Shrimp farming
The shrimp farming ( engl. shrimp farming ) is a special form of aquaculture in the prawns ( shrimps ) are used for human consumption. Since the 1970s, the production of farmed shrimp has increased steadily to meet the demand for such seafood especially from Europe, North America and East Asia. 2003, more than 1.6 million tons were placed in such a way crustaceans produced on the market worldwide. Their market value was nearly $ 9 billion.
75 percent of the farmed shrimp are produced in Asia. The main producing countries are China and Thailand. Thailand is the nation with the highest export share. The remaining 25 percent will be used for the most part in Latin America, where the most important Latin American country of production is Brazil. Virtually all farmed shrimp belong to the family of Penaeidae.
Shrimp farms have evolved from a traditional agricultural production methods that existed in Southeast Asia for several centuries. Technical progress has this breeding method can become a global industry, because it allows an attitude of crustaceans in increasing density. Breeding material is sent around the world today. Two types of crustaceans - Litopenaeus vannamei and Penaeus monodon - now account for about 80 percent of all relied upon in shrimp farms crustaceans. These industrial monocultures are very susceptible to disease, which has already led in the past on several occasions to a complete collapse of regional relied upon in aquaculture crustacean populations. The problems associated with shrimp farms ecological problems, repeated disease outbreaks, and increasing criticism from both environmental groups and importing countries has initiated changes in the industry since the late 1990s. It is partly associated with stricter regulations in the producing countries. 1999 also has developed a program that aims to develop more sustainable farming methods. Participants in this program are both authorities in individual countries, representatives of producers and environmental groups.
Historical Development
The artificial rearing of crustaceans are in Asia as part of the traditional agricultural production methods. The use of brackish water ponds, known tambaks can be traced back to the 15th century in Indonesia. These shrimp was used in a small scale. This was done either as a monoculture or together with other species such as the milkfish. Were also used rice fields during the dry season when no rice could be grown in this. Such traditional modes of production were common both in coastal areas and along river beds. Mangrove areas were particularly often used for this type of production, because here shrimps occur naturally. Wilde, not yet fully grown shrimp were exposed in these ponds that fed there from the naturally occurring aquatic organisms. These were harvested shrimp, once they had reached the desired size.
The beginning of the modern shrimp farms can be traced back to the 1930s, when Kuruma shrimp ( Penaeus japonicus ) were used for the first time artificially in Japan. In the 1960s, shrimp farms had been established in Japan as a smaller industry. The breakthrough, however, came in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when it due to technical advancements was possible to intensify the shrimp breeding. This coincided with a growing market demand, so that shrimp farms began to establish itself in all tropical and subtropical climates in the world. The establishment of shrimp farms came to meet also that the wild shrimp catches subsided in the 1980s, but there was a very wide demand.