An international project accelerated shrimp growth from 66-113% through genomic improvement. The project Ecuanaria, a partnership between the Spanish University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) and the Ecuadorian company Biogemar, a subsidiary of the Almar group, improved shrimp growth to 2.5-3.2 grams per week, rates higher than the average of 1.5 grams of this species in Ecuador, according to researchers. 

Both partners recently signed a new €660,000 contract, part of a global €2 million project, for the development of a genetic improvement program using BLUP methodology. Researchers aim to further reduce shrimp farming cycles. The project, managed by ULPGC, will evaluate disease resistance, shrimp meat quality, the immune system and the implementation of different programs to determine morphological quality.

The Almar group has been farming shrimp in Ecuador for 40 years with an annual production of 100,000 tons, 12% of the total Ecuadorian shrimp production. Biogemar, Almar’s hatchery, becomes the first global company that improves the growth and quality of shrimp through the BLUP methodology, which is already being used in the genetic improvement of fish and other livestock species.

In our recent Feeds for shrimp hatcheries webinar, Jef Peeters, Global Product Manager Shrimp Hatcheries at BioMar, presented some of the latest results of this project. Watch the English webinar here and the Spanish webinar here.