ABSTRACT
The importance of live feed as a beginning diet in marine shrimp (Penaeus sp.) is largely dependent on careful management during the early stages of larval growth. The COVID-19 pandemic has a significant impact on Malaysian aquaculture, which is critical for seafood supply and security. Cladocerans are an alternative live feed species that outperform Artemia nauplii in terms of nutritional value, economic value, availability, and reproduction rate. In terms of supplying live feed for commercial aquaculture, cladoceran culture and cultivation can therefore be an economically viable, sustainable, and desirable live feed species. The purpose of this study is to collect information on low-cost live feed for marine shrimp used in aquaculture and how COVID-19 affects the sector. Thus, a survey was conducted at a private hatchery and farm in Pekan and Badong, Pahang, Malaysia to investigate the importance of low-cost live feed culture technology to the marine shrimp industry during COVID-19. A total of 20 respondents took part in the survey. During the COVID-19 period in Malaysia, data were gathered using a questionnaire that was planned to be completed via an online form from August 2020 through December 2020. The software utilised was a Google application (Google Form). The data gathered revealed the importance of utilising live feed for maintaining shrimp larvae production in the sector. The current data are critical for developing policy actions to support seafood industries affected by the pandemic at both the national and international levels. Copyright©2023 by authors, all rights reserved.