Shrimp Hatcheries in the
Western Hemisphere in 2008

Concentrating on shrimp hatcheries, Neil Gervais, technical sales representative for hatchery feeds at Zeigler Bros., Inc., gives a great slide presentation on the shrimp farming industry in the Western Hemisphere.  It begins with country-by-country statistics on the number of hatcheries and their production and ends with a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of the various shrimp breeding programs in the Western Hemisphere.

Gervais said the scarcity and high cost of Artemia cysts made running a hatchery a tricky proposition in early 2009.

Country-by-Country Comments

Belize: In 2009, high production costs and diseases caused a reduction in the number of farms.  Consequently, the demand for seedstock is down.

Brazil: The whitespot virus has moved north into Bahia.  Floods and the ever-present INM virus have hit some big farms.  The majority of shrimp is produced for the high-priced, unorganized, national market.  Hatcheries produce for the domestic market only.  Most hatcheries have instituted extreme cost control measures.  Shrimp prices on local markets are strong.

Colombia: Only two groups of shrimp farms are functioning, and the export market for PLs has disappeared.  Very high production costs make it difficult for hatcheries to turn a profit.  If farmers were to use more aeration, the demand for PLs would probably go up.

Ecuador: The first ten months of 2008 were very good for shrimp farmers in Ecuador, but the global slump in shrimp prices has resulted in them stocking fewer ponds in 2009.  Hatcheries worry about when their market is going to get back to normal.  Long-term low prices have left them with no reserves.  Improvements in breeding programs have made some groups more competitive than others, and big integrated hatcheries that have breeding programs, maturation facilities and PL sales should have an advantage over the independent facilities in 2009.

Guatemala: Increased stocking densities and new markets for fresh shrimp have fueled demand for PLs in Guatemala.  Intensification, however, may have had some unintended consequences, leading farmers to stock at lower densities in 2009.

Honduras/El Salvador: Improvements in shrimp survivals in 2008 have given farmers a boost in confidence.  Hatcheries, however, face tough competition from Nicaragua.  Nonetheless, two new hatcheries are scheduled to come online in 2010.

Mexico (Sonora, Sinaloa and Nayarit): Hatcheries must be large to get big orders out the door during the narrow stocking windows caused by government regulations that restrict stocking until pond temperatures reach 28 degrees C.  PL prices are high during these windows.  When the windows close, PL markets are very limited.  Nursery systems are being constructed near or on farms where stockings dates are regulated.  PLs can be stocked in nursery systems up to one month prior to stocking farm ponds, providing hatcheries with some flexibility during the narrow stocking windows.

Postlarvae are typically purchased on credit and paid for when the crop is harvested.  Hatcheries have been expanding to meet the heavy demand during the stocking windows, and PL prices are rising.  Most hatcheries operate less than six months of the year; some for little as three months.  During the winter, most farms dry-out for 1 to 5 months.

As a result of strict sanitation regulations (biosecurity) and genetically improved stocks, Mexican shrimp farmers staged a dramatic comeback in 2008 with record production of 126,000 metric tons.  Hatchery production and profitability increased proportionately.  In early 2009, a month after stocking, a whitespot outbreak occurred in Sinaloa, and 40 farms were forced to dry out.

Nicaragua/Costa Rica: Whitespot still affects many farms, but improvements have been made, specifically with low-density culture.  Many new ponds came into production in 2009, and seed demand has increased substantially.  A new 500-million-PL-per-month hatchery that came online in January 2009 should be able to handle the increased demand for seedstock.

Panama: An increase in shrimp survivals in 2008 increased demand for postlarvae in 2009.  The export market for PLs has all but disappeared.

Peru: Good farm production and a large, new hatchery combined to make 2008 the best year for Peruvian hatcheries in over a decade.  Farmers are now less dependent on Ecuadorean PLs.

United States: Most of the postlarvae produced in the USA are used to stock shrimp farms in Texas.  The USA also has a handful of nucleus breeding centers that produce genetically improved broodstock for facilities in Asia and South America.

