Society of Aquaculture Professionals (SAP) concluded a review of shrimp farming in India in 2020. In a series of virtual meetings held among industry stakeholders on January 29-30, 2021, the unanimous opinion was that farmed shrimp production declined from a record production of nearly 800,000 tonnes in 2019 to about 650,000 tonnes in 2020, a 19% drop. Earlier forecasts in meetings organized by SAP in 2020 were nearly 30%, so the actual decline was less than what was predicted. The present review highlighted that while the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown of 2020 had an immediate as well as lasting negative impact on shrimp farming, processing and exports. However, production losses due to diseases continue to mount and require urgent attention. While farmers are adapting measures such as short crop cycles, nurseries and the use of functional feeds to counter the problems, much productivity loss can be averted if diseases are managed well.National level surveillance of shrimp diseases needs to continue but with greater focus and accountability. Producers need to follow the principles of sustainable farming, especially in the areas of pond preparation, on-farm biosecurity measures, seed selection, stocking and farm management. At a higher level, understanding the carrying capacity of the ecosystem that supports the farming as well as the individual farming units themselves is of utmost importance. Investments in the improvement of infrastructure to support the farming intensity, and choice of the right genetics for the production systems would be critical to success in challenging times.
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