Prevalence and phylogenetics of infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV) in market-sold Litopenaeus vannamei in Luzon, Philippines

Infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV) is a World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)-classified notifiable crustacean disease. There is limited information on the current status of IHHNV in the Philippines. Thus, this research focuses on collecting samples from various municipality markets of known shrimp producers in Central Luzon to provide an update on the status of IHHNV. These samples were subjected to IHHNV detection using PCR. Results showed that 56 out of the 276 (~20%) samples were positive for IHHNV. This indicates that IHHNV persists in Philippine shrimps despite preventive measures such as testing of broodstock. Furthermore, the sequences of the isolates acquired from different municipalities reveal a high degree of similarity, suggesting transboundary movement of the infection. Our findings also support research that demonstrated a strong link between IHHNV strains in the western hemisphere and those in the Philippines. Our data suggest that farm-monitoring processes must be tightened and strictly implemented to prevent the spread of IHHNV.</jats:p

Delivering on seafood traceability under the new U.S. import monitoring program

The United States is the world’s largest fish importer. Recent reports, however, indicate that 25–30% of wild-caught seafood imported into the US is illegally caught, heightening concerns over the country’s significant role in driving Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. In January 2017, NOAA enacted the Seafood Import Monitoring Program in an effort to combat IUU fishing through mandating improved seafood traceability requirements. This program requires reporting of fisheries data from harvest to arrival at the US border. Given the role of the US as a major global importer of seafood, this regulation could be a transformative action on fisheries worldwide if implementation includes two key components—(1) applying best available and most appropriate technologies and (2) building monitoring and enforcement capacity among trading nations. This paper provides insightful commentary on the potential for this US policy to lead by example and improve an essential natural resource that over a billion people worldwide depend on for nutrition and livelihoods