Threats Associated with Non-infectious Diseases in Modified Extensive Shrimp Farming Systems of West Bengal, India

The influence of farm establishment and management practices adopted in modified extensive shrimp farms of West Bengal, India on the non-infectious diseases was studied. A total of 60 shrimp farms culturing Penaeus monodon were randomly taken for the study. Information was collected through a structured questionnaire by interviewing the farmers, taking into account all their management practices such as farm establishment, pre-stocking management, stocking management and post-stocking management and particulars regarding disease occurrence during 2001 and 2002 covering two crops. The data generated were evaluated for their association with disease outbreak. Three major non-infectious diseases viz., epicommensal fouling, soft-shelling and gill choking were noticed during the study. Among the variables studied, provision for inlet/outlet, pond ploughing, pond desilting, duration of pond preparation, source of seeds, acclimatization, stocking density, mean water exchange per day, type of aeration and number of crops taken in a year were found to be significantly associated with the incidence of non-infectious diseases.