Country Reports

Australia

Seafood Industry Attacks the Ban on Raw Shrimp Imports

Australian seafood importers are demanding that a ban on raw shrimp imports be lifted after confirmation that one of the diseases that the ban was supposed to stop was discovered on two shrimp farms in northern Queensland.

Harry Peters, chairman of the Seafood Importers Association, said the IHHN virus has already been found at two Queensland shrimp farms “and it seems likely that it has been in Australia for a long time, well before the government took draconian measures that were supposed to keep it out.  ...As a covert rescue plan, it (the ban) has been a complete failure.  Not only has the import ban cost Australians hundreds of millions of dollars, this latest development has also exposed a huge gap in Australia’s internal biosecurity.  ...Supplier countries are very upset by the unscientific approach taken by Australia on this issue.  ...The new government correctly wants to stay out of biosecurity matters, but unless the Federal Minister steps in to sort out this mess, caused by the ‘political science’ policy of his predecessors, it will be his government that cops a multimillion-dollar, World Trade Organization compensation bill.”

Source: Food Week Online.  Angry prawn importers want ban dropped.  July 16, 2008.

Canada

Functional Technologies Targets a Vaccine for Whitespot

Functional Technologies, a food and health care company that develops and commercializes advanced yeast products and other biological products for the food and the health care industries, recently announced the launch of Phyterra Bio, Inc., a new subsidiary based on Prince Edward Island.  Phyterra Bio will focus on the development of health care products derived from the microalgae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.  The initial target markets for Phyterra Bio’s microalgae products will be pets, oral health care and aquaculture.  One of Phyterra Bio’s first targets is a vaccine for the whitespot virus in shrimp, which has been reported to cause up to a billion dollars in annual losses to the shrimp farming industry.  Its microalgae-based vaccine product is ready for laboratory-scale trials.

Garth Greenham, Functional Technologies Chief Operating Officer, said: “The aquaculture business is a logical place for Functional Technologies to compete.  It allows the company to capitalize on its microorganism expertise for the development of proprietary products, but more importantly, on the experience of a team of people who, prior to joining Functional Technologies, helped build one of the world’s largest aquaculture vaccine companies.”

Information: Garth Greenham, Functional Technologies Corp., 1500–885 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 3E8 (phone 604-648-2200, fax 604-648-2201, email info@firstventuretechnologies.com, webpage http://www.firstventuretech.com/index.htm).

Source: iStock Analyst.  Functional Technologies Announces Launch of Phyterra Bio Subsidiary.  July 22, 2008.

Ecuador

Prices

Triton Foods, an importer and seafood trader in Southern California, reports the following prices on farmed shrimp from Ecuador:

• Real Brand, 50/60 count, head-on/shell-on shrimp, $2.90 a pound.

• Real Brand, 70/80 count, head-on/shell-on shrimp, $2.40 a pound.

• Blue River Brand, 51/60 count, head-off/shell-on shrimp, $3.20 a pound.

Shrimp are packed ten, four-pound boxes to a case and 20 cases to a container, minimum order one container, FOB Los Angeles.

Information: Daniel Manfredi, Sales and Marketing, Triton Foods, 5798 Oak Bank Trail, Oak Park, California 91377 USA (phone 310-595-0288, fax 818-851-9035, email tritonfoods@aol.com).

Source: Email to Shrimp News International from Daniel Manfredi at Triton Foods on July 31, 2008.

India

Exporters Want Increased Testing of Shrimp

In June 2008, the United Kingdom destroyed a consignment of shrimp from India because it contained antibiotic residues.

Frustrated by the rejection of their shrimp in the European Union (EU), Indian exporters are demanding stricter testing for antibiotics at the farm level.

Elias Sait, secretary general of the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI), says the number of rejections by the EU is as low as 10 so far in 2008, down from 45 in 2007, but the continued use of antibiotics such as chloramphenicol and the nitrofurans at aquaculture farms has aroused concern.

The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has promised to set up more testing facilities at the farm level.

Whenever antibiotic residues are detected in shrimp, the EU puts out an alert that “blacklists” the exporter.  EU countries then stop trading with the exporter, and it’s a cumbersome process to get off the blacklist once you’re on it, says Sait.

Meanwhile, international demand is increasing for low-priced, western white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei), which is not farmed in India.  That brought down demand for India’s giant tiger shrimp (P. monodon), and its price tumbled.  Exporters say inflation is forcing people to go for the whites, which are much cheaper to farm than the giant tiger shrimp.  “Rising inflation across the globe is forcing people to go for vannamei, which is much cheaper compared to giant tiger shrimp,” said K.S. Choudhry, director of Apex Exports, Ltd., in Andhra Pradesh.

While vannamei sells for around $4.27 a kilo, similar-sized monodon sell for $5.22­$5.46 a kilo.  Vannamei yields 20 metric tons a hectare, five times more than monodon, Choudhry said.  The cost of producing vannamei is one-third that of producing monodon.

In 2007, the government accepted, in principle, the idea of vannamei farming in India, and exporters expected farming guidelines by January 2008.  The guidelines never arrived.  “Six months after the government promised to issue the guidelines for introduction of white shrimp, very little has been done,” Choudhry said.

