"The new microbial products PondPlus® and PondProtect® help to degrade pond waste, prevent build-up of toxic conditions and improve water quality. For shrimp farmers, this means better growth, improved survival and disease resistance, greater yield and, ultimately, higher profitability.

Almost half of all the shrimp produced worldwide is farmed under controlled con­ditions in impoundments, ponds and tanks. However, the high density of farming in confined waters eventually results in a build-up of organic waste and high levels of toxic compounds such as ammonia and hydrogen sulphide. Shrimp farmed under these conditions are more likely to succumb to aggressive viral diseases that have the potential to wipe out the entire crop. Even if they survive, they show poor health and growth.

In extensive trials, use of PondPlus® and PondProtect® resulted in increases in shrimp size, survival and yield.

In today's competitive market, shrimp yield and survival is the key to profitability. As shrimp consumption across the world increases, farmers are continually searching for new ways to improve the yield and quality of their crop. Maintaining good pond water quality is fundamental to this goal.

Traditionally, efforts to keep ponds clean and reduce crop loss have focused on the use of chemicals and antibiotics and the regular exchange of water. However, the major importing markets of the USA, Europe and Japan have now placed bans on shrimp farmed using antibiotics. In addition, the rising cost of water exchange and the fact that the influent water used to flush ponds can actually introduce viruses from wild shrimp, has prompted many farmers to adopt reduced or zero water exchange systems. These changes in shrimp farming practices have only highlighted the need for good pond management.

Introducing PondPlus and PondProtect
Now Novozymes can offer shrimp farmers a safe, effective solution to their pond management problems. By applying the microbial technologies used widely in the treatment of industrial and public wastewater, Novozymes has developed two new aquaculture products that, when added to shrimp ponds, accelerate the breakdown of organic waste components and prevent the build-up of toxic ammonia.

PondPlus is a formulation of seven strains of bacteria of the Bacillus species, specially selected for their ability to degrade organic waste. Together, this consortium of bacteria produces a broad spectrum of enzyme activity to efficiently degrade pond bottom sludge and clarify water. PondProtect, on the other hand, contains a unique combination of two different strains of nitrifying bacteria that have the ability to convert toxic ammonia and nitrites into harmless nitrates.

Proving their worth
But what does all this mean for the farmer? Novozymes has conducted rigorous trials of PondPlus and PondProtect in 100 ponds in India, Thailand, Vietnam and the Phi lippines. The results showed that ponds treated with PondPlus and PondProtect maintained far more stable water conditions and lower levels of ammonia than untreated ponds. But that's not all! The improved pond management achieved with PondPlus and PondProtect translated into a decrease in feed conversion ratio (the quantity of feed needed to produce one kilogram of whole shrimp) and increases in shrimp size, survival and yield. The end result was an increase in total sales and profit per pond.
 
Sameera Gujarathi, marketing manager for the Asia Pacific region, observed: "These results clearly demonstrate the value of PondPlus and PondProtect for the shrimp farming industry. Taken as a whole, they suggest that Novozymes' microbial technology could help to increase shrimp production to levels that are simply unattainable with other currently available technologies."

A safe, natural solution
The chemicals and antibiotics traditionally used in shrimp farming inevitably pollute surrounding land and water, where they can cause significant environmental damage. One of Novozymes' core values is to enhance its customers' business in harmony with nature. By helping shrimp farmers to reduce the need for hazardous chemicals, it's clear that PondPlus and PondProtect do just this.

Novozymes believes it can bring real value to the aquaculture industry. It has invested significant resources in the development and testing of PondPlus and Pond­Protect, and its dedicated team of aq uaculture experts is now focused on the development of new products that can help farmers to improve their work even further.

Putting PondPlus® to the test
Between June and October 2005, trials of PondPlus were conducted in eight ponds at Aim Aqua Farm in Surat District, West India. The ponds all had different stocking densities (number of shrimp per square metre) and salinity levels.

Manoj Sharma, a technical consultant with extensive experience of the shrimp farming industry on the west coast of India, commented: "We are very happy with the performance of this product. The water colour and pond bottom conditions appear very healthy and the average feed conversion ratio of PondPlus-treated ponds is better than that of other ponds. The growth achieved is fantastic. Furthermore, because PondPlus works at all typical salinity levels, the salinity difference between the ponds does not affect the growth of the shrimp."