NOAA 97-R142
     
Contact:  Scott Smullen              FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                     6/12/97

VIRUSES COULD AFFECT SHRIMP STOCKS AND INDUSTRY
NMFS SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT TO ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT

Newly discovered viruses found in cultured and wild shrimp have the potential to infect U.S. stocks and cause significant harm to the $9 billion shrimp processing and aquaculture industry, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced today in a federal interagency report now available for public comment.

While these viruses pose no risk to human health, evidence suggests they may cause widespread animal illness and death in wild shrimp and shrimp raised in aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern Atlantic coastal regions.

According to the report, exotic shrimp viruses known as Yellow Head, White Spot, Infectious Hypodermal and Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus infection (IHHN), and Taura Syndrome may be inadvertently introduced to healthy stocks when shrimp with these viruses are used as bait shrimp, used to supply aquaculture operations, processed for domestic consumption, transferred through ship ballast water, used for research purposes, or carried by migratory birds and large scale water currents.

"With recent outbreaks on U.S. shrimp farms and the appearance of viruses in wild shrimp stocks, there is serious concern about the risks to U.S. shrimp resources," said Linda Chaves, Chief of Industry and Trade at NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service. "Although we have not seen any manifestations of animal illness or deaths in wild stocks, we have new information that reveals crabs and other crustaceans may be also susceptible to these viruses."

The federal interagency group from NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service developed the report at the request of the President's Joint Subcommittee on Aquaculture (JSA) which is authorized by the President's Office of Science and Technology Policy. The report is part of a proactive interagency effort to evaluate risks and formulate balanced actions for preventing harm to U.S. marine resources while minimizing adverse impacts on the shrimp industry including aquaculture, traditional harvesting, and the processing sector.

Realizing the virus situation is unfolding, the federal agencies and JSA will sponsor a series of public meetings to collect further information about the viruses, assess the risks to wild and cultured stocks, and determine any required action to prevent the spread of these viruses. Public meetings will be held in Charleston, S.C., on July 15; Mobile, Ala., on July 21; and Brownsville, Texas on July 23. Attendance can be arranged by contacting the Eastern Research Group, Inc., conference registration line at (617) 674-7374. There is no charge for these meetings; however, seats are limited. For additional technical information, contact Dr. Thomas D. McIlwain, Chairperson of the JSA Shrimp Virus Work Group, NMFS, 3209 Frederick Street, Pascagoula, MS 39567, (601) 762-4591, or Dr. Thomas C. Siewicki, 219 Ft. Johnson Road, Charleston, S.C., 29412.

Written comments will also be considered and should be sent (original and three copies) to Jerome Erbacher, Office of Industry & Trade, NMFS, Room 3675, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, or by fax to (301) 713-2384, no later than August 11, 1997.

The public may obtain copies of the report entitled, "An Evaluation of Shrimp Virus Impacts on Cultured Shrimp and on Wild Shrimp Populations in the Gulf of Mexico and Southeastern U.S. Atlantic Coastal Waters" either by contacting Jerome Erbacher at the above address or accessing the National Marine Fisheries Service's Internet website at: http://kingfish.ssp.nmfs.gov/oit/oit.html

The United States imported approximately $2.5 billion in shrimp during 1996, while U.S. fishermen harvested 244 million pounds of shrimp valued at $463 million during the same year. Fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico caught approximately 82 percent of the catch, landing 202 million pounds worth nearly $392 million. Latest agency figures estimate that U.S. aquaculture operations raised between two to four million pounds of shrimp annually between 1992 and 1994.

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