The polychaete worms forms an important component in the marine food chain as they became an essential source of food for brood fish/shrimp. Polychaetes are an indispensable maturation diet for broodstock shrimps, and have been reported to accelerate maturity and enhance fecundity among the Penaeid shrimps due to presence of more polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), such as arachidonic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acids. Polychaete worms are being commercially exploited in an unscientific way and indiscriminate exploitation of polychaetes poses a serious threat to the ecosystem and would ultimately impact the livelihood of the fishermen. As per the “National Biodiversity Act (2002)” the collection of wild polychaete worms has been banned. Hence, standardization of culture practices for polychaete worms is very important and therefore, extending the production practices to shrimp hatchery operators is much more relevant. The shrimp maturation process is carried out for almost 8 months in the hatcheries for Penaeus vannamei. At present, on an average 6 kg and 45 kg of live polychaete worms are being used respectively in P. vannamei and P. monodon shrimp hatcheries at the cost of Rs. 2000/kg.
In this context, ICAR-CIBA signed an MoU with the M/s. Naturalle Herbal Remedies Pvt. Ltd. Nellore, Andhra Pradesh on 17th November 2021 for the development of grow-out technology for polychaete worms such as sand (Perinereis spp.) and mud worms (Marphysa spp.). Dr. K.P. Jithendran, Director, ICAR-CIBA highlighted the importance of polychaete worms to the Indian shrimp industry and potential of such technologies in ensuring disease-free shrimp seed production. He described the scientific strength of the institute in polychaete production technology and assured of providing all required support for the successful implementation of this programme. Dr. S. Kannappan, Principal Scientist and team leader briefly explained the significance of this MoU. Mr. N. Dolendra Prasad, Managing Director, M/s. Naturalle Herbal Remedies Pvt. Ltd. emphasized their commitment in this program and explained the demand and importance of polychaete worms in Indian shrimp industry. Dr. P.K. Patil, Scientist In-Charge of ITMU unit and team members coordinated the programme. Dr. T. Ravisankar, Principal Scientist, Social Sciences Division proposed vote of thanks.
