This presentation, delivered at the Sixth Symposium on Diseases in Asian Aquaculture (Sri Lanka, 2005) reviews the strategies adopted to promote a more sustainable approach to shrimp health management. It also presents and compares the experiences gathered to date, with the aim to identify an effective way forward for the sustainable development of the sector.

In recent years, it became increasingly clear that there was the need for a more sustainable approach to shrimp production and health management. This realisation led several producers to explore the adoption of better management practices (BMP) both to reduce the risk of shrimp health problems and to increase the quality of the harvested product. The development and implementation of this approach was often led by international organisations (e.g. FAO, NACA, etc.) but was welcomed by a whole range of stakeholders involved with shrimp production, including the governments of producing countries which supported this approach through the development of Codes of Practice.