October 25, 2007

Cultivation of sweet water shrimps gains popularity in Bangladesh

Cultivation of prawn in sweet water is expanding in Satkhira district, a major shrimp producing region in the country. 

Environmentally friendly cultivation and higher profits are driving farmers to cultivate the prawn, according to the Daily Star, a newspaper in the country.

Using sweet water for shrimp cultivation damages the environment less than saline water.

Prawn, locally known as 'golda', brings more profit as its price is higher. The yield is also more than that of shrimp, farmers told the newspaper.

Farmers who abandoned shrimp cultivation after incurring losses due to diseases are now picking up golda cultivation as it can be grown along with other crops. There is also less risk of virus attack, they said.

Production of golda is 408.29 kilogrammes per hectare compared to 265 kilogrammes for shrimp, Zakir Hossain, an expert of WorldFish Center which is providing technical support to farmers.
 
Golda cultivation in sweet water can revolutionise the fishery sector and increase export earnings from it manifold without destroying the environment.

This has brought many shrimp cultivators back to the profession after years of heavy loss, Zakir said.

Bangladesh's shrimp industry, the second largest foreign exchange earner, employs more than 750,000 people.

The country produces more than 50,000 tonnes of shrimps annually, mostly by traditional methods. In 2006-07 fiscal, the country fetched around US$ 500 million through shrimp export, mainly to the US and EU countries.