Farmed whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)
A majority of Indian farmed whiteleg shrimp is currently rated Seafood Watch red (avoid), reflecting persistent challenges across the sector, including disease outbreaks, weak health management, limited farm registration, and poor data availability. Increasing exposure to climate risks, including rising temperatures and heatwaves, erratic rainfall and flooding, and cyclones, directly affects pond water quality, disease prevalence, infrastructure, and production stability. These challenges have strained farmer families’ livelihoods, leading to reduced and more unstable incomes. Shrimp farming households frequently rely on debt to cover living costs, with both men and women working low-wage day labor jobs and facing significant financial insecurity caused by crop failures, fluctuating prices, rising input and labor expenses, and limited access to credit and insurance. Shrimp farming is often seen as high-risk and low-reward, posing potential long-term threats to the industry’s stability.
Monterey Bay Aquarium and multiple partners is advancing several collaborative improvement efforts, including:
– Verification Platform (VP) https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/change-impact/our-conservation-work/global-ocean-conservation-programs/tools-initiatives/verification-platform
– Seafood Social Risk Tool https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/change-impact/our-conservation-work/global-ocean-conservation-programs/human-rights-social-equity/seafood-social-risk-tool
– Aquaculture Governance Indicator assessment https://www.aquaculturegovernance.org/_files/ugd/cff4c6_77908323ab044acea8ab9e8afe72d47c.pdf
– Socio-Economic Baseline Assessment
– Socio-Economic Learning Framework (SELF) https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/change-impact/our-conservation-work/global-ocean-conservation-programs/human-rights-social-equity/socio-economic-learning-framework
– Climate Risk Assessment
– Demonstration Farm
Target outcome:
By the end of 2030, vannamei farms in Andhra Pradesh utilizing the VP will