July 24, 2006

 

GCRL researchers finding ways to develop shrimp farming in the US

 

 

Gulf Coast Research Lab (GCRL) researchers are looking for ways to make farming shrimp an economically feasible enterprise despite stiff foreign competition and high production costs in the US.

 

While commercial shrimping for wild shrimp is a major industry in the Gulf Coast, there are no shrimp farms in the area.

 

One of the challenges facing shrimp farms is protecting shrimp from disease, finding an environmentally safe way to raise them and doing it well enough to make a profit. This is a requirement which Jeff Lotz, chairman of the University of South Mississippi's Coastal Science Department, said is impossible at the moment. 

 

Before embarking on an effort to launch the industry, the GCRL aims to develop a disease resistant shrimp that is immune to the diseases that affect them.

 

A virus destroyed the shrimp industry in Taiwan. China also suffered a five-fold drop in shrimp production when disease hit while Thailand, once a top shrimp producer in the region, was overtaken by Vietnam after disease wiped out most of its shrimp farms.

 

As for profits, foreign shrimp farmers, with access to cheap labour, unfettered by environmental regulations and not obliged to quality control, easily beat their American competitors hands-down.

 

For example, in some Asian countries, used water from the ponds is poured directly into the sea, without regard to environmental regulations.

 

Lotz said the programme at the GCRL involve developing a "closed loop" system where the same water is circulated and filtered, making it an environmentally safer process.

 

GCRL is part of a seven-member research consortium working on marine aquaculture that also includes marine institutes and several universities, including the Texas A&M University.

 

Despite years of research, the consortium has yet to find an economically viable way to make a profit out of shrimp farming as the competition from foreign shrimps is simply too stiff, Bill Hawkins, GCRL executive director, said.

 

With US$1 as the whole sale price a pound of shrimp, it is difficult to make aquaculture an economically feasible venture.

 

Some say it all comes down to marketing.

 

Imported shrimps are shipped frozen and come with tails only, whereas local shrimps can be iced to stay relatively fresh and come with the head, which is good for boiling, said Lotz. He said that is only one of the way to prompt consumers to pay higher prices to support local shrimp. 

 

Techniques for mass production could also lead the way to bring down currently high production costs, Lotz said.