September 21, 2006

 

Company leads Saipan into modern shrimp farming

 

 

Saipan Aquaculture Co. Inc.'s success in culturing and harvesting over 70,000 pieces (2,500 lbs) of white Pacific shrimps just months after starting up the business is an encouraging sign of the business's potential, according to company president Tony Pellegrino.

 

Besides exporting the shrimps to Philippines, the company is also looking at the Asian market, Pellegrino said, adding he has been receiving inquiries from China and Thailand.

 

Pellegrino said that shrimp farming takes only five to six months to harvest and sell to the market.

 

Pellegrino hopes to put Saipan on the map in the aquaculture world as a renowned and trusted source of disease-free broodstock and post-larvae shrimps and expressed hope the success of the company would attract other investors.

 

Currently, the shrimp farm has more than 250,000 post-larvae shrimps or baby shrimps.

 

These post-larvae shrimps are expected to grow and be sold to the market in five months' time. Pellegrino said establishing more shrimp farms has a huge advantage due to the proximity of the islands to Asia.

 

While aquaculture is not new, Pellegrino is actually the first CNMI businessman to build a shrimp farm, equipped with facilities for hatchery and shrimp growing.

 

Measuring two acres, Saipan Aquaculture Co. Inc. has all the trappings of a modern shrimp farm-- culture tanks, broodstock maturation tanks, hatchery, packaging and shipping building, water storage, and waste disposal system.

 

The hatchery's two mating tanks, three larval tanks, and 10 spawning tanks, are projected to produce a minimum of 12 million post-larvae per year.

 

The company has invested more than US$200,000 in capital. Total investments would reach up to US$500,000 once the business is fully operational.

 

The farm has three units of circular concrete culture tanks 15 feet diameter each and two units of 30' x 70', three-phase raceway tanks. The circular tanks have a projected shrimp annual production capacity of 6,000 pounds. Each raceway can produce annually up to 12,000 pounds of shrimp.