Molasses, Salinities, Bio-Flocs and
Semi-Intensive Ponds

A Discussion from The Shrimp List

For background information on this discussion see:

• Meet the Flockers

• Probiotics and Shrimp Farming

Indo-Gulf Shrimps (indgulfshrimps@ymail.com): Most probiotic bacteria prefer normal oceanic salinities of around 35 parts per thousand, or less.  For example, in many parts of India, Vibrio outbreaks occur during the hotter months when the salinities and temperatures are above annual averages.  Therefore, is it advisable to manipulate the carbon:nitrogen ratio in a shrimp pond by adding an organic carbon compound like molasses when salinities rise above 45 ppt?

Will higher salinities, higher temperatures and all that molasses (or other carbohydrate) encourage the growth of organisms that might be harmful to the shrimp, like Vibrios?

Eric De Muylder (eric.de.muylder@skynet.be): I have no idea whether the increased carbon would favor “good” 
bacteria more than the “bad” Vibrios, or not, although I would assume so.
 But the problem is going to be that the increased carbon is going to increase 
the oxygen demand of the pond. Now you have to aerate more, increasing your evaporation rate, the last thing you want to do when you 
already have high salinity.


Laurence (ecotao@yahoo.com): I don’t see any reason why heterotrophic bacteria promoted by molasses addition should not be similarly effective in competing with Vibrio pathogens at higher salinities.  The only high salinity document [Editor: This is a 2 MB file that’s slow to download and open!] that I could find is http://www.faculty.ait.ac.th/visu/Data/AIT-Thesis/Doctoral%20Thesis%20final/Dan%20Thesis%20%20pdf%202002.pdf.  There does seem to be a gap in the research for papers on the application of probiotics at higher salinities.  Total alkalinity is linearly related to salinity, so higher salinities should be just as stable or more stable.

Radhakrishnan Palasseri (radhupal@yahoo.com): Most commercial probiotics contain bacteria that work best in brackish waters, like estuaries, or in normal oceanic water.  The hyper-saline waters of the Red Sea, for example, don’t support most probiotic bacteria.

If one applies molasses in hyper-saline conditions, will the most likely bacterial populations to develop be Vibrios?

Dallas Weaver (deweaver@scientifichatcheries.com): Remember, not all Vibrios are pathogens, some may be and probably are 
probiotic.

 [Editor: Check out this discussion on the Shrimp List. Dallas tells you how to grow your own probiotics, and why algal-based systems are better than bacteria-based systems in some situations.]

Jorge Cordova (seabizec@yahoo.com): Any ideas or comments on adding molasses to semi-intensive shrimp ponds?  Can bio-floc systems be simulated in semi-intensive ponds by adding molasses and a low-protein diet—without aeration?

Dallas Weaver (deweaver@scientifichatcheries.com): Jorge, without aeration and mixing, carbon addition is a risky proposition.  It’s easy to get anaerobic areas and hydrogen sulfide formation, which can crash the system.  A few days of cloud cover and no wind, and you can get into big trouble.  I prefer a lot more control when playing games with microbiology.

Brian Boudreau (brianboudreau01@yahoo.com): Jorge, I agree with Dallas.  If you want to take full advantage of what bio-floc systems can offer in semi-intensive shrimp ponds, you should consider supplemental aeration.  Bio-floc technology almost goes hand-in-hand with intensive systems where the aeration cost is justified by greater production.  Also if you don’t have pond liners, the supplemental carbon source is assimilated into the bottom sediment and not into the water column.

Patricio Buchell (contecbrasil@yahoo.com.br): Would it be possible to create bio-floc-like structures on the pond bottom?  For instance with the use of organic matter such as compost (without manure) enriched with bacteria?

Brian Boudreau (brianboudreau01@yahoo.com): That could work in a shallow, flow-through system where your organic matter was evenly distributed.  It would require some oxygen in the water and would be especially nice if you could establish a population of marine worms, which make a great shrimp feed, under the organic matter.

