Shrimp Farming: An Economic, Environmental, and Social Analysis Jane Terzibashian Rebecca Williams Sol Mundinger Image adapted from Sierra Club 1999 Oceans

Shrimp Farming: An Economic, Environmental, and Social

Analysis

Jane Terzibashian

Rebecca Williams

Sol MundingerImage adapted from Sierra Club 1999 Oceans Calendar

Overview

• Rising demand for cultured marine organisms

• World population by 2025 estimated at 8.5 Billion– average consumption per capita=13kg/yr.

– An estimated 55 million more lbs. of seafood needed by 2025

– Current maximization of yield from capture fisheries

– Total world shrimp production=748,406 metric tons (29% of world total) in 1998

• Increased demand for farmed shrimp in coming years– Is the industry capable of meeting these demands?

– What are the impacts of shrimp farms on the environment and what will be the environmental costs of increased production ?

Regional and National Shrimp Production

• Concentration of the industry in two areas• South East Asia’s domination of the market

– China- world aquaculture production leader, yet net importer of shrimp

– Thailand- world shrimp production leader at 222,460 metric tons in 1996• rapid development of the industry resulting in extreme mangrove destruction

• currently hampered by disease– Monodon baculo virus disease (MBV)

– Yellow-head virus disease

– Taiwan- former production leader, industry’s recent collapse due to disease• traditionally extensive, shift to intensive culture in mid-70’s

– India- produced 70,000 metric tons in 1996

• Latin America’s rapid development over past 20 years– Ecuador-107,920 metric tons in 1996 (2nd largest producer)

• rapid industry development in past 20 years

– Mexico- 13,315 metric tons in 1999

• Current rapid growth due to increasing foreign investments

• 75% semi-intensive, 20% extensive, 5% intensive – Brazil- 7,260 metric tons in 1996

• currently intensifying production

• expected to greatly increase production in coming years

– Panama-11 larval hatcheries • endemic species resistant to Taura disease

• important producer of larvae

• most ponds semi-intensive

• U.S.A- greatest shrimp farming innovator, major shrimp importer– 2,000 metric tons produced by 25 farms (1% of world total)

• 1000 ha devoted to shrimp farming, 8 hatcheries in the country

– huge national shrimp demand• 305 million lbs. in first half of 1998

– $2 Billion shrimp trade deficit in 1996• major import sources= Thailand and Indonesia

– huge market potential for domestically produced shrimp• production will likely be intensive or ultra intensive

– obstacles to U.S. farming• land, labor, and employment costs, • extensive permitting process• limited geographic areas with suitable climate

• Taura disease infections – Department of Agriculture U.S. Shrimp Farming Initiative

• $30 million investment in the development of shrimp farming technology• S. Carolina, Texas, Hawaii, Mississippi, Arizona

Penaeus monodon (top) and Litopenaeus vannamei

Adapted from Boyd and Clay 1998

Shrimp Culture Systems

• Shrimp species most commonly farmed:– Penaeus monodon (black tiger shrimp)

– Litopenaeus vannamei (Pacific white leg shrimp)

• Extensive systems (<0.1 to 0.3 MT/ha/yr)– natural feed, fertilizers used to promote algal growth

– minimal management

– moderate potential profit per kg shrimp

– low profits per unit area

• Semi-intensive systems (0.5 to 2.5 MT/ha/yr)– natural and incomplete supplemental feeds

• 2kg feed required for 1kg shrimp, 30% of food not consumed– Oxygen problems from above

– high profits per kg shrimp

– moderate potential profit per unit area

• Intensive systems (5-15 MT/ha/yr)– formulated diets and complete feeds

– low profit per kg shrimp

– high profit per unit area

– More common in industrialized nations where capital is available, environmental safeguards

are in place, and land costs are high • Ultra-intensive systems (30-150 MT/ha/yr)

– costly complete feeds

– extremely low profit per kg shrimp

– extremely high profit per unit area

– high labor and management needs

– serious threat posed by disease

– High risk

– bio-engineering successes, economic failures• usually out-competed by extensive and semi-intensive systems

Adapted from Fast and Lester 1992

Intensive System Designs

• Intensive systems (5-15 MT/ha/yr)– formulated diets and complete feeds

– low profit per kg shrimp

– high profit per unit area

– More common in industrialized nations where capital is available, environmental safeguards

are in place, and land costs are high • Ultra-intensive systems (30-150 MT/ha/yr)

– costly complete feeds

– extremely low profit per kg shrimp

– extremely high profit per unit area

– high labor and management needs

– serious threat posed by disease

– High risk

– bio-engineering successes, economic failures• usually out-competed by extensive and semi-intensive systems

Environmental Degradation MANGROVES

Value: nutrient sinks, nurseries, protection against sedimentation & erosion, storm

barriers.

