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Shrimp do not have the same immune system as vertebrates. This characteristic has a
significant impact on shrimp farm management: it prevents these crustaceans from
becoming immune to disease through vaccination. Since shrimp lack an adaptive
immune system, innate immunity is their essential form of defense. This immunity acts
as first-line protection from the disease and mortality threats that can potentially affect
prawn stocks. How does the shrimp immune system function? How can its defenses be
stimulated for reducing the overall impact of stress on shrimp farms?
Shrimp are animals whose immune system differs considerably from that of vertebrates. This
specificity has a direct impact on shrimp farming. Indeed, shrimp cannot be vaccinated.
Therefore, new disease outbreaks such as the White Spot Syndrome Virus, the Taura
virus, the Yellow Head Virus or, more recently, the Early Mortality Syndrome, are
always considered to be major events in the industry.
physical barriers such as skin, mucus, the exoskeleton, and the microflora;
Would you like to find out more about stress management in shrimp and the available
solutions to reduce its effects in farms? Thanks to its thorough knowledge of shrimp
nutritional requirements, the TECHNA Group can provide you with support in
conceiving and manufacturing your shrimp feed. Please contact our experts!
Fish farming techniques are designed to enable animals to fulfill their maximum growth
and development potential. To this end, it is necessary to provide them with optimal
living conditions. Because it can strongly impair fish performance, stress is a major risk
to consider in aquaculture. It is important to measure stress impact in order to better
anticipate its consequences. What is the impact of stress on fish? How can the resulting
risks be controlled at the farm level?
Acute: the most common sporadic factors of stress in aquaculture are transport,
manipulation (sorting, vaccinations, partial fishing ...), and sudden changes in
water quality (water safety, oxygenation, composition);
Chronic: these can be triggered by the continuing presence of a xenobiotic in water,
overcrowded ponds, a non-homogeneous population, uneven feed distribution,
inadequate oxygenation, or the presence of predatory birds perched on cages or on
the shores of farming units.
Stress is likely to disrupt the delicate balance between the animals defense abilities, the
quality of farming conditions and the pressure exerted by potential pathogens on the
environment. The disturbance of this precarious order favors the irruption of diseases and
dysfunctions.
Stress impact
It has been proved that a healthy animal will more efficiently face a stressful event (see
diagram) than a weak animal. Several experiments have also highlighted the negative effects
of stress on an animal's ability to fight against pathogens in its environment.
Animals tolerance of stress depends on the nature and intensity of the reaction aroused. This
impact varies depending on the nature of the stress, the animals species and strain as well as
its experiences and health condition.
It is more or less easy to quantify these indicators. Once the extent of stress is assessed, its
effects can be categorized by analyzing the level of the response triggered:
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ferent levels of response to stress in fish and their impact on the animal's condition
The TECHNA Group experts can assist fish farmers in their continuous improvement
of fish comfort, performance and fish ability to cope with stress. For more information,
please contact our experts!