Diseases in shrimp aquaculture

This project is funded by Innovate UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Board) and was launched in April 2015. The project is focused on the surveillance and detection of shrimp diseases in south east Asia.

The aim of the project is to validate and apply a cutting-edge UK-based technology (Genedrive) and a bespoke smartphone app to collect and transmit disease data from remote farms to centralised reference laboratories.

By bringing together industry specialists alongside our experts in the diagnosis, pathology and epidemiology of white spot disease (WSD), we will drastically improve detection and management of economically damaging diseases in global aquaculture.

The ultimate goal of this project is to contribute significantly to poverty alleviation in producer nations and food security in net import countries, using UK-based technologies and expertise. Between them, WSD, White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) and Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) cost the global farmed shrimp industry over $3 billion each year. This far exceeds the value of all shrimp products imported to the EU each year.

The aims of this project were supported by a recent UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) funded workshop on Disease in Aquaculture. It highlighted how so-called 'decentralised' testing (i.e. local, on-farm) and reporting of data via smartphones has potential to dramatically improve the health status of aquatic farms in Asia.