In 1981, Infectious H ypodermal and H aematopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHHNV) was first identified on a shrimp farm in Hawaii causing mass mortalities in captive Litopenaeus stylirostris. IHHNV also was detected in a population of L. vannamei cultured at the same farm but this shrimp species appeared refractory to the virus. The high susceptibility of L . stylirostris to IHHNV and the relative tolerance of L. vannamei to this pathogen helped catalyze L. vannamei to be the dominant farmed species in the Western Hemisphere.
In 1984, th e U.S. Marine Shrimp Farming Program (USMSFP ) was formed as a congressional initiative to solve problems constrain ing the U.S. shrimp farming industry. The USMSFP consisted of member institutions including Oceanic Institute (OI) in Hawaii and the University of Arizona (UAZ). Because of the relative tolerance of L. vannamei to IHHNV, the USMSFP decided to commit resources to develop culture technologies for this species , including its domestication. Although IHHNV was not lethal to L. vannamei, infected populations exhibited Runt Deformity Syndrome resulting in growth suppression and cuticular deformities. It became apparent that IHHNV caused an economically significant disease in L. vannamei and that efforts to rid captive populations of this pathogen were critical to its domestication.
In 1989, OI and UAZ began developing the world's first Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) population of L. vannamei which was free of IHHNV and other pathogens. Offspring from SPF broodstock were evaluated at commercial farms in the U.S. and significantly outperformed non-SPF shrimp. OI began supplyi ng SPF broodstock to U.S. farmers and by 1992 >95% of farms in the U.S. were stocked with offspring from these broodstock resulting in bumper crops from 1993-1995.
In 1994, OI started the world's first family-based breeding program to improve shrimp growth and survival, as well as tolerance to Taura Syndrome Virus which devastated U.S. farms in 1995 . OI generated basic information about the quantitative genetics of shrimp breeding and distributed SPF, selectively bre d shrimp to the U.S. industry. Between 2000- 2010, OI distributed >2.5 million shrimp to U.S. stakeholders, including Hawaii broodstock suppliers who developed their own robust breeding programs. Hawaii broodstock suppliers played a critical role in catalyzing a paradigm shift in Asian shrimp farming. Between 2003-2018, Hawaii broodstock suppliers provided ~ 5 million SPF, selectively bred L. vannamei broodstock to Asian shrimp hatcheries .
In 2000, Asian shrimp farmers produced an estimated 623,194 metric tons (MT) of black tiger prawn, Penaeus monodon , whereas production of L. vannamei was only 2,310 MT . By 2017, P . monodon production increased by 18% to 733,525 MT, whereas L. vannamei production skyrocketed by 158,500% to 3.66 million MT valued at $22.7 billion. This dramatic change is attributed, in large part, to the commercial availability of SPF, selectively bred L. vannamei originally developed by the USMSFP and commercialized by Hawaii broodstock suppliers.