Biological control of shrimp pathogens through probiotics, bacteriophages, and competitive exclusion offers welfare-positive alternatives to antibiotic treatment in aquaculture disease management.
Biological disease control in shrimp aquaculture addresses welfare through multiple mechanisms simultaneously. Reducing pathogen burden prevents the welfare harms of infectious disease, while avoiding antibiotics eliminates treatment-related welfare costs and the antibiotic resistance problem that threatens long-term treatment efficacy. The welfare-positive approach to shrimp disease management — prevention through immunity enhancement and competitive exclusion rather than treatment after infection — aligns directly with the precautionary welfare principle of minimizing suffering. Biocontrol approaches also have significant human health benefits through reduced antibiotic use, creating aligned incentives across welfare, food safety, and regulatory domains. As biocontrol science matures and commercial products become more accessible, their adoption across shrimp aquaculture could deliver significant welfare improvements at scale.