Also, algal-based nursery ponds with short cycles and water exchange have been very productive using composts applied when the ponds were dry.  After drying, the ponds are refilled, left alone for a week to develop a healthy food chain, and then stocked with postlarvae.  The short cycle permits drying out on a regular basis.

Generally speaking, however, most ponds have some dissolved oxygen stratification occurring and keeping organics from building up on the bottom is considered important in keeping oxygen levels up.  Even with aeration some high-fiber cellulose and organic carbon sources that do not degrade readily tend to drop out of the water column and accumulate in dead spots and deeper pockets on the bottom.  This accumulation only has to be a couple of inches thick before it starts producing hydrogen sulfide.  Shrimp tend to stay away from these zones, and the feed that accumulates in them further contributes to the build up.

Jorge Cordova (seabizec@yahoo.com): Brian, Dallas, thanks for your comments.  Unfortunately aeration and liners are not a possibility for us.  We tried molasses in small, easy-to-flush ponds that were one-meter deep and noticed a change in the algae that the shrimp were feeding on, but no dissolved oxygen problems.  We had similar survival and growth rate in these ponds compared to regular ponds.  We use the small ponds to test our ideas.

[In Ecuador], many farmers are adding molasses to their ponds, but there’s not a clear understanding of how it works, or if it works under extensive or semi-intensive conditions.

Indo-Gulf Shrimps (indgulfshrimps@ymail.com): We agree with Jorge: The regular use of molasses in extensive and semi-intensive ponds with or without aeration is common in many parts of the world.  The use of molasses in these systems is to the tune of 10-20 kilograms once or twice a week while the feed given to the ponds varies from 300-600 kg per week.  I don’t know if the addition of molasses has any effect on the overall pond environment.

Everyone agrees on the importance of C:N manipulation to get the most out of a pond, but the question is how, when and what quantities of molasses to use.  Unsulfured molasses is recommended by some and some are using wheat flour or other grain flours as a source of carbohydrate.  Some use fermented molasses with bakers yeast, others ferment the molasses with probiotics and urea.

David Griffith (drwgriffith@gmail.com): Jorge, in the mid 1990s, LANEC was using composted fruit and vegetable wastes (mainly passion fruit) to stimulate organic productivity in semi-intensive ponds in Ecuador.  A graduate student thesis on the use of organic fertilization demonstrated small but significant improvements in production through the application of the compost.  Sadly the cost of producing the compost and transporting it to the farms outweighed the benefits, and I believe that the operation now uses more concentrated forms of carbon.  It was a pretty nice way of managing the wastes though!

Dallas Weaver (deweaver@scientifichatcheries.com): Regarding the comments made by Indo-Gulf Shrimps: Correct, the percent of carbon being added is insignificant.  It won’t change the C/N ratio enough to grow enough biomass to use significant amounts of nutrients.

Hernán Zambrano: (hzambranoq@hotmail.com): Hi Jorge, we use large quantities of probiotics in our pond water and feed.  We haven’t had to use any antibiotics for four years, and our water and soil quality stay in perfect condition.  On our farm we use molasses and micro minerals to grow our own probiotics.  I think it is an efficient way to profit from molasses.

Source: The Shrimp List (a mailing list for shrimp farmers).  Subjects: Organic Carbon Molasses, and Molasses.  December 1, 2008, through January 29, 2009.

Country Reports

Ecuador

Shrimp Exports Take a Dive

Shrimp exports plummeted some 4 million pounds in December 2008, compared to November 2008, and by nearly 5 million pounds compared to December 2007, said Cesar Monje, executive president of Ecuador’s National Aquaculture Chamber (CNA).

According to CNA statistics, Ecuador exported 20.9 million pounds of shrimp in December 2008, compared to 24.7 million pounds in November 2008 and 25.2 million pounds in December 2007.