Source: LiveMint.com.  Exporters of shrimp call for stricter testing.  July 17, 2008.

Northern Mariana Islands

Oceanic Institute Conducts Workshop

Dr. Shaun Moss of the Oceanic Institute in Hawaii talks to the media while Northern Marianas College President Carmen Fernandez looks on.  Photo by Mark Peñaranda.

On July 10–11, 2008, Northern Marianas College and Hawaii’s Oceanic Institute held a workshop on the economic opportunities of aquaculture in the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI, a commonwealth in political union with the United States).  The workshop was conducted by Dr. Shaun Moss, director of the United States Marine Shrimp Farming Program at the Oceanic Institute.  Also contributing to the workshop: Dr. Hui Gong, aquaculture development specialist from the University of Guam; Clyde Tamaru, aquaculture specialist from the University of Hawaii’s Sea Grant College Program; and Clete Otoshi and Dustin Moss, shrimp program research associates at the Oceanic Institute.

Northern Marianas College President Carmen Fernandez said: “The NMI is surrounded by vast water resources, blessed with a warm tropical climate and located in a strategic proximity to major Asian markets.  The workshop is a recognition of those advantages and how they can play a role in the growth and expansion of the island’s economy.”  She added that Saipan SyAqua, a shrimp farm on the main island of Saipan, is now capable of producing 10,000 pounds of shrimp a month valued at $80,000.

Oceanic Institute’s Dr. Moss said NMI’s biosecurity and geographically isolated location would help ensure the success of the aquaculture industry.

Michael Ogo, an aquaculture specialist at Northern Marianas College, said the workshop was sponsored by the college and funded by a grant from the Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture, one of five regional aquaculture centers in the USA, established by the USA Department of Agriculture.

Source: Marianas Variety.  Aquaculture industry may revive NMI economy.  Moneth G. Deposa.  July 10, 2008.

Northern Mariana Islands

Second Shrimp Farm, More to Come

On July 17, 2008, with the help of staff from Northern Marianas College (NMC), Taga Diversified Products, LLC, opened a new shrimp farm on the island of Rota.  The farm has already stocked its first batch of shrimp larvae, which were flown in from Guam.  The farm’s first harvest, according to NMC aquaculture specialist Michael Ogo, who was on hand to provide technical assistance, could be ready by December 2008.  “Christmas shrimp, just in time for the holidays,” he said with a laugh during a phone interview, adding the farm, with a staff of four, could produce up to 100,000 shrimp a crop.

Guam (an island territory of the United States, south of the Northern Mariana Islands) and Rota are the new farm’s primary targets for marketing its shrimp crops, according to Vincent Hocog, one of the farm’s owners.  Hocog thanked NMC’s Cooperative Research Extension and Education Service program for its assistance with launching the farm.

With one shrimp farm already seeing early success on Saipan and another planned on Tinian, Ogo added that aquaculture could eventually become a significant industry in the NMI.  “We’re certainly moving in that direction,” Ogo said.  “We could one day have shrimp farms on all three of those islands.”

Source: Saipan Tribune.  New shrimp farm starts operations on Rota.  Stefan Sebastian.  July 18, 2008.

Pakistan

Shrimp Growout Trials Underway

On July 15, 2008, Anwar-ul-Islam, director of research and development for the fisheries department in Sindh Province, held a press conference to brief the media about ongoing and future government fisheries projects worth millions of dollars.  He said that 15 new projects would be funded.  One of the projects, “Shrimp Breeding in Coastal Areas of Thatta and Badin”, will enhance the seed production of Penaeus indicus, P. marguiensis and P. semisulcatus.  Twenty-five offshore cages will be constructed to maintain broodstock for the development of hybrids between Penaeus indicus and P. marguiensis.  Six officials from Balochistan Province and one from Punjab Province have already been trained in hatchery operations.  Growout experiments have started at a pilot shrimp farm.

Source: The News.  Fisheries sector to benefit from projects worth billions.  July 16, 2008.

Thailand

Shrimp Exporters Get Reduced Tariffs

On July 17, 2008, the World Trade Organization’s top court affirmed its ruling against the USA bond requirement on shrimp imports from Thailand.  Poj Aramwattananont, president of the Thai Frozen Foods Association, said the ruling was definitely good news for the Thai shrimp farming industry.  He said Thai shrimp production will be about 430,000 metric tons in 2008, down from 470,000 tons in 2007.  Shrimp exports are forecast at 350,000 tons, worth around $2.4 billion.

The USA is Thailand’s biggest market for shrimp, accounting for 42–43 percent of exports, followed by Japan at 20 percent, the European Union at 15 percent, and Australia and Canada making up the rest.

Thailand will ask the USA to refund more than $360 million that was paid into the continuous bond fund.

“The WTO ruling will benefit Thai Union, Charoen Pokphand and other Thai shrimp exporters,” said Adisak Kamool, an investment strategist at KGI Securities in Bangkok.  “The abolition of the USA requirement will increase the competitiveness of Thai shrimp products in the USA.”

Source: SeafoodSource.com.  Thai Shrimp Exporters to Seek Reduced U.S. Tariffs.  July 22, 2008.

United States

Kentucky—Light Regimes in Intensive Heterotrophic Systems

To support the development of inland shrimp farming in the USA, a trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of light on the production of shrimp in intensive heterotrophic systems.

A 13-week production trial was conducted using 3.8-m³ polyethylene tanks with five light treatments:

• Sunlight and the natural diurnal cycle acting as control (midday = 718 lux)

• One metal halide light (1,074 lux)

• One fluorescent light (214 lux)

• Two fluorescent lights (428 lux)

• Three fluorescent lights (642 lux)

Lights were on 24 hours a day throughout the study.  There were three replicate tanks per treatment, each separated by black plastic to prevent light contamination.  Each tank was stocked with 465 shrimp/m² with an initial mean weight of 0.4 grams.  Shrimp were fed twice daily with a commercial shrimp diet (Zeigler Shrimp GR Hyper-Intensive 35).  DO, temperature, pH and salinity measurements were taken daily and TAN, nitrite and alkalinity measurements were taken twice a week.  Tanks were harvested after 92 days and final average individual weight, percent survival, harvest yield and FCR were determined.

Light treatment had a significant impact (P<0.01) on average individual weight, survival, harvest yield (kg/m²) and feed conversion ratio.  Differences in production parameters among shrimp in the natural light (control), metal halide and 1-fluorescent treatments were not significantly different (P>0.05).  However, there was a linear negative relationship (P<0.01: R2=0.758) between the number of fluorescent fixtures and harvest yield, survival and feed conversion efficiency.  Decreased survival in 2 and 3-fluorescent fixture treatments appeared to be related to greater concentrations of filamentous bacteria in those tanks.  Natural light, metal halide and low levels of fluorescent light appeared to inhibit, or did not promote, high concentrations of those bacteria.

Information: John Cooksey, World Aquaculture Conference Management, P.O. Box 2302, Valley Center, CA 92082 USA (phone 760-751-5005, fax 760-751-5003, email worldaqua@aol.com, webpage http://www.was.org).

Source: World Aquaculture Society.  The CD of Aquaculture 2008 America (Orlando, Florida, USA, February 2008).  Abstract 438.  Performance of Pacific White Shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei Raised in Static Heterotrophic Tank Systems Exposed to Different Light Sources and Intensities.  David R. Wood (david.wood@kysu.edu), Russell S. Neal, Brian M. Boudreau, Shawn D. Coyle and James H. Tidwell (Aquaculture Research Center, Kentucky State University, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601 USA).

United States

South Carolina—Waddell Mariculture Center Purchases Line of Disease-Free Shrimp

The Waddell Mariculture Center in Bluffton, a marine research facility of the Department of Natural Resources, recently purchased a line of disease-free Pacific white shrimp that had been raised in captivity for 20 years at a Florida shrimp hatchery.

Source: The Charlotte Observer.  Farm gives ‘green’ shrimp a go.  July 28, 2008.

United States

Washington, DC—FDA May Loosen Restrictions on Shrimp Imports from China

Following recent inspections in China, a senior USA Food and Drug Administration official said FDA may soon loosen the restrictions on USA shrimp imports from China, imposed in June 2007 because antibiotic residues were found in imported Chinese shrimp and four other species of seafood.

Since then, China’s government and seafood producers have stepped up testing and safety controls, and the percentage of all seafood shipments testing positive for antibiotics has dropped from about 25% to less than 6%, says Don Kraemer, deputy director of the FDA’s Office of Food Safety.

In July 2008, FDA inspectors audited 13 seafood processors, including some of China’s biggest.  The inspectors checked for good food-safety controls and the quality of inspections done by the Chinese government.  Within weeks, FDA expects to decide whether to release some of the processors from restrictions.

Exempting more companies would speed shipments and cut import costs from China, historically a major supplier of shrimp to the USA.

USA importers say China’s government has clamped down on shoddy producers.  Last winter, Beaver Street Fisheries in Florida, had a third of its shrimp imports from China test positive for antibiotics.  “I haven’t had a positive test in months,” says Beaver’s import buyer Carlos Sanchez.

Source: iStockAnalyst.com.  FDA May Ease Rule on China Seafood.  Julie Schmit.  July 21, 2008.

Vietnam

Penaeus vannamei Begins Its March Across Vietnam

Vietnam has 369,094 hectares of ponds devoted to shrimp farming.  According to the Ministry of Agriculture, 12,411 hectares of ponds are now used to grow the western white shrimp, Penaeus vannamei.  In June 2008, Vietnam had 2,437 P. monodon farms and 51 P. vannamei farms.

In the first months of 2008, a large number of monodon and vannamei were infected with diseases.  As much as 43 percent of the vannamei in the Go Cong Dong district of southern Tien Giang Province died from diseases.

Source: Vietnam Net Bridge.  Vietnam diversifies its breeds of shrimps for export.  July 16, 2008.

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