Adoption of Better Management Practices in Penaeus vannamei Aquaculture: A Critical Review with Special Reference to South India

Abstract

Better Management Practices (BMPs) have become a central instrument for disease prevention, resource efficiency, food-safety assurance and environmental improvement in Indian whiteleg shrimp aquaculture. This critical narrative review examines the technical content, adoption, determinants and reported outcomes of BMPs in Penaeus vannamei production, with particular attention to Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and the wider southern Indian coastline. Literature published from 2000 to 21 April 2026 was identified through accessible scholarly indexes, publisher records, citation searching and authoritative institutional sources, with earlier foundational studies retained where necessary. The evidence indicates that BMP adoption is substantial but uneven. Practices offering immediate and observable private returns, including feed control, seed screening and aeration management, generally face fewer adoption barriers than practices whose benefits depend on coordinated action, such as crop synchronisation, fallowing, shared water management and disease reporting. Indian disease-burden, efficiency and adoption studies demonstrate the scale of preventable loss and identify plausible management levers, but they do not isolate the causal effect of BMP adoption. Most adoption evidence remains cross-sectional, geographically concentrated and dependent on self-report. Objective residue testing and a randomised extension intervention from Vietnam provide stronger evidence that well-designed training can improve antimicrobial stewardship, although transferability to South India requires direct evaluation. The principal implementation constraints arise from unequal access to assets, trusted advice, collective organisation, traceability and risk finance. Future research should prioritise longitudinal, quasi-experimental and randomised evaluation; linkage of residue-testing, training and cluster records; and regionally representative studies outside Andhra Pradesh. BMP policy is most likely to be effective when information and finance support practices with private returns, while collective-benefit practices are reinforced through credible group governance and carefully designed market or insurance incentives.