Source: FIS United States.  Shrimp exports take a dive.  Analia Murias (editorial@fis.com).  January 29, 2009.

Ecuador

Dumping Tariffs End!

In August 2009, after dealing with dumping issues for five years, Ecuadorian shrimp will once again enter the United States tariff free.

The tariffs cost Ecuador $2 million in legal fees and more than $60 million in payments to the USA.

Shrimp ranks third among Ecuadorian exports, after petroleum and bananas.  Ecuador exported 273 million pounds of shrimp in 2007 worth $582 million, 43 percent to the USA and 16.1 percent to Spain.

In 2006, shrimp exports generated $640 million, 50 percent from the USA market.

Source: FIS United States.  Zero shrimp exports tariff ‘a diplomatic success’.  Analia Murias (editorial@fis.com).  January 30, 2009.

India

Job—Hatchery Technician

We are a consulting company and need a hatchery technician to operate a pilot/experimental project.  Experience: minimum, 1-2 years running a shrimp hatchery and farm.  Send you resume to gabiotech@yahoo.com.

Information: A. G. Bhat  (cell phone 09343561545, email arunajibhat@hotmail.com).

Source: The Shrimp List (a mailing list for shrimp farmers).  Subject: Hatchery Technician Needed.  From: Aruna G. Bhat.  February 11, 2009.

Thailand

“Turbo Shrimp” from CP

In Pathum Thani Province, Chaiwat Tientongkam grows the white shrimp Penaeus vannamei at an 8-hectare site and the giant tiger shrimp P. monodon at a 14-hectare site.  He markets live black tiger shrimp to China and chilled white shrimp to Korea.

Chaiwat’s latest purchase: “Turbo Shrimp” postlarvae from Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF).  They cost as much as the most expensive postlarvae on the market when packaged with feeds and 27% more when sold separately.  “Turbo Shrimp” are the result of five generations of selective breeding in Thailand.  Some 1,000 families were evaluated for survival, disease resistance and growth rate.  Growth in each generation has improved 45% since 2005, according to CPF.

Source: Aqua Culture AsiaPacific (Editor/Publisher, Zuridah Merican, email zuridah@aquaasiapac.com).  Keeping to the circle of control.  Zuridah Merican.  Volume 5, Number 1, Page 7, January/February 2009.

United States

Missouri—Global Aquaculture Alliance

On February 1, 2009, the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) and GlobalGap (GG) announced an agreement “to work cooperatively to develop and harmonize certification systems for the aquaculture sector worldwide.”

GAA Executive Director Wally Stevens called the Cooperation Agreement “an important step that paves the way toward closer cooperation between our two global organizations.”  The two groups will develop a “joint checklist approach” for a single farm audit that meets the requirements of both organizations, Stevens said.

GlobalGap Secretary Kristian Moeller said the agreement between the two organizations “is a way to harmonize existing standards, create robust and accredited programs and avoid costly and confusing duplication of efforts for producers.”

The Global Aquaculture Alliance develops and oversees standards for aquaculture, including farms, feed mills and processing plants.  Known as Best Aquaculture Practices (BAPs), GAA’s standards cover food safety, traceability, animal welfare, community and social welfare and environmental sustainability.

GlobalGap is a private sector body that sets voluntary standards for the certification of agricultural/aquaculture products around the globe.  The GlobalGap standard is primarily designed to reassure consumers about how food is produced on the farm by minimizing detrimental environmental impacts of farming operations, reducing the use of chemical inputs and ensuring a responsible approach to worker health and safety as well as animal welfare.

Information: Wally Stevens, Global Aquaculture Alliance, 5661 Telegraph Road, St. Louis, Missouri 63129, USA (phone 1-617-571-9717, fax 1-314-293-5525, webpage).

Information: Kristian Moeller, PhD, GlobalGap, c/o FoodPLUS GmbH, HRB 35211 Koeln, Spichemstr 55–50672 Koeln, Germany (phone +49 (0) 178-477-14-64, fax +49 (0) 221-579-93-89, webpage).

