February 27, 2008

 

US Ocean Institute regains funding to develop shrimp industry

 

 

The Oceanic Institute will receive US$3.1 million of federal money this fiscal year after losing millions in federal funding last year when Congress removed earmarked funds for projects.

 

According to the Honolulu Star Bulletin, this year's funds will support the US Marine Shrimp Farming Program, a consortium of seven institutions led by the Makapuu research facility to develop a competitive domestic shrimp farming industry.

 

Two decades of steady funding have allowed the institute to develop a disease-free shrimp breeding programme, said Oceanic President Bruce Anderson.

 

The program received US$4.1 million in earmarked federal funds in fiscal 2006 but funding disappeared after earmarks were eliminated last year, he said. Meanwhile, the institute has been selling broodstock to companies to keep the operations going.

 

Earmarks allow continued research over many years and shrimp breeding is an area which requires such funding, Anderson said, adding that it can take decades to develop new shrimp lines.

 

The Ocean Institute has developed the renown premier shrimp breeding programme. In fact, many of the

Asian shrimps ng eaten in the US today would actually have genetic roots in the institute, he said.

 

The institute sells broodstock to US companies and research institutions. The former then sells these to Asia for growout. Once the shrimps are harvested, they are sold back to America, he said.

 

One of the gripes in the industry was that Asian shrimps could be produced and exported to the US at prices much cheaper than local shrimp.

 

However, with the combination of enclosed technology and better shrimp genetics, Anderson said they could improve density and thus lower cost.

 

Still, one of the main objectives was not so much to sell shrimps cheaply but to sell high quality shrimps, the institute said.