Influence of current culture practices on disease outbreaks in shrimp farms located in North Western Province of Sri Lanka

Shrimps have become the most important part of the global aquaculture farming and world food market. However, after the industry was severely affected by the White Spot Syndrome Virus, remedial measures that are in place have not completely eradicated the problem that is affecting the livelihood of shrimp farmers and other stakeholders. Therefore, the study was conducted with the objective of determination of farmer culture practices using an interviewer-administered pre-tested questionnaire (n= 100). Results revealed that the disease occurred first in the Karukupane area during the study period and of 5 zones affected where Zone 2 (Arachchikattuwa) was the worst affected area.  It was noted that 57% of farmers who have disease affected farms aerated their ponds and around 77% of them used 50,000-100,000 per acre stocking density. 64% of the farms were located very near (<1m) to the other farms and 48% were infected with the disease after 60-90 days of culture. 95% of diseased shrimps were caught and sold by releasing water mainly to the Dutch canal where most farms which were used Dutch canal as their main water source affected with the disease. Disease occurrence had increased at an increasing rate and the introduction of best management practices is timely important.