The USMSFP, through the work of the six Consortium institutions, has provided U.S. producers with direct access to reliable captive supplies of high health and genetically improved shrimp stocks and advanced disease diagnostic and treatment methods. The Oceanic Institute has principal responsibility for genetic improvement of shrimp stocks, including resistance to disease. Tufts University has the lead in quantitative genetics, gene markers and microsatellites. The University of Arizona (UAZ) and The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory ( USM-GCRL) are the principal disease research, diagnostic and treatment centers. The Waddell Mariculture Center (WMC) and the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (TAES) are working together in cooperation on the resolution of problems being confronted by commercial shrimp farmers. Domestic concerns include the effect of shrimp farming on the environment and have centered on the impact of effluent on receiving waters.

Policy setting authority, research directions, and resource allocation are vested with the Executive Committee, while the Technical Committee is charged with the responsibility for experimental design, execution, technology transfer, and overall scientific merit.