About half the world’s mangroves have been destroyed, shrimp farming responsible for 10%

worldwide.

In many cases, farms are located in areas where mangroves have already been cleared for

mining, agriculture, lumber extraction, urbanization, milkfish farming. Mangroves aren’t the best site for shrimp farming (too

acidic).

DESTRUCTION OF SALT FLATS

In Honduras, salt flats shrunk from 20% to 4% of Pacific coastline between 1987 and 1995.

DISEASES

20 viruses are known to affect penaeid shrimp. Viral diseases have caused widespread collapse of Chinese and

Taiwanese farms. Disease is particularly harmful in intensive systems because of high densities of shrimp.

Disease can be spread from one country to the next in exported frozen uncooked shrimp. If live diseased shrimp

escape, diseases can spread to local wild populations.

WASTED FEED

Two kilograms of feed are required to raise one kilogram of shrimp on average. Even in most efficient systems, as

much as 30% of the feed isn’t eaten by the shrimp.

Excess nutrients gather on pond bottom along with feces and uneaten feed. Algal blooms can occur because of the

nutrients and phytoplankton consume oxygen in the pond.

WASTE PRODUCTS

Eutrophication and sedimentation of coastal waters can result from effluent release from ponds.

Salinization of freshwater aquifers and agricultural fields (rice paddy fields in Thailand).

Pathogens and phytoplankton flushed out to sea- historically 10% - 30% of pond water was flushed out daily. Current improvements: reduced to 2% - 5% of

pond effluents are flushed into the ocean daily.

CHEMICAL ADDITIVES

Fertilizers, burnt lime, agricultural limestone, zeolites, formalin. Potentially harmful in runoff and in the food

crop.

OVERFISHING AND BY-CATCH

Fish meal used to make pellets for supplemental feed- partly to blame for overfishing of wild fish stocks.

Local overfishing can result in cascading problems in fisheries thousands of miles away, and introduce conflicts

between capture fishermen.

Wild post-larvae must be collected- nets used to catch them also capture many unintended species- highest by-

catch of any fishery. Estimated to be 20 to 1, twice that of the capture fishery of wild adult shrimp.


Shrimp Life Cycle

RESOURCE USE CONFLICTS

Mangrove forests are also used for firewood, charcoal, herbal medicines, building materials and protection of

offshore and inshore fisheries. Indirect benefits: filtration of nutrients, storm barriers and wildlife habitat.

Rice farmers sell land to culturists.

Local residents complain that shrimp farming harms aesthetics, threatens genetic diversity of wild shrimp.

Huge by-catch can harm local fishermen, as the unwanted fish are released dead or nearly so.

Social Implications of Shrimp Farming

• Shift from extensive aquaculture – producing domestic food supplies, to export-oriented shrimp farming

• Competition between traditional fishermen and family farmers and the commercial shrimp farmers for the use of quality land and coastal habitats

• Shrimp farms displace subsistence farmers and their families • Fishing communities are affected• Shrimp culture is capital rather than labor intensive• Shrimp pond effluent affecting locals

*adapted from Mike Haglers “Shrimp - The Devastating Delicacy”


• Shift from extensive aquaculture producing domestic food supplies, to export-oriented shrimp farming– decrease in local food supply

– loss of important protein source

– even rice land is converted into shrimp ponds

– commercialized farming overtakes self-provisioning


• Competition between traditional fishermen and family farmers and the commercial shrimp farmers for the use of quality land and coastal habitats– competition increases with higher demands

– whole communities dispossessed of their resources

– loss of mangroves as a sustainable source of building materials, wood for fire, and charcoal


• Shrimp farms displace subsistence farmers and their families

– people leave their traditional homes and migrate to the cities looking for work

