The Office International des Epizooties, known by the acronym OIE, was founded almost 100 years ago. In May 2003 it broadened its scope and changed its name to the World Organization for Animal Health. Its stated mission is to ensure the transparent dissemination of animal health challenges with the goal of ensuring optimal animal health largely via education. The end result one would expect is a sustainable industry with effective controls in place for minimizing the impa

There is one real measure of success in shrimp and fish farming much as there is with any other agricultural activity. The value of the crop at harvest minus the cost of producing the crop is the profit for the farmer. As with any business, profits are what sustain it. Shrimp farming, as a whole, is a slowly maturing multinational agrisector prone to fluctuations in output largely as a result of biosecurity lapses. Diseases are the bane of shrimp farmers globally. Thei

The quantities of shrimp farmed globally continue to increase. More than 5 million MTs of shrimp will be produced on farms in 2022, with some estimates as much as double this. There are still many parts of the world where shrimp could be farmed and provide a source of jobs and revenue for local economies. Development is slowly expanding into these areas although if history is to guide us it will be filled with failures. Progress will be at best tentative. In Ecuador, cu

Six years ago, I wrote a brief article summarizing the challenges that shrimp farmers face when it comes to dealing with vibrio infections. This is an update. Bacterial infections of farmed shrimp are quite common and likely the major cause of mortality in farmed shrimp. Vibrios are certainly a major factor in this, but they are not the only cause by a long shot. Far too often the failure to take proactive measures results in failures to deal reactively to the diseases onc

EHP is caused by a spore forming microsporidian, Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei. The spores are how it infects. When the spore is ingested, directly by consuming infected tissues or feces or indirectly through the water, it germinates by infecting specific types of cells in the hepatopancreas and intestinal tract. It uses the metabolic machinery of the cell to make more spores until the infected cell ruptures, killing it and releasing many more spores to spread throughout t

There are few who will not agree that the need to be able to move forward without eroding the ability of the environment to support ongoing and future human activities is critical. The evidence is strong that we are failing at this in many ways. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are at concentrations that have not been seen for a very long time; not anytime in human history. Much of this is directly linked to human activities. We face an uncertain future as a species unle

Bacteria are thought of as being primitive. This is far from reality. They are highly evolved and well adapted to the myriad of environments that a given species and its many strains may occupy. They constantly evolve in response to changing environments and adapt accordingly. They do have some limitations, the nature of which are frequently glossed over. If I were in the market for products of this nature I would be concerned if I was seeing puffery based claims of

Aquaculture is growing at a greater rate globally than any other agribusiness sector. It is widely predicted that with 6 to 8% annual growth rate continuing well into the foreseeable future, aquaculture will offer good investment opportunities. However, just like any other endeavor, there are some very good reasons why what some see as a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is empty and full of risk. There are many exciting opportunities in aquaculture globally. These shoul