Indian shrimp farm virus identified; concerted efforts needed to fight it.

Now they know what it is -- the blight that has struck shrimp farms all along the coast of Andhra Pradesh. It's the Systemic Ectodermal and Mesodermal Bacul Virus (SEMBV), according to experts called in from Thailand. And the Thais think they know how to fight it, by regulating inlet water.

They ought to know, reported the Hindu Business Line, because the same virus has hit Thai shrimp farms. The blight, also known as the "white patch disease," cost the shrimp farming industry 180 million rupees last year, according to the Press Trust of India, and there was a new outbreak in June.

That bit of bad news came just as P. Chidambaram, Minister of State for Commerce, was beaming about the success of Indian's seafood export program during a ceremony laying the foundation stone for the new Rajiv Gandhi Aquaculture Center at Tranquebar in Kerala. During 1994-95, he noted, exports of 273 million tons brought in 32.7 billion rupees.

The June outbreak has raised fears among shrimp farmers, and international consultant V.R. Pantulu has warned that only the combined efforts of farmers, the government and the scientific community can deal with the threat. Pantulu spoke after the June outbreak was confirmed by two pisciculturists from Madras, Dr. K.K.V. Bayan and Dr. B.K. Gupta, who visited the affected areas of Andhra Pradesh.

Last year's blight affected about 7,060 hectares in the West Godavari and Krishna districts, and destroyed 1,686 tons of shrimp, according to official estimates. The SEMBV virus that set off the blight first appeared in China in 1993, and quickly spread to Thailand and Indonesia as well as India, according to the Thai experts, who include Dr. Boonsirm Withachumnarnkul of Mahidol University and Dr. Gary L. Nash of the CP Group's Shrimp Culture Research Center.

Efforts are under way to develop a vaccine against the virus, Dr. Boonsirm said, but there isn't any yet, nor is there any effective treatment for infected shrimp with chemicals or drugs. The only effective means of dealing with the virus is to keep it out of the inlet water in the first place. "The closed/semiclosed and recycling systems undertaken in Thailand have yielded good results, and these could easily be adapted to India," he advised.

Pinji Kungvankij, vice president of the Foreign Aquaculture Division of the Madras-based CP Aquaculture (India), who was part of the Thai investigating team, begged to differ with his colleagues on the importance of the virus itself. Stress from oxygen depletion in the water is more important, he said. But the bottom line for him was still better water management, just as recommended by Dr. Boonsirm, with regular chlorination and dechlorination. He denied that the virus got into India through CP shrimp feed, saying that it can survive only in living organisms.

Both Dr. Boonsirm and Dr. Nash rejected the idea of a "crop holiday" to halt the virus: "The virus never takes a holiday," they huffed. They also suggested that the impact of SEMBV might diminish in years to come, as Indian shrimp develop a natural resistance to it. In a separate report, Drs. Bayan and Gupta advised digging new ponds for chlorination and dechlorination, incorporation of antibiotics like tetracycline into feed to kill the virus, netting and destruction of all infected shrimp, and standard good practices in pond management, drainage and monitoring.

Nichirei US Unit Names Zalke

Joe Zalke, already vice president for national accounts at Nichirei Foods America (NFA), Renton, Washington, USA, has been named new business development advisor for the company. As such, he will represent NFA in food industry trade assocaitions while continuing to sell to select national accounts. The company produces seafood under such brands as Sea Legs, Sea Shells, Passport Cuisine and Nichirei.

Mysterious Death of President

Complicates Unicord Crisis

It still isn't certain whether Bangkok, Thailand-based Unicord Plc, one of the world's largest seafood processors, will survive the death of its president, but the company's creditors seem willing to cut it some slack if the proposed sale of the Bumble Bee brand goes through.

Damri Kornanthakia, president of the troubled operation, was found shot to death in his office June 13. It wasn't immediately clear whether the death was suicide or murder, but there wasn't any doubt that the company itself was on the ropes -- due largely to losses from the Bumble Bee canned tuna operation it bought in the USA a few years ago.

Combined income from Unicord and Bumble Bee hadn't been enough to pay even the interest on bank loans the company took out to finance the $290 million purchase. At the time of his death, Damri was trying to sell the Bumble Bee brand name -- but not the company's assets and liabilities -- for about half what he paid for the tuna canner in the first place.

Chatri Sophonpanich, executive chairman of Bangkok Bank, the largest creditor, says he thinks Unicord can survive if it unloads Bumble Bee. Before Damri's death, the bank had reportedly demanded that Unicord settle its debts by the end of June, and there is speculation that the ultimatum was one of the factors leading to his death.

How about Skillet Fish Fillets?

Did you realize that you can fry IQF fish fillets in a skillet, straight from the freezer? That's one of the things the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) wants retailers to know, so that they can tell shoppers.

To make it easy, the NFI has produced a camera-ready (meaning that it can be endlessly reproduced at copy shops or printers) brochure offering tips and recipes in consumer-friendly terms. All the retailers have to do is make a bunch of copies and put them out for consumers to pick up.

For copies, send to the Institute at 1525 Wilson Blvd., Suite 500, Arlington, Virginia 22209, USA; phone [phone].