– example of Tamil Nadu, India– reports of people being driven from their land

by gunpoint


• Fishing communities are affected– access to coast blocked– no place to land boats and cast nets– declining catch from drop in fish population

resulting from loss of habitat– fishermen still dependent on wild of harvest,

conflicts with capturing young wild shrimp for hatcheries

– bycatch lift to die impacting catch of locals


• Shrimp culture is capital rather than labor intensive– shrimp farms can displace more jobs than they

supply

– comparison between number of rice and shrimp workers needed for 100 acres of land

– Bangladesh example• shrimp farming displaces 40% of the 300,000 inhabitants

forcing them to find other ways to make a living


• Shrimp pond effluent affecting locals

– toxic substances from large scale shrimp farms are commonly dumped into land and water where the chemicals can pose health threats to locals

Who is Watching this Issue Unfold?

– YOU?

– The Government

– Non-governmental organizations (NGO’s)


• YOU?• Consumers of shrimp and American public in

general do not know much about shrimp issues– “One of the worst environmental problems in

Southeast Asia and Latin America today is also one of the least well-known: the damage resulting from the expansion of shrimp aquaculture in coastal areas” Peter Riggs, Rockefeller Brothers Fund



• United States Government- The US has required Turtle-excluder Devices (TEDs) to

be used on all of their shrimp farming ships. The use of TEDs are showing a recovery in sea turtle populations

- To address bycatch Congress, the Fisheries Services, industry, environmental groups and academia have been involved in a $10 million research program. These programs have developed Bycatch Reduction Devices, which are inexpensive and effective, expecting to reduce bycatch by 40-50%.


• Thailand Government- The Thai government has been addressing the issues

of environmental destruction due to shrimp farming since 1991, recently committing $40 million to conserve remaining mangroves.

- In 1991 the Cabinet banned the use of mangrove areas for shrimp farming and was enforced by locals with a “Provincial Action Plan” for preservation and reforestation of the mangroves.


- Thailand Government continued...- They set up a technological periodic monitoring

system for the mangrove areas.

- Restricted loans for shrimp farming

- Created a zoning plan for coastal aquaculture

- Initiated a pilot project to test and treat shrimp pond discharge.

- The government recently created a 20 year sustainable development plan including a plan for shrimp farming.


• Some Non-governmental Organizations– Shrimp Sentinel

- This organization calls shrimp farming “a controversy which embodies and embraces many of the critical issues facing the international community – trade and globalization, human rights and equity, biological impoverishment and pollution, lack of implementation and accountability, and the individual’s power to protect the planet”

– Mangrove Action Project– The Shrimp Council – Greenpeace

Solutions?

Systems Design and Research Areas

Siting of ponds in mangroves should be prohibited- mangroves can be used in semi-intensive systems for filtering.

Dependence on wild post-larvae should be eliminated.

New technology- reduce water use, extend life of ponds extend the life of ponds, reduce stress, breed for genetic resistance,

create more efficient feeds, improve feed delivery and diagnose diseases.

Most shrimp farmers feed once or twice daily- waste can be reduced by multiple feedings of smaller amounts

several times per day. Feeding trays should also be used to reduce waste.

Supplemental feeds can be improved by using a higher proportion of plant matter to replace some of the fish meal, which will be more digestible, last longer in the

water and decrease the pressure on wild fisheries.

Disease prevention includes testing the post-larvae and broodstock and sometimes culturists add medicated feed.

The use of antibiotics might encourage the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

It isn’t possible to vaccinate shrimp because they don’t have antibody memory like higher animals have.

Polyculture systems can be designed to help reduce effluent problems- the waste can be eaten by other

organisms. The ponds should be designed sequentially, so one species follows another as water moves through the

system.

Intensive and ultra-intensive systems reduce the environmental problems of land destruction and effluent discharges. However, these systems require formulated

feeds. Additionally, intensive and ultra-intensive systems are most feasible in developed countries due to the large

amounts of capital required for their operation. Such countries usually already have environmental monitoring

programs and environmental legislation.

Certification:

How it might work: third parties would judge whether a system meets guidelines that are developed by NGOs,

consumers, retailers, farmers and environmentalists. The shrimp could then be labeled as certified; the label could also contain info about the shrimp’s species, country of

origin, etc.

