Shrimp industry veteran, Donald V. Lightner, passed away on May 4, 2021.

In the 1970s, Lightner put together a team of researchers at the University of Arizona that provided much of the basic knowledge on shrimp disease and health which enabled shrimp aquaculture to grow into a global industry that now supplies more than half of all the shrimp consumed around the world. 

Virtually every shrimp disease expert in the world has had some connection with Lightner and the Aquaculture Pathology Laboratory at the University of Arizona. Don’s contributions were both applied on his visits to farms around the world, and academic with hundreds of scientific articles, industry reports, conference presentations, graduate students and short courses. 

“The Aquaculture Pathology Lab’s roles as the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE, Paris, France) Reference Lab for crustacean health and as a major service provider for the industry are testimony to Lightner's worldwide reputation as the go-to expert for shrimp health. We here at APL are and will continue to be grateful for the opportunity to carry on his legacy,” the University of Arizona said.