Thai shrimp production that was so badly affected by the damaging spread of early mortality syndrome, linked to the Vibrio parahameolyticus, Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease (AHPND) has yet to recover but its impact on the ground is poorly understood.

Shrimp, along with Asian sea bass and tilapia, was prioritised by ThaiTIP as a focal point for the platform’s R&D and this stimulated an assessment of change since 2010 when the disease first impacted.

Matched funding for the exercise was identified with a local commercial tilapia and sea bass hatchery and the University of Stirling supporting a small team working in two areas of Thailand where shrimp, Asian sea bass and tilapia production were thought to be co-located. The field work was led by Will McDonald who identified sites using Google Earth in the South (Songkhla and Nakon Sri Thammarat) and the East Prachinburi. Initial analysis of the data set of more than 70 farmers and numerous key informants suggests large differences between farmers’ adaptive behaviour in these two areas following the AHPND outbreak. General impacts seem to be a higher proportion of ponds being fallowed and a drop in pond rental values as the profitability of the sector has declined and become more inconsistent. 

The sector has responded to the challenge with innovation both on-farm and through the value chain. 

  Picture 1. Khun Dear and Will McDonald interviewing farmers in Prachinburi Thailand

 Picture 2. Stocking White shrimp Pls in tilapia production ponds

EAS is a partner in EURASTiP project, funded through the EU Horizon 2020 programme, and developed in response to EU call “reinforcing international cooperation on sustainable aquaculture production with countries from South East Asia".