Shrimp

General description:
White leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei, formerly Penaeus vannamei), also known as Pacific white shrimp, is a variety of prawn of the eastern Pacific Ocean . Coloration normally translucent white, but can change depending on substratum, feed and water turbidity. Maximum size 23 cm

Distribution and Habitate:
The white leg shrimp is native to the Eastern Pacific coast from Sonora, Mexico in the North, through Central and South America as far South as Tumbes in Peru, in areas where water temperatures are normally >20 °C throughout the year. Penaeus vannamei live in tropical marine habitats. Adults live and spawn in the open ocean, while postlarvae migrate inshore to spend their juvenile, adolescent and sub-adult stages in coastal estuaries, lagoons or mangrove areas. The main producer countries of Penaeus vannamei by culture are China, Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Venezuela, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Belize, Viet Nam, Malaysia, Tawian P.C., Pacific Islands, Peru, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, the United States of America, India, Philippines, Cambodia, Suriname, Saint Kitts, Jamaica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Bahamas.

Aquaculture:
The first spawning of this species was achieved in Florida in 1973 from nauplii spawned and shipped from a wild-caught mated female from Panama. Following good pond results and the discovery of unilateral ablation and adequate nutrition to promote maturation in Panama in 1976, commercial culture of Penaeus vannamei began in South and Central America. Subsequent development of intensive breeding and rearing techniques led to its culture in Hawaii, mainland United States of America, and much of Central and South America by the early 1980s. From this time, the commercial culture of this species in Latin America showed a rapidly increasing trend. Ongrowing techniques can be sub-divided into four main categories: extensive, semi-intensive, intensive and super-intensive, which represent low, medium, high and extremely high stocking densities respectively.