Certification Process of Imported Pacific White Shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei （Boone, 1931） at Aquatic Quarantine Facility, India

The Aquatic Quarantine Facility （AQF） for Litopenaeus vannamei established under the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture is located on the eastern coastal region of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. The facility is an approved quarantine premise for the SPF vannamei broodstock imported across India and is probably the only one of its kind to be established in Southeast Asia. The centre is managed and operated by Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture （RGCA）, a technical extension of the Marine Products Export Development Authority （MPEDA）, Ministry of Commerce ＆ Industry, Government of India. The quarantine facility functions on the basis of strict biosecurity protocol and as per the guidelines stipulated in Standard Operating Procedures （SOP） framed by a team of experts. The facility ensures specific pathogen free status of the SPF L. vannamei broodstock imported to India, thus playing key role in restricting the entry of diseases to the Country. This article presents the SPF certification process of the imported L. vannamei carried out at the facility.