The success of any selective breeding program relies on the genetic diversity of the founder lines so that the selection progresses forward without the negative influence of inbreeding depression. Through this project implemented by the University of the Philippines Visayas, three families of P. vannamei (KONA, SIS & Philippine local) were obtained from different commercial broodstock producers to establish the base population with high genetic diversity.
The project aims to produce our own Philippine broodstock of Penaeus vannamei to sustain its production. It will also help ease the procurement of broodstock in the country. This project aims to establish nucleus breeding population in the Philippines of 3 family founder lines of P. vannamei coming from the United States of America and 1 family coming from the farmed shrimp within the country; develop optimized broodstock maturation, breeding and efficient hatchery production protocols for P. vannamei adapted to Philippine settings; and produce broodstock lines of P. vannamei selected for growth enhancement and resistance against WSSV infection.