Why it might not work: certification wouldn’t change the whole industry, instead create a niche market where only

those that can afford certification could participate.

Environmental and Social Assessments:Shrimp culturists should be required to provide

environmental and social impact statements before building their systems.

Abandoned ponds should be restored to mangroves or other productive systems such as salt flats or wetlands. Aquaculturists should pay into environmental funds to

finance the restoration once they have moved on.

Code of conduct: Culturists can voluntarily accept the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries developed by

the FAO.

Government intervention:Environmental performance bonds or environmental

conditionalities can be attached to operating licenses by governments. Permits can be revoked if farmers do not

comply to guidelines for sustainable farming.

Environmental Value Added Tax: governments can establish a tax that reflects true cost of producing shrimp.

The tax revenue can be used to support sustainable

farming and to correct problems in current methods.

Boycotting: why it may or may not help:

: to engage in a concerted refusal to have dealings with (as a person, store, or organization) usually to express

disapproval or to force acceptance of certain conditions*

It worked for the Dolphins, why may it not work?Boycotts should promote alternatives- and with shrimp

what would those be?

There is no brand name to target because the market is so spread out.

A boycott would have drastic effects on jobs of thousands of people worldwide.

*definition source:WWWebster Dictionary copyright © 1999 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Literature CitedBailey, C. 1997. Aquaculture and basic human needs. World Aquaculture: 28-31. Boyd, C.E and J.W. Clay. 1998. Shrimp Aquaculture and the environment. Scientific

American: 58-65.

Clay, J.W. 1997. Toward sustainable shrimp aquaculture. World Aquaculture: 32-37. Flaherty, M. and Kamjanakesorn, C. 1995. Marine shrimp aquaculture and natural resource

degradation in Thailand. Environmental Management 19(1): 27-37.Fast, A. 1991. Development of appropriate and economically viable shrimp pond growout

technology for the United States. In P.F. DeLoach, W.J. Dougherty and M.A. Davidson, (Ed.), Frontiers of Shrimp Research. Elsevier: New York, 1991.

Fast, A. W. and L. Lester (Ed.). 1992. Marine Shrimp Culutre: Principles and Practices. Elsevier:New York.

Hagler, Mike. 1997. Shrimp - The Devastating Delicacy. <http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/reports/biodiversity/shrimp>

Hamilton, J. 1994. All you can stomach? Sierra Nov-Dec: 36-38.Lassen, T.J. 1997. Environmental extremes versus sustainable policies in aquaculture. World Aquaculture: 49-51.Ling, B.H., P. Leung and Y. Shang. 1999. Comparing Asian shrimp farming: the domestic Resource cost approach. Aquaculture 175: 31-48.

Nixon, Will. 1996. Rainforest Shrimp. <http://bsd.mojones.com/mother_jones/MA96/nixon.html>

Nixon, Will. 1996. Should You Eat Shrimp?<http://bsd.mojones.com/mother_jones/MA96/nixon2.html>

Rivera-Monroy, V.H., L.A. Torres, N. Bahamon, F. Newmark and R.R. Twilly. 1995. The potential use of mangrove forests as nitrogen sinks of shrimp aquaculture pond effluents: The role of denitrification. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society 30 (1):12-23.Sandifer, P.A, S. Hopkins, A.D. Stokes and G.D. Pruder. 1991. Technological advances in intensive pond culture of shrimp in the United States. In P.F. DeLoach, W.J. Dougherty and M.A. Davidson, (Ed.), Frontiers of Shrimp Research. Elsevier: New York.WWWebster Dictionary. 1999. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

<http://www.m-w.com>Anonymous. 1998. Going swimmingly: Reports from the AAAS. The Economist 346:79-82.Anonymous. 1998. Status of world aquaculture: 1998. Aquaculture Magazine Buyer’s Guide and Industry Directory (28): 6-40.Anonymous. 1998. A review of world shrimp farming in 1998. Aquaculture Magazine Buyer’s Guide and Industry Directory (28): 40-60.

Documents

Shrimp Farming: An Economic, Environmental, and Social Analysis Jane Terzibashian Rebecca Williams Sol Mundinger Image adapted from Sierra Club 1999 Oceans