Venezuela: Farms have continuing production problems, and hatcheries face political turmoil wherever they turn.  Importation of specific pathogen free broodstock from the USA could help hatcheries and farms.

Information: Neil Gervais, Zeigler Bros., Inc., 1134 Shillington Drive, Katy, Texas 77450, USA (phone 1-717-968-6917, emails neil.gervais@zeiglerfeed.com and ecneil2@yahoo.com).

Source: Shrimp Hatcheries in the Western Hemisphere in 2008.  A slide presentation by Neil Gervais.  Presented to shrimp farmers in Brazil and Ecuador in 2009.

Country Reports

Australia

How Shrimp Get Their Color

Dr. Nicholas Wade and colleagues at the University of Queensland and the Australian Institute of Marine Science have discoverd how crustaceans produce such a wide range of shell colors.  Wade said crustaceans use astaxanthin, a bright red carotenoid, bound to a protein called “crustacyanin” to modify the carotenoid wavelength to any color in the visible spectrum.  “Apart from crustaceans, no other animals we analyzed had the crustacyanin gene.  Therefore, we now know that crustaceans have evolved a unique way of using this simple carotenoid building block to produce all their colors,” said Wade.

When bound to protein, the normally fat soluble carotenoid also becomes strongly water soluble, providing a potential application for these compounds as natural food colorants.  Other uses could include pH or heat indicators.

Sources: 1. ScienceAlert.com.  Lobsters’ Colour Trick Found.  July 27, 2009.  2. Molecular Biology and Evolution.  Evolution of a Novel Carotenoid-Binding Protein Responsible for Crustacean Shell Color.  Nicholas M. Wade (School of Integrative Biology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia), Alina Tollenaere, Mike R. Hall and Bernard M. Degnan (b.degnan@uq.edu.au).  Volume-26, Number-8, Pages 1851-1864, May 2009.

Canada

British Columbia—Poseidon Offers Jobs for Shrimp Farm Technicians

Great opportunities for graduating students!  Must love working in aquaculture.  No experience or background required.  Mandarin Chinese work setting.  Candidates applying for this job must have reliable transportation to and from work.  Location in Langley, BC, not accessible by public transportation.  Salaries will be discussed during interviews.  Forward your resume by email to miranda@poseidonbioaqua.ca.

Source: Craigslist.  Langley-Based Closed-System Shrimp Farm Technician.  Posting ID 1283251146.  July 22, 2009.

Malaysia

Crab Farming Scam

More than 300 individuals who dreamed of becoming successful crab farmers have fallen for an investment scam that raked in millions of dollars.  Victims of the scam tell a similar story.  They were reeled in by advertisements in local newspapers and then paid $80 to attend a one-day, crab-farming course organized by the scammers.

Mohd Hadzri Dollah, 48, one of the scammed, said the promoters said the plan was supported by subsidies from the Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM), a government agency responsible for promoting and developing a marketing campaign for the fisheries sector.  He said investors were even taken on tours of successful crab farms in the state of Perak.  During a press conference on July 21, 2009, Noreen Binti Abdullah, who also fell for the scam, said, “They told us that for every kilogram of crab we sold, LKIM would give us a subsidy of $0.38.”  Noreen said investors were also told of a buyback guarantee at $1.98 a kilo for soft-shelled crabs and $7.93 a kilo for hard-shelled crabs.

The victims paid between $1,700 and $2,125 for fiberglass tanks and 120 juvenile crabs.  Some only invested $1,700, but at least one person invested $187,000 in the scam.

Source: The Star Online.  300 Hit by Crab Farm Rip-off.  July 22, 2009.

Mexico

World Aquaculture Society Meeting in Veracruz, Biofloc Session

Yoram Avnimelech, co-chairman of the biofloc session at the World Aquaculture Society Meeting in Veracruz, sent Shrimp News a list of the shrimp papers and abstracts that will be presented at the biofloc session on Tuesday, September 29, 2009.  Below you will find excerpts from some of the abstracts.  You can get the full program from Yoram Avnimelech (agyoram@tx.technion.ac.il), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 32000 Israel.

Using a Non-Venturi Air Injection System to Raise Penaeus vannamei in a High Density Biofloc System: To ensure high dissolved oxygen levels, Advanced Industrial Aeration (AIA) and Shrimp Improvement Systems (SIS) have worked together to raise Penaeus vannamei using “Taeration”, a non-venturi air injection technology.  AIA’s Taeration transfers oxygen at a high rate and uses up to 70% less energy than more common methods.  This aeration technology produces a fine micro bubble without the use of blowers or compressors.  Water is gorged with oxygen at 200% saturation without regard for temperature or depth.  These high rates of oxygen allow for simultaneous aeration and degassing of carbon dioxide, create a current and don’t require additional equipment.  Information: Traci Elizabeth Holstein (holstein@shrimpimprovement.com, Shrimp Improvement Systems, 88081 Old Overseas Highway, Islamorada, Florida 33036, USA, phone 1-305-852-0872).

Bioflocs Produced by Biologically Treating Fish Effluent Are a Suitable Replacement Ingredient for Soybean and Fishmeal: In this lab study, two types of bioflocs were used as a feed ingredient for Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) in a 35-day feeding trial.  Using effluents from tilapia tanks, bioflocs were produced with carbon supplementation and without carbon supplementation.  Bioflocs were dried and then evaluated as an ingredient in shrimp feed by replacing fishmeal protein and/or soybean protein.  A control diet (without bioflocs) was compared against four diets with carbon-supplemented bioflocs (at 10, 15, 21 and 30% inclusion levels) and without carbon-supplemented bioflocs (at 10, 15 and 21% inclusion levels).  The control and biofloc diets were formulated to be equivalent for levels of crude protein, total fat, crude fiber, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium.  Both types of bioflocs were suitable replacements for fishmeal and soybean protein.  Information: David Kuhn (davekuhn@vt.edu, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, 418 Durham Hall, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA).

Evaluation of the Effect of a Plant Based Diet on Growth Performance and FCR of Pacific White Shrimp Litopenaeus Vannamei Raised Either in a Photoautotrophic or a Heterotrophic Hyper-Intensive Zero-Exchange Biofloc System: These results show that specially formulated plant based diets in which all the fish meal and fish oil have been removed can be used in hyper-intensive zero water exchange shrimp biofloc systems without affecting production parameters.  Information: Jesus A. Venero (jesus82@hotmail.com, SCDNR, Waddell Mariculture Center, 211 Sawmill Creek Road, Bluffton, South Carolina 29910, USA).

Conference Information: John Cooksey, World Aquaculture Conference Management, P.O. Box 2302, Valley Center, California 92082, USA (phone 1-760-751-5005, fax 1-760-751-5003, email worldaqua@aol.com, webpage http://www.was.org).

Source: Email from Yoram Avnimelech to Shrimp News International on July 26, 2009.

Singapore

T-Tech Shrimp Hatchery

T-Tech International, registered in Singapore, supplies first-generation postlarvae (Penaeus vannamei) to shrimp farmers in China.  Traditionally, Chinese shrimp farmers have stocked second-generation shrimp that may not be as healthy or as genetically pure as first-generation seedstock.

A shrimp farmer said: “I used to grow second-generation shrimp fry but now I farm first-generation ones.  First-generation shrimp fry are virus-free and grow faster.”

Alex Chin, Executive Director of T-Tech International Singapore, said, “We will definitely double production levels every year for...the next three to five years.”  Only a year old, T-Tech expects revenues of more than $700,000 in 2009, and it is eyeing a listing on the Singapore Stock Exchange by 2011.

Source: ChannelNewsAsia.com.  T-Tech Works Out Niche in China with First Generation Shrimp Fry.  Glenda Chong.  July 21, 2009.

United Kingdom

The World’s Largest Shrimp Cocktail

The Shellfish Association of Great Britain, in association with Royal Greenland, a supplier of coldwater, wild-caught shrimp and other seafood products, has created the world’s largest shrimp cocktail and had it photographed for the Guinness Book of World Records.  Constructed in a 1.5-meter-tall champagne glass, the cocktail contained 50 kilograms of shrimp, a crate of lettuces and more than 10 liters of cocktail sauce.

Video: For a four-minute video of the construction of the cocktail, click here.

Source: ThePublican.com.  Nothing Fishy about This—The World’s Largest Prawn Cocktail.  John Porter.  July 24, 2009.

United States

Arizona—Algae Biosciences Corporation

Algae Bioscience Corporation has introduced two new products for shrimp hatcheries: Live algae cultures on solid media in convenient tissue culture flasks and one-liter liquid cultures.  It currently offers cultures of Nannochloropsis, T-Isochrysis, Porphyridium, Chaetoceros, Phaeodactylum and Dunaliella.  Additional species are available on request.  All cultures are guaranteed to be axenic (pure, no other organisms).

Andrew Ayers, CEO of Algae Biosciences, an old hand at algae culture and shrimp hatcheries, worked for Granada Corporation after it took over Agromarina de Panama’s hatchery in 1986.

Information: Andrew Ayers, Algae Biosciences Corporation, P.O. Box 1509, Overgaard, Arizona 85933, USA (phone 1-928-240-1060, email sales@algaebio.com, webpage http://www.algaebio.com).

Sources: 1. Email from Algae Biosciences Corporation to Shrimp News International.  July 21, 2009.  2. Telephone conversation with Andrew Ayers on July 27, 2009.

United States

Florida—Decapod Crustacean Phylogenetics

In January 2008, crustacean scientists from throughout the world convened at a symposium hosted by the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology and The Crustacean Society in San Antonio, Texas, (1) to present updates on the diversity and relationships (phylogeny) of decapods, (2) to review the relationships within some of the major decapod clades (a similar group with a single common ancestor and all its descendants), and (3) to work toward assembling and coding molecular and morphological characters toward an overall decapod phylogeny.  Invited participants represented a wide variety of backgrounds and included established decapod workers as well as beginning students of decapod phylogeny. Attendees represented fourteen countries (Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, England, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan and the United States).

Based on contributions at that symposium and on a few additional manuscripts from workers who could not be present at the San Antonio meeting, Decapod Crustacean Phylogenetics, provides a comprehensive synopsis of the current knowledge of this vast and important group of animals.

Source: Decapod Crustacean Phylogenetics.  Edited by Joel W. Martin, Keith A. Crandall and Darryl L. Felder.  Pages 616, $139.  CCRC Press/Taylor and Francis Group.  Florida 2009.

United States

Florida—Aquaculture Certification Council and the FDA

The Aquaculture Certification Council (ACC), the manager of the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices certification program, has passed a paper audit of its procedures in preparation for the first phase of BAP’s participation in the United States Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Voluntary Third-Party Certification Program for Imported Aquacultured Shrimp.

In the next phase, a team of investigators from the FDA Office of Regulatory Affairs and Center for Food Safety and Appliance Safety will observe ACC audits of seafood processing plants and shrimp farms in Honduras, Nicaragua and Indonesia between July and August 2009.

Information: Bill More, Aquaculture Certification Council, Inc., 706 North Suncoast Boulevard, Crystal River, Florida 34429, USA (phone 1-352-563-0565, fax 1-425-650-3001, email aquacert@tampabay.rr.com, webpage http://www.aquaculturecertification.org).

Source: The Global Aquaculture Alliance.  Best Aquaculture Practices News.  FDA Reviews of BAP Program Continue.  July 2009.

United States

Mississippi—University of Southern Mississippi, Earmarked for $300,000 for Shrimp Research in 2010

The fiscal year 2010 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act earmarks $220.7 million for 296 projects.  Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi) and Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) earmarked $300,000 for shrimp farming research at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Source: Businesswire.com.  Pork Alert: Senate Agriculture Appropriations.  July 27, 2009.

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