Genetic Improvement in Farmed Shrimp
A Driver of Competitiveness and Sustainability
Genetic selection is one of the most powerful tools for achieving consistent improvements in animal performance. Shrimp breeding programs often begin with simple mass selection for growth and survival, then advance toward family-based selection, molecular markers, and genomic approaches that accelerate genetic gain and promote improvement of desirable traits. This session will explore the evolution of modern shrimp breeding programs, the approaches used by leading organizations today, and the frontiers of genetic improvement. Given the ongoing impact of disease on global shrimp production, a key focus will be how genetic selection can increase tolerance to regionally important pathogens and improve long-term industry resilience.
Pronauplio
Vaisakhi Bio-Marine
Texcumar
Unibio
iBreed Aqua
CP Foods
VietUc
Aquatic Biosecurity Spec.
SyAqua
Hendrix Genetix
Prior to helping launch the Center for Aquaculture Technologies, John Buchanan served for five years as the Director of Research and Development at AquaBounty Technologies, building on his experience from leadership positions at Louisiana State University and University of California San Diego. Buchanan has led research on the application of genetic engineering to aquaculture, the use of selective breeding, hatchery technologies, and genomics for improved productivity in finfish, in addition to other research.
Joao Rocha is a shrimp breeding and genetics expert with over three decades of experience in animal breeding, genetics, and statistics. He holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Animal Breeding and Genetics from Texas A&M University, and a D.V.M. from the Lisbon School of Veterinary Medicine, Portugal.
Since 2010, he has worked as an Independent Consultant with Iowa Genetics, currently directing nine shrimp breeding programs across Ecuador, Honduras, Panama, and Brazil. His career includes leadership roles with Texcumar, Aquatec/Genearch, and PrimaGen/PrimaLarvae (Indonesia), plus consultancies spanning Latin America, Asia, and academic institutions in China and Brazil.
He has authored 25 peer-reviewed manuscripts, five book chapters, and over 70 conference papers, and delivered 200+ professional presentations. Notable achievements include developing Iran’s national shrimp breeding strategy, launching the world’s first genomic selection program in shrimp (2020), and designing an SPF nucleus breeding center in Iran.
Earlier, he worked in cattle and corn genetics at Texas A&M and Pioneer Hi-Bred, and practiced veterinary medicine in Portugal and South Africa.
Ravi Kumar Yellanki is the Managing Director of Vaisakhi Bio-Marine Private Limited and Vaisakhi Bio-Resources Private Limited, one of the leading shrimp hatchery operators in India and operates one of the largest farms in the country. The company is also making its foray in to shrimp exports.
For more than 20 years, Mr. Ravi Kumar Yellanki has been familiar with hatchery operations in India. Remarkably through his numerous written papers and publications, he shared his experiences and knowledge concerning shrimp hatchery sphere such as the management and its role in changing environment. His expertise in terms of local market trends and opportunities is unquestionable.
Today, he concentrates his awareness on building sustainable strategies for Indian Shrimp Aquaculture. He also happens to be the President of All India Shrimp Hatchery Association (AISHA) and immediate past president of Society of Aquaculture Professionals (SAP).
Matt Livesay is Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer for Red Lobster, the world’s largest seafood restaurant company. In his current role he is responsible for leading all of Red Lobster’s Supply Chain activities including the strategic sourcing of seafood, commodities, beverage, and equipment as well as foodservice distribution, third–party logistics, sourcing sustainability compliance and other services for over 550 locations globally. Matt also oversees the Total Quality and Food Safety team that is responsible for food safety, product specifications, quality and regulatory compliance, and supplier and restaurant inspection programs.
Presently the business manager of Aqualma and Unima Group in Madagascar, Vemulapalli Manavendra Rao has 45 years of experience in shrimp processing, farming, product development, project management, and business management. Aqualma (Unima group) is a large and fully integrated shrimp farming operation with an annual capacity to produce about five thousand tons of high-quality monodon shrimp and has been operating since 1992. The group operates its own feed mill, 1100 ha (575 ha of innovative design) of grow-out farm area, a successful monodon SPF domestication program, and a European product distribution network.
Unima has created a unique brand of the highest quality product with certifications “label rouge,” Organic, ASC, and others. The SPF stocks are of the 17th generation, and the stocks have proven to be very high-performing in terms of maturation, PL quality, growth, and robustness. The breeding is based on 140 original founder families and all coming from the national waters of Madagascar. Selective breeding for growth and disease tolerance is part of the process.