Information: Jeanne McKnight (Media Contact for the Global Aquaculture Alliance), PhD, President, McKnight and Company Strategic Communications, 7225 Southeast 36th Street, Mercer Island, WA 98040 USA (phone 1-206-230-0404, cell 1-206-963-6478, email jmcknight@mcknightpr.com, webpage http://www.gaalliance.org).

Source: Email from Jeanne McKnight to Shrimp News International.  Subject: Breaking News: GAA, GlobalGap Sign Agreement to Cooperate on Farm Certification.  February 1, 2009.

United States

South Carolina—Waddell Mariculture Center May Lose Funding

The Waddell Mariculture Center, which is conducting pioneering research on bio-floc shrimp farming, faces potentially devastating budget cuts.  State funding for the center has been on a downward slide for a decade.  Manager Al Stokes and the other scientists working there have tapped federal and private sources, as well as state money, to continue their work.  Operating costs are covered by revenue from saltwater fishing licenses and federal grants.  State money was recently used to renovate the facility built in 1984.

Source: IslandPacket.com.  Mariculture center plays important economic role.  January 31, 2009.

United States

Utah—2008/2009 Brine Shrimp Harvest

This year, the state of Utah stands to harvest one of its biggest windfalls ever from the pursuit of tiny brine shrimp eggs on the Great Salt Lake.

State royalties collected from the annual harvest, which ended on February 1, 2009, could exceed $700,000.  That’s on top of the $1 million the state collects in brine shrimp fishing permits.

“It’s definitely good for us,” said John Luft, the state’s Great Salt Lake ecosystem program manager.  But for the companies that fish for the eggs, mostly for sale to shrimp hatcheries around the world, the picture isn’t so rosy.  The egg fishermen are taxed based on how much raw material is scooped out of the lake in search of the eggs, and the amount of useable product is below average this year, said Don Leonard, chairman of the Great Salt Brine Shrimp Cooperative, a collection of companies that plies the desert lake in search of the eggs.

So while the companies may pay out more in state royalty taxes this year, they’ll likely see a smaller-than-normal percentage of sellable product.  “It’s kind of a double-whammy,” Leonard said.

Since the season started on October 1, 2008, 19 million pounds of “raw biomass”—a mix of shrimp, eggs, brine flies, empty shells, algae and other debris—have been scooped up.  That’s the third-highest amount in records going back to 1985.

Today, spotter planes, night-vision technology and global positioning systems help identify floating mats of the reddish eggs on the lake, sometimes called “slicks.”  A boom is placed around the eggs, and they are sucked into sacks on boats.  The brine shrimp companies also scoop up pungent wind-blown rows of eggs on the lake’s shores.

The eggs are washed, dried and vacuum-sealed.  Prices vary.  In 2008, the eggs typically went for about $11 a pound, Leonard said.  Prices for this year’s product haven’t been set yet, he said.

Leonard said about 70 percent of the eggs go to Asia.  In recent years, USA companies have been battling for market share with Russian and Chinese brine shrimp companies.

Source: Forbes.com.  Big payoff for tiny Great Salt Lake shrimp eggs.  Associated Press.  Mike Stark.  January 28, 2009.

United States

Utah—“Revenge of the Sea Monkeys”

Sea Monkeys (brine shrimp) will solve the Utah state budget problem!  Well, maybe that’s an overstatement, but so were the labels and those ads in the comic books when I was growing up.  They said “grow your own sea monkeys, right in your own bedroom”.  I expected to be feeding them bananas in just a matter of days.  So, when I discovered that my 25 cent investment (not to mention the 5 cent stamp) was just going to create a glass of cloudy water, I was upset.

Now, I find out that those disappointing sea monkeys harvested from the Great Salt Lake mean nearly $1 million dollars to the Utah state budget, I feel a bit different about the whole “scam”.

So, what goes around comes around.  I paid my