Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease (AHPND) is a recently emerged bacterial shrimp disease which has caused large-scale mortality in several shrimp-producing countries including Indonesia. Sunarto is one of the shrimp farmers from Karangrejo, Banyuwangi, who had to deal with AHPND in his farm despite having implemented biosecurity measures and PCR testing prior to stocking.

30 days after shrimp stocking, his shrimp experienced sudden mortality. The shrimp’s guts were found to be empty and their bodies pale, along with a shrunk and yellowish hepatopancreas. The deaths reached thousands and kept increasing for days.

Under JALA’s field assistance program, Sunarto proceeded with his cultivation, improving the water quality through siphoning every morning and evening as well as circulating water daily to get rid of waste and dead shrimp from the bottom of the pond. He also applied treatments and drugs, carefully considering the economic and social aspects of his cultivation.

After 30 days, he finally managed to help his shrimp regain their appetite and reduce the mortality rate. By the end of his cycle, he still reached 1.5 tonnes of harvest with a SR of 52% and an FCR of 1.39. Although there were only a few live shrimp, they reached a weight of 24 grams at 82 days DoC.

Sunarto expressed his gratitude to JALA for the assistance in dealing with AHPND in his farm. With careful and proper techniques, he believed farmers can find the best solution for their cultivation, especially by regularly record farm conditions in real-time.