A SIMPLE MODEL FOR MEASURING PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE IN LABORATORY AND SHRIMP FARMING

Shrimp production depends on indicators that allow producers to make decisions about the management of one or multiple variables that promote a good production performance rate. Indicators such as the weekly growth (WG), survival fraction (SF), and feed conversion rates (FCR) are important in aquaculture for decisions making process. However, although the application of indicators individually represents a useful and common practice, the combination of some of them to obtain additional information can be a powerful tool for making better decisions.

The goal of this work was to analyze a simple model to measure the production performance rate (PPR) FCR [(WG x SF)/ FCR = PPR], so that it can be used to improve shrimp farming practices. To analyze the model, two trials were performed: a feeding laboratory experiment testing 22 commercial feed types, and the output production results of 42 commercial farms under their common operating conditions. The results showed the convenience of the PPR model. In the laboratory experiment, different feeds led to significant differences in PPR, making it possible to distinguish among feeds with high, regular or low performance (Fig1). In commercial farms, the results were less clear, but it was possible to attribute low, regular and high levels of PPR to differences among farm management practices (Fig 2). Our results lead us to advocate for the use of PPR to evaluate shrimp culture production using simple measurements of weekly growth, survival,