Developing a Risk Assessment of Pathogenic Shrimp Virus Introductions Into the United States. H. K. Austin and W. H. van der Schalie, U.S. EPA National Center for Environmental Assessment (8623), U.S. EPA, 401 M St., SW, Washington, DC 20460
Worldwide and within the U.S., shrimp aquaculture has suffered substantial economic losses due to pathogenic viruses. Although these viruses pose no threat to human health, recent catastrophic outbreaks on U.S. shrimp farms, the appearance of diseased shrimp in U.S. commerce, and new information on the susceptibility of shrimp and other crustaceans to these viruses prompted the Joint Subcommittee on Aquaculture (JSA; Office of Science and Technology Policy) to initiate a risk assessment of the introduction and spread of exotic shrimp viruses to the wild penaeid shrimp fishery and shrimp aquaculture industry in the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern coastal United States. The JSA appointed a Federal interagency work group to assemble available information on the shrimp virus problem and prepare a preliminary report that is structured around the problem formulation phase of an ecological risk assessment. Here, we describe the highlights of the report, including the economic and management context of the problem, the management goal, and the overall conceptual model for the proposed risk assessment. We discuss the potential effects of pathogenic viruses on penaeid shrimp and other species and the possible exposure pathways to wild shrimp in the context of penaeid shrimp life history patterns and other anthropogenic stressors and environmental factors that affect shrimp. Finally, we review responses to the report obtained from stakeholder meetings and future plans for a full risk assessment.