Prediction of meat yield in the Pacific whiteleg shrimp Penaeus vannamei

Meat yield, the percentage of net meat weight, is considered to be an important target trait for genetic improvement in the Pacific whiteleg shrimp Penaeus vannamei. The development of nondestructive methods for predicting meat yield in live shrimp holds great promise. With the objective of improving meat yield more efficiently in whiteleg shrimp, this study established prediction models for meat yield and net meat weight from body measurements (weight, height, length and width), and estimated genetic parameters for these traits. Forty full-sib families were produced and used for a 60-day growth-out test, and then 1560 shrimp were harvested for measurements. Individual meat yield ranged from 44.38% to 59.20%. Multiple linear regression models for meat yield and net meat weight were constructed through stepwise regression analysis. Models assumed for both traits shared the same independent variables (body weight, body length, total abdominal segment length and the third abdominal segment width), but the prediction accuracy reached 0.991 for net meat weight and only 0.450 for meat yield. Heritability estimates of observed (0.231 ± 0.059) and predicted (0.222 ± 0.057) meat yield were significantly lower than those of observed and predicted net meat weight (0.653 ± 0.108) and most of body traits (0.494 ± 0.094–0.656 ± 0.108) (P < 0.05). Genetic correlations of meat yield with other body traits were mainly moderate (0.370 ± 0.165–0.641 ± 0.124), and lower than those for predicted meat yield (0.844 ± 0.066–0.910 ± 0.039) and those for net meat weight (> 0.95). Our results indicate that simple body traits of whiteleg shrimp can be used to accurately predict net meat weight, but not meat yield. Without slaughter, still, relatively accurate meat yield can be indirectly obtained by measuring body weight and predicting net meat weight from body measurements. Although heritability of meat yield is not high, genetic improvement through direct selection on it is feasible.