A stronger start for shrimp: the science behind robust postlarvae
Beyond single products: INVE Aquaculture’s latest research on the first days of shrimp life
Many of the factors that decide a shrimp crop’s outcome are still hard to see: what happens inside the animal, in its first days of life and in the water around it. As a biotechnology company dedicated to aquaculture, INVE Aquaculture works on exactly these questions, across early nutrition, live feeds, gut and microbial health and environmental management.
“We are moving beyond individual products towards integrated protocols that combine innovations across our portfolio,” says Dr Olivier Decamp, R&D Director at INVE Aquaculture. “The goal is to give animals the best possible start.”
Three recent projects show what that looks like in practice.
1. Looking inside the shrimp
Six in ten shrimp examined on 110 Asian farms had compromised or critical gut health. That is the key finding of an industry survey led by Phileo by Lesaffre, in collaboration with INVE Aquaculture, HADL and Fresh Studio, presented at the 2026 Global Shrimp Forum. Based on more than 5,000 gut microscopy assessments, it also found that shrimp with better gut health were 20% heavier at the same age.
While farmers check water quality daily, gut health is still judged mostly by eye. The project partners are now developing an AI-assisted diagnostic tool to make on-farm assessment faster and more consistent.
AI-assisted identification and segmentation of hepatopancreatic tubules in shrimp tissue. Credits: Hadl
Read more on Aquafeed.com and SeafoodSource.
2. Shrimp larvae are not miniature adults
Hatchery feeding is still largely based on experience rather than systematic science. In a new opinion paper in Critical Insight in Aquaculture, Roeland Wouters (INVE Aquaculture), Daniel Lemos (University of São Paulo) and Patrick Sorgeloos (Ghent University) map the gaps that hold larviculture back: stage-specific nutrition, protein quality, lipid requirements, Artemia management and the link between nutrition and tank microbiology.
“Precision nutrition starts in the hatchery,” says Dr Roeland Wouters. “Nutrient functionality matters as much as nutrient levels, and the final goal is robust PLs and farm performance, not just hatchery output.”
Shrimp larvae. Photo by Salma Achiri and Francisco Miranda.
The paper has been highlighted by the journal’s Chief Editor and covered by the Responsible Seafood Advocate and AQUA247 News.
Read the full paper: Shrimp larviculture and nutrition: current knowledge gaps and future directions
3. Following the lipids
INVE is already working on one of those gaps. With Ghent University, Roeland Wouters, Celine De Maesschalck and Eva Werbrouck studied how Litopenaeus vannamei larvae and postlarvae assimilate dietary lipids. The shrimp’s fatty acid profile largely mirrored their diet, the best-performing feed stood out for three specific fatty acids (not HUFAs), and dietary lipids had their biggest effect on growth in the earliest stages. Structural lipids linked to growth (phospholipids) responded to diets differently from energy-storage lipids (triglycerides).
The lesson for hatcheries: what counts is not only how much lipid a feed contains, but which lipids, in which form and at which stage.
Read the abstract: Lipid assimilation in white shrimp larvae and postlarvae (World Aquaculture 2025)
One direction
The next gains in shrimp production will come from understanding the animal as a whole, from its first meal in the hatchery to its gut health on the farm, and combining the right tools at the right moment. That is the role INVE Aquaculture has chosen: a biotechnology partner bringing science, field data and integrated protocols to producers.