Occurrence of black gill disease in relation to stocking density and some major prevailing hydrological parameters of Penaeus monodon in Northern Odisha, India

Occurrence of black gill disease in Penaeus monodon was studied during 2009 - 2010 in the coastal grow-out ponds of northern Odisha. The disease was characterized by black coloration and destruction of gills due to which lamellae became atrophic and collapsed. In severe cases, the disease led to death of shrimps affecting the yield. The stocking density, area of the ponds and hydrological parameters were studied simultaneously with shrimp sampling. Results showed that salinity of the water was positively and significantly correlated with length and weight of the shrimp (r = 0.213, 0.235 at P ≤ 0.05) and stocking density was significantly correlated (r = 0.807, & r = 0.836, P ≤ 0.01) with area of the ponds and affected % in both the years. Survival % showed positive correlation (r = 0.485, P ≤ 0.01) with area of the ponds. Hence it was concluded that stocking density directly affected the disease affected percent