus penaeid, condition of hepatopancreas and gut content, necrosis and
deformities, epibiont fouling, muscle opaqueness, and gut to muscle ratio of post larvae.
The average body length, rostral spines, and size variation of each PL stage were the
morphological observations measured to apply as standard values. The obtained values
for post larvae of P. vannamei differed from the values of P. monodon. This study reveals
the incompatibility of using the same assessment method for both shrimp species.
Revision of marks allocation procedure, validation of the quality assessment method, and
introduction as a new guideline will contribute to the future development of
the Litopenaeus vannamei farming industry in Sri Lanka.
Keywords: Litopenaeus vannamei, Post larvae quality, Quality assessment guideline,
Shrimp farming
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Keywords
Aquaculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries