Country Reports

Bangladesh

Harvard University on Bangladesh in the 21st Century

This item is from a presentation at Harvard University on June 13-14, 2008, at the conference on “Bangladesh in the 21st Century”:

For many developing countries, including Bangladesh, shrimp has become a major source of foreign exchange and has integrated often previously marginal coastal communities into high-value commodity networks.

But Bangladeshi farmed shrimp has a quality problem.

As major buyers such as Wal-Mart, Darden Restaurants and Lyons Seafoods recently committed to buying only “certified” seafood, including farmed shrimp, it is anticipated that other buyers will also follow the same path.  A major portion of shrimp production will soon come under the certification umbrella.

The Bangladeshi fishery exporter association, a lobbying group for the shrimp industry, fails to recognize that the major weakness of this industry lies in the feed, chemicals and fry used as inputs.  These inputs are mainly imported from China.  The use of low quality and often contaminated inputs result in low-quality shrimp that garner low market prices.

Source: The Daily Star.  The Promise of Aquaculture.  Nazia Habib and Md. Saidul Islam.  September 9, 2008.

Belgium

From The Shrimp List

Eric De Muylder (eric.de.muylder@skynet.be): I am running an experimental growout system that’s stocked with Penaeus vannamei.  I use a 40% protein diet until the juveniles reach five grams, and then I switch to 35% protein.  I don’t add a source of carbon, but there are enough bio-flocs in the system to convert all the ammonia and nitrites into nitrates.  I use a special reactor to concentrate these reactions.  The nitrate content is quite high (>350 ppm), but my shrimp are still growing at 1.5 grams per week.

Denitrification has picked up recently, and my nitrate content has stabilized.  Since the carbon supply is limited, the bio-floc biomass is not very dense, so I don’t have to spend as much on oxygen.  I am using a special substrate that promotes denitrification and increases the nutritional value of the bio-flocs by protecting the small organisms in the flocs that the shrimp feed on.

Information: Eric De Muylder, CreveTec bvba, Nieuwenbos 43, 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium (phone 32-473-721-004, email eric@crevetec.be, webpage http://www.crevetec.com).

Source: The Shrimp List (a mailing list for shrimp farmers).  Somebody Out There?  From: Eric De Muylder.  September 5, 2008.

Ecuador

For Sale—Farm

Shannon (sthein7478@aol.com): We are in the USA and have inherited a shrimp farm and ranch in LaTolla, Esmeraldas, Ecuador.  It is an artesian farm, operational, but not operating at this time.  Is there anyone out there that might want to buy it?

Source: The Shrimp List (a mailing list for shrimp farmers).  Subject: [shrimp] Artesian Shrimp Farm for Sale in Ecuador, LaTolla.  September 4, 2008.

Estonia

Where Does Russia Get Its Shrimp?

Estonia, on the Baltic Sea between Finland to the north and Latvia to the south, is a major player in world shrimp fishing.  Subland, owned by the Kõuhkna family and just one of Estonia’s shrimp companies, handles more than 15,000 tons of shrimp a year, selling 10,000 tons to Russia, 4,000 tons to Ukraine and the rest to Belarus, Moldova and Poland.

Another Estonian company, Reyktal, co-owned by Icelandic businessmen, is the biggest shrimp fishing company in the European Union.  Reyktal’s four vessels catch over 10,000 tons of shrimp a year.  Reyktal employs a crew of 70 and fishes the Baremts Sea and the northwest Atlantic, near Canada.

Russia purchases up to 70,000 tons of shrimp a year from Estonia.

Source: Baltic Business News.com.  Estonian companies are big players in the world shrimp business.  Toomas Hõbemägi.  September 3, 2008.

India

The Supreme Lurker

Dan Fegan (danfegan@yahoo.co.uk): Thanks to everyone who has been trying to get some discussion going on the list.  I guess as the list owner I am guilty of being the “Supreme Lurker”, which has goaded me into contributing.

One of the major situations I see in Asia is the decline of the Indian shrimp industry, once one of the key producers in the region.  The shift to Penaeus vannamei has hit the P. monodon industry hard.  Although USA imports of monodon have been similar to those of last year, India has lost market share to Vietnam and Indonesia.  Many farmers seem to have stopped production or are looking to grow fish.

I have been going to India for many years, and I have never encountered such a lack of confidence and depression in the industry, even during the days when it faced legal/environmental issues, or even whitespot.

Of course it’s easy to say, “Just bring in vannamei,” but to do so successfully (profitably) would, in my opinion, require significant new investment in more intensive culture systems, better biosecurity at the farm level and training farm workers in best management practices.  I would like to hear your ideas on what needs to be done to resuscitate the Indian industry.

 In January 2008, Vietnam approved vannamei farming in the Mekong Delta (the major shrimp farming region in the country) and signs are that a significant proportion of monodon farmers may switch to vannamei in 2009.  Added to that is the ramping up of vannamei production from CP’s megafarm (formerly Dipasena) in Indonesia.  Assuming an increase of more than a 100,000 metric tons of vannamei coming on the market in 2009 (and I think that is a conservative estimate), will the market grow fast enough to absorb this new production?

Source: The Shrimp List (a mailing list for shrimp farmers).  Shrimp—Where do we go from here?  From: Dan Fegan.  September 4, 2008.

India

All Shrimp Farmers Must Register with the Government

On September 4, 2008, the Indian government declared that all shrimp farmers must register with the Coastal Aquaculture Authority by the end of October 2008 or face losing their farms and going to prison.

Effective October 15, 2008, processors and exporters will only be allowed to buy shrimp from registered farms.

Source: Seafood.com (an online, subscription-based, fisheries news service).  India requiring shrimp farmers to register with government.  Ken Coons (phone 781-861-1441, email kencoons@seafood.com).  Editor and Publisher, John Sackton (phone 781-861-1441, email jsackton@seafood.com).  September 4, 2008.

Iran

Hormozgan Province

A whitespot outbreak in Sistan-Balouchestan Province (southeast Iran) has been contained and did not spread to the neighboring province of Hormozgan.

Dr. Vahdaani, head of the veterinary organization in Hormozgan, said shrimp farmers in the province would probably harvest 2,000 metric tons of shrimp from 760 hectares of ponds in 2008.

Source: IANA News (Iranian Agriculture News Agency).  Harvest of 2 Thousand Tons of Shrimp in the Province Hormozgan.  Mojgan Sattar (translated by Aref Mohammadzadeh).  September 9, 2008.

Malaysia

World Freshwater Prawn Production

Almost 98% of the global freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium spp.) supply comes from China, India, Thailand, Bangladesh, Taiwan and Vietnam.  Accurate production data by species and country are not available.  Here are some estimates:

China is probably the largest producer of freshwater prawns in the world, with production of around 132,000 metric tons in 2006.  It also has the fastest growth rate, with prawn production rising 257% between 1996 and 2006.  Production was 37,000 tons in 1996.

India ranks second with production of 30,115 tons during 2006-2007.  The bulk of production is exported as “scampi”.  During 2005-2006, India exported 6,191 tons.

In Thailand, production was 30,000 tons in 2005, up 203% from 2000, but down 8% from the previous year.  There is a strong domestic market with a demand for large sizes from restaurants.  In 2006, exports reached 8,094 tons, but dropped to 1,956 tons in 2007 due to increasing domestic demand.

Bangladesh is a big producer and consumer of prawns with a total production of around 21,000 tons in 2006.  Almost 60 to 80% of production is sold to processors while the rest is channeled to local markets as head-on fresh product.  Large wild-caught animals are in demand because they taste better.  Prawns are exported headless to the EU and USA.  Head-on and easy-peel prawns are the newest products in western markets.

The production of freshwater prawns in Vietnam was previously classified under freshwater crustaceans by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations and the volume totaled some 5,200 tons.  The domestic market for freshwater prawns is very significant.  Consumers prefer large sizes for barbequing.  Vietnam exports a substantial amount of head-on prawns to Asian restaurants in Germany and France.

Source: Aqua Culture AsiaPacific (Editor/Publisher, Zuridah Merican, email zuridah@aquaasiapac.com).  Market potential for the giant freshwater prawn.  Shirlene Maria Anthonysamy.  Volume 4, Number 4, Page 35, July/August 2008.

Myanmar (Burma)

Arakan State—Shrimp Farmers Extorted

Shrimp farm owners in Mraybon Township in Arakan State are currently facing big problems maintaining their business because hoodlums—with the cooperation of local authorities—are extorting money from them.

One shrimp farm owner said: “We are really facing a problem to run our business in the area because many local miscreants are collecting tolls from us.  We are unable to refuse their demands because the miscreants are backed by local authorities, including the army and police.”

“The miscreant leader Daung Maung asked for 5 lakh kyats [$78,000 ????] from shrimp farms, and told them to pay the toll within 15 days!  If anyone can not pay this demand, he’s threatened that the shrimp farms will be broken down.”

“We went to the police station to complain about the incident, but the police officer was unwilling to solve the problem.  I heard that the police officer regularly receives money from the miscreant group.”

According to a another local source, the shrimp farm owners complained to high government officials in the state of Arakan State about the problem, but no action was taken against the miscreants.

Every shrimp farm owner in the region paid the toll to Daung Maung because they were afraid to have the ponds  torn apart.  Daung Maung’s group has good connections with the local army authority, and it is sharing the money with them.

Source: Narinjara.  Shrimp Farm Owners Suffer Extortion.  September 18, 2008.  Information: Narinjara News (NN) was founded by Arakanese exiles in Bangladesh.  It is an independent organization, not affiliated with any political party or organization (email narinjara@narinjara.com).

Nigeria

Are There Any Shrimp Farms in Nigeria?

It’s official, there are no shrimp farms in Nigeria, but funds have been released to set up a shrimp hatchery at Wilmot Point, south of Lagos on the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean).

Source: Vanguard.  EG, NIOMR Back from Thailand for Food Security.  September 5, 2008.

Saudi Arabia

National Prawn Company—Ten Minute Video from 2006

In 2006, as a result of research and development that began two decades earlier, National Prawn Company completed phase one of a $350 million “modified extensive” shrimp farm on the Red Sea, 150 kilometers south of Jeddah.  The $200 million first phase resulted in eleven farms and 2,800 hectares of ponds with projected production of 13,500 metric tons of whole shrimp a year.

To view a ten-minute video of the farm, hatchery, feed mill and processing plant (circa 2006), click the link in the “Source” below.

Information: Head Office, National Prawn Company, P.O. Box 20, Al-Lith 21961, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (phone 00-966-7-7329999, fax 00-966-7-7329000, email queries@robian.com.sa, webpage http://www.robian.com.sa/home.html).

Sources: 1. Video Google.com.  National Prawn Company, Antibiotic-free, Quality Shrimp.  September 9, 2006.  2. National Prawn Company’s Website.  Website visit on September 1, 2008.

Taiwan

I-Screen, U-Screen, We All Screen

Abstract: Nucleic acid-based amplification technology is now a rapidly developing field for disease diagnosis.  In addition to polymerase chain reaction (PCR), several isothermal amplification techniques for nucleic acids, including nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA), self-sustained sequence replication (3SR), strand displacement amplification (SDA), loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), rolling circle amplification (RCA) and helicase-dependent amplification (HDA), are also candidates for on-farm diagnostic systems.

A novel on-farm system called i-screen^TM diagnoses both DNA and RNA viruses.  It’s easy to use, and the results are easy to interpret.  Using the shrimp whitespot virus as a test species, i-screen’s reliability was compared with nested PCR (polymerase chain reaction).  The comparison, carried out in China and India, showed that i-screen^TM provided the same results as nested PCR 95.2% of the time.

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

Source: World Aquaculture Society.  The CD of World Aquaculture 2008 (Busan, Korea, May 2008).  Page 132.  I care so I-screen—a new technique brings instant sensitivity on shrimp virus diagnosis.  Pin-Hsing Chou (sales@genereach.com), Ping-Hua Teng, Fu-Chun Lee, Ping-Feng Sung, Bor-Rung Ou and Chen Su (GeneReach Biotechnology Corp., No. 2-1, 7th Road, Taichung Industrial Park, Taichung, Taiwan, ROC, phone 886-4-23580768, fax 886-4-23580769, email iq2000@ms36.hinet.net, webpage http://www.i-screen.com.tw).

Thailand

The Switch to LPG

Dipi Ghumman (getdipi@yahoo.com): The rising cost of fuel made it very difficult for shrimp farmers in Thailand to produce shrimp profitably.  Then some somebody came up with the idea of using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, cooking gas) to power the aerators in the shrimp ponds.  Now the entire industry in Thailand has discarded diesel and changed to either electricity or LPG, lowering the cost of energy by more than a third.

Source: The Shrimp List (a mailing list for shrimp farmers).  Subject: Re: [shrimp] Somebody out there?  September 4, 2008.

Thailand

Thai Union Benefit from Reduced Dumping Duties

Thai Union Frozen Products, one of the leading exporters of farmed shrimp in Thailand, is confident it can increase it sales to $2 billion in 2008—now that the USA government has reduced the dumping tariff on its shrimp exports to 2.85% from 5.95%.

According to Thai Union president Thiraphong Chansiri, the final ruling would make the company eligible to receive a tax refund worth $2.6 million from the excessive duties collected on its shrimp exports between February 2006 and January 2007.

Shrimp constitute 18-20% of Thai Union’s sales.  For the first six months of 2008, the company reported shrimp sales of $183 million, a 31% increase over the first six months of 2007.

Since the preliminary dumping tariff was announced, Thai Union has been working with its USA legal adviser, Akin Gump (a law firm that specializes in dumping cases), the Thai Department of Foreign Trade and the Thai Embassy in Washington to get the rate corrected, said Mr. Thiraphong.

Overall Thai shrimp exports are also expected to benefit from the ruling, possibly raising shipments to 400,000 tons in 2008 from 350,000 tons in 2007.

The country’s shrimp export value is expected to grow by at least 15% this year to $2.3 billion.

Information: Thai Union Frozen Products.

Source: The Bangkok Post.  Lower Tariff Gives TUF 2B sales goal.  Charoen Kittikanya.  September 2, 2008.

United States

South Carolina—Dr. Craig Browdy

On September 8, 2008, I interviewed Dr. Craig Browdy, formerly a research scientist with the South Carolina Department of Natural Recourses and now head of aquaculture research at Novus International in St. Louis, Missouri.  Novus markets a wide range of supplements for animal feeds.  Browdy will work out of a home office in Charleston, South Carolina.

Shrimp News: Tell me a little about Novus.

Craig Browdy: Novus has extensive experience developing and marketing products that improve the nutrition and health of traditional farm animals.  I hope to contribute to Novus’s ongoing efforts by bringing that knowledge and experience into the aquaculture industry.  I plan to develop quality products that increase the health of aquatic animals and provide a return on investment to fish and shellfish farmers.  Through better nutrition, improved fitness and gut health and by taking advantage of the animal’s immune response, we hope to introduce products that keep aquaculture species “fit and happy”.

Shrimp News: You mentioned the animal’s immune response.  Does that mean you’ll be developing vaccines, or vaccine-like products, for shrimp?

Craig Browdy: Shrimp cannot be vaccinated as they have no antibody response.  I was referring to improved overall health and immunostimulation to bolster the innate immune system and protect animals from disease.  The key will be to demonstrate efficacy and to understand from a fundamental aspect how they are working and what they are doing.  That’s going to take some development time and some trials.  I hope to begin setting up some partnerships and collaborations with friends, businesses and institutions around the world.

Shrimp News: What about probiotics?

Craig Browdy: Novus has already done work looking at probiotic applications in pond systems.  Getting probiotic strains into the gut is another area of interest.  The application of probiotics is actually a very challenging field, with a lot of promise, but you must be sure that they are actually doing something.  The environment that you put them into—whether it be the gut or the pond—has a lot to do with their activity and effectiveness.

Shrimp News: How’s the new job going so far?

Craig Browdy: I’ve only been working for Novus for two weeks.  So far I’ve been drinking from a fire hose as I climb a steep learning curve, attempting to get up to speed with a new job and new way of doing business.  It’s an exciting time, and I’m really looking forward to the future.

Information: Dr. Craig Browdy, Senior Manager for Aquaculture Research, Novus International, 5 Tomotley Court, Charleston, SC 29407 USA (phone 843-793-7610, email craig.browdy@novusint.com).

Source: Dr. Craig Browdy, telephone interview by Bob Rosenberry, Shrimp News International.  September 8, 2008.

Vietnam

A Grim Picture for Penaeus monodon Farming

Reports from Vietnam continue to paint a grim picture for the future of giant tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) farming.  Currently, farmers are getting from $3.90 to $5.25 a kilogram (depending on size) for their animals, versus $6.40 to $7.90 in 2007, says Le Anh Xuan, a tiger farmer in the Mekong Delta.  Some farmers are holding product off the market, hoping that they can get a better price later, even though their operating costs are escalating rapidly.

Government officials say that high production costs and high interest rates have forced processors to cut back on purchases of tiger shrimp.  One processor who previously purchased about 300 tons of tiger shrimp a year has cut back on tigers and purchased more white shrimp (P. vannamei).

The government is ready to support more farmers switching to white shrimp.  In 2009, Ca Mau Province plans to stock 6,000 hectares with the western white shrimp (P. vannamei) next year.

Tren Thien Hai, chairman of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, however, thinks the industry should stick with tigers.  He argues that switching to white shrimp would expose the industry to fierce competition from all the white shrimp farmers in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.  He thinks the smaller market for tigers might be more profitable for Vietnamese farmers.

Source: Seafood.com (an online, subscription-based, fisheries news service).  Low farm prices for black tiger shrimp leading to delayed harvest in Vietnam.  Editor and Publisher, John Sackton (phone 781-861-1441, email jsackton@seafood.com).  September 8, 2008.

Vietnam

Bad Situation Gets Worse for Shrimp Farmers in Mekong Delta

Shrimp farmers in the Mekong Delta face difficult times as costs rise and shrimp prices fall.

Nguyen Van Ut, a shrimp farmer in Bac Lieu Province (Mekong Delta), has been farming shrimp for five years.  He says 2008 has been the toughest year so far.  He estimates that it costs more than $4.80 to produce a 32-count-per-kilogram tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon).

Source: Thanhniennews.  Bad Situation Gets Worse for Shrimp Farmers.  Tien Trinh.  September 8, 2008.

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