Dr. Thomas Gitterle is an aquaculture geneticist with more than 25 years of international experience in quantitative genetics, selective breeding, and sustainable genetic improvement programs for shrimp and fish. He has designed and led breeding programs across Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe, translating advanced genetic principles into commercially successful strategies.
His work combines Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) breeding with modern selection technologies to develop populations that are highly productive and genetically improved for disease resistance and environmental robustness. He has pioneered strategies integrating quantitative genetics, genomics, and challenge testing to enhance disease resistance and stress tolerance, with expertise in genetic evaluation, hybrid breeding, and DNA-based parentage assignment.
As CEO and Genetic Advisor of iBreed Aqua LLC, Dr. Gitterle advises companies worldwide on next-generation breeding programs.
Robins McIntosh has been involved in shrimp aquaculture for over 30 years. He was responsible for developing the first zero-water exchange, intensive and revolutionary shrimp farm in Belize. His initial work in shrimp aquaculture was with Weyerhaeuser in Florida and Brazil. Later, after four years developing and managing the algae-to-fuel program for the U.S. DOE, he returned to Asia, where he was involved in the development and management of Thai Hawaiian Hatcheries in Thailand.
Robins is currently employed as Executive Vice President for technical development of shrimp culture within the Charoen Pokphand Group. He joined the Group in 2001 to assist with the restructuring of shrimp culture in Thailand and Southeast Asia. Under his direction, hatcheries were modernized, genetic programs were initiated, and farm management was made more systematic and biosecure. Robins continues to work on increasing the efficiency of shrimp culture and finding solutions to eradicate EMS/APHND and EHP diseases in shrimp. He is today also CEO of Home Grown Shrimp, a US subsidiary of CPF focussed on producing shrimp in indoor facilities in the USA.
Dr. Bryce Duc Lu serves as the Vice President of Genetic and Genomic Research and Development at Viet Uc Group. With more than 18 years of experience applying genomics to animal genetic improvement, he leads the selective breeding programs for whiteleg shrimp, black tiger shrimp, and Tra catfish.
Dr. Lu holds a PhD in Animal Breeding and Genetics from the University of Guelph, Canada, and has focused on improving the genetics of traits related to growth, reproduction, meat and milk quality, health, and environmental adaptation across both livestock and aquatic species. In the current role, he is dedicated to delivering high quality, resilient broodstock that secures long term economic prosperity and predictable harvests for shrimp and fish farmers.
Victoria Alday-Sanz is a veterinarian with an M.Sc. and Ph.D. from Stirling University (UK). She has worked for over 35 years on diverse aspects of shrimp and fish biosecurity covering research on pathogens and diseases, diagnostics, sanitary legislation, health management, development of SPF stocks and syndromic surveillance. She has collaborated as an expert for international organizations such as FAO, WOAH, EU, EFSA and WB as well as with the private sector.
Alday-Sanz has lived and work in Southeast Asia, Middle East and Latin America and published over 35 papers in peer review journals, over 50 articles in industry magazines, 5 book chapters, is co-author of the CD-rom Diagnosis of Shrimp Diseases and editor of The Shrimp Book I and II. She was director for Aquaculture Biosecurity for Pescanova where she led the development of a population of “reverse SPF” shrimp (Specific Pathogen Free and Specific Pathogen Tolerant stocks).
Presently, she is the Director for Biosecurity, Breeding programs and Research and Development for the National Aquaculture Group of Saudi Arabia.
Craig L. Browdy is a past president and Fellow of the World Aquaculture Society. Over more than 40 years, his research has advanced sustainable seafood production—spanning shrimp health, physiology, genomics, nutrition, and production systems. He has led work developing biofloc-based systems, uncovering the genetics of shrimp health, breeding resilient shrimp, and creating high-performance feeds, consistently translating science into practical technologies.
He began his career in South Carolina state government, later directing the Waddell Mariculture Research and Development Center. He went on to senior industry roles at Novus International and Zeigler Bros., and most recently served as Chief Technical Officer of SyAqua Group. He has edited three books and authored 120+ peer-reviewed publications.
Jarl van den Berg has been the Managing Director of Kona Bay since 2026 and previously occupied senior roles in the salmon, trout, and poultry breeding division of Hendrix Genetics. Kona Bay is leading the way in the production of specific-pathogen-free (SPF) Broodstock in Vietnam. Based in Hawaii, the company selects the best shrimp using advanced genomic technologies to produce the four distinct commercial products that are sold in America, Europe, Asia and Middle East.
