ICAR-CIBA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Prawn Farmers Federation of India (PFFI), Hyderabad, to jointly investigate shrimp crop failures caused by running mortalities in Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu, on 29th July, 2025.
Over the past decade, running mortalities have emerged as a severe constraint to the Indian shrimp aquaculture production. The unexplained production losses are frequently associated with multiple causative factors, including pathogenic Vibrio species, Ecytonucleopsora hepatopenaei (EHP), White feces syndrome, White muscle syndrome, and poor water quality. In particular, in the past two years, the sector has experienced an alarming increase in the severity and rapid spread of running mortalities, especially between 50-70 days of culture. Affected shrimp often exhibit white muscle discoloration and persistent white feces, leading to daily mortality.
To investigate the cause and patterns of these running mortalities associated with white muscle and white feces syndrome in the shrimp farms of Nagapattinam, Director CIBA Dr Kuldeep K Lal constituted a scientific team. Prawn Farmers Federation of India (PFFI) will serve as a liaison body, facilitating coordination between the research team and shrimp farmers for field visits, data collection, and sampling.
The MoU signing event was attended by:
Dr. Kuldeep K. Lal, Director, ICAR-CIBA
Mr. Balasubramaniam, General Secretary, PFFI
Dr. Santhanakrishnan, Founder President, SAP
Dr. Ramraj, Former President, AISHA & SAP
Dr. T. Sathish Kumar, Senior Scientist, ICAR-CIBA
Dr. Sujeet Kumar, Senior Scientist, ICAR-CIBA
The event was organized by the Institute Technology Management Unit (ITMU) CIBA.
