• Disease Diagnostic Laboratory
• • Description: On-site diagnostic laboratory for microbiology and PCR testing. Histopathology is also recommended, but samples can be fixed and sent to specialized laboratories for evaluation.
  • Issues: Most producers do not have access to a diagnostic laboratory. Consequently, they are unaware of the health status of their stocks and unable to prevent mortality, slow growth, size variation, and poor feed conversion associated with diseases.
  • Benefits: A reliable on-site diagnostic laboratory allows managers to make the right decisions about interventions needed to maintain animal health.
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• Specific Pathogen Free stocks
• • Description: Biosecure primary and secondary quarantine facilities, plastic-lined broodstock-rearing ponds, and PCR lab for disease diagnosis.
  • Issues: Most black tiger producers rely on wild spawners, which suffer seasonal peaks in availability and are a primary vector of viral diseases.
  • Benefits: IAI employs rigorous quarantine procedures and state-of-the-art disease diagnostic procedures to generate specific pathogen free lines of parent stock.
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• Nucleus Breeding Center
• • Description: Biosecure system for propagating SPF stocks, selecting top performing families, and supplying broodstock to the production hatchery.
  • Issues: Use of wild spawners also denies the opportunity to breed for enhanced performance.
  • Benefits: This facility avoids diseases, assures year-round availability of spawners, and facilitates selective breeding for high performance traits.
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• Hatchery
• • Description: Water treatment, maturation, spawning, hatching, larval rearing, and nursery systems.
  • Issues: Viral and bacterial diseases force many hatcheries to rely on antibiotic treatments.
  • Benefits: IAI employs the principles of modular all-in/all-out production to facilitate routine disinfection of facilities. This is coupled with careful treatment of incoming water and use of probiotics (live cultures of beneficial bacteria) to eliminate the need for antibiotics.
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• Nursery
• • Description: Plastic-lined, aerated raceways with a stocking density of 2,000 - 3,000 postlarvae per m2.
  • Issues: Monsoon conditions in Southeast Asia prevent many farms from stocking and harvesting ponds on a year-round basis.
  • Benefits: Nurseries at the farm allow production of larger, more robust postlarvae. This allows year-round stocking of grow-out ponds, even during the peak of the monsoon season. It also facilitates shorter, more frequent pond cycles, which improves efficiency.
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• Grow-out
• • Description: Aerated ponds with proper pond preparation, water filtration, fertilization, stocking, water quality management, probiotic treatments, feeding, and sampling.
  • Issues: Most farms do not have adequate controls to maintain consistent production of large shrimp. Some farms resort to use of antibiotics to control diseases.
  • Benefits: Routine production of 5-10 tons/ha/cycle of 25-30 gram shrimp without antibiotic usage.
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• Feeds
• • Description: Use of feed formulas developed by IA Nutrition and manufactured by cooperating feed mills.
  • Issues: Feed is the single largest operating expense. Inefficient feeds not only yield poor production, but also result in excessive waste and poor water quality. Scarce marine proteins can comprise an unnecessarily large portion of some diets.
  • Benefits: Efficient feeds improve performance, reduce production costs, improve water quality, and reduce use of scarce marine proteins.
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• Mechanical Harvesting
• • Description: Harvest machine with drain harvest collector, specially designed pump which can transfer live shrimp with no damage, dewatering tower to separate shrimp from pond water, and insulated totes with icewater to receive shrimp.
  • Issues: Shrimp is a delicate and highly perishable food, which can by damaged by excessive handling and insufficient or delayed application of ice.
  • Benefits: Mechanical harvesting transfers live shrimp from the pond drain to insulated totes filled with icewater in a matter of seconds. This chill-kill process assures that top freshness and quality is delivered to the processing plant.
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• Processing Plant
• • Description: Transfer of harvested shrimp from icewater totes directly into icewater wash tank at processing plant.
  • Issues: Many processing plants receive shrimp from distant ponds operated by third parties that hand sort and weigh the shrimp near the ponds with little or no ice. Poor post-harvest handling and extended transport time reduce product quality and freshness. In addition, chemical residues can be an issue with some third party growers.
  • Benefits: Ideally, processing plants are located near the ponds such that shrimp can be received within minutes of harvesting. Use of the mechanical harvesting systems and ice water totes eliminate all handling until the product enters the plant. Mechanical grading within the plant further minimizes handling, temperature increase, and product deterioration. This assures premium freshness and quality for discriminating markets that demand optimum flavor and texture.
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• Data management
• • Description: A comprehensive database stores daily operating parameters of breeding facility, diagnostic lab, hatchery, farm, and processing plant.
  • Issues: Many processing plants purchase shrimp from anonymous, third party growers who sell their product through a series of middlemen, agents, or auction markets. As a result, the incoming raw material is not traceable. Third party management of ponds poses risks associated with antibiotic residues, salmonella, and off flavor.
  • Benefits: Use of an integrated database allows trace back of each processed lot to the pond, raceway, nursery tank, larval tank, spawner, and breeder from which it originated. It also tracks feed and water treatments. This eliminates risk of antibiotic residues and allows complete traceability.
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• Marketing
• • Description: Product is sold directly to long term clients according to predetermined specifications and prices.
  • Issues: Spot markets for shrimp sales are volatile and unpredictable. These markets are generally dominated by low prices and poor quality.
  • Benefits: Long term relationships with premium buyers allows both the supplier and the buyer to negotiate reasonable prices, target preferred product sizes and forms, and work toward mutually acceptable goals.
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Responsible Practices

• Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA)
• • IAI is committed to the principles and best management practices of GAA.
  • George Chamberlain has been President of GAA since its inception in 1997.
  • Kenneth Morrison was a Founding member of GAA, while operating his shrimp farm in Ecuador
  • IAI has been an active Governing member of GAA since initiation of the operation.
• Environment
• • Issues: Mangrove conservation, effluent control, and reliance on wild postlarvae.
  • Benefits: IAI recommends that ponds be constructed with no damage to sensitive habitats. Ponds are mechanically aerated and operated with zero water exchange. Effluents generated during drain harvesting are pumped into a sedimentation pond for reduction of nutrient loads to acceptable levels. Only hatchery-reared postlarvae are used.
• Community
• • Issues: Property rights, worker compensation, living conditions, and safe working environment.
  • Benefits: IAI obtains appropriate legal rights to own and operate their facilities. Employees are paid a fair wage and benefits. Living conditions are superior to local standards. Safety training is provided to all employees.
• Food Safety
• • Issues: Antibiotic residues, Salmonella, traceability.
  • Benefits: IAI does not use antibiotics on shrimp destined for the market. Proper site selection of facilities assures a pure water supply with minimal risk of Salmonella. An in-house database provides complete traceability of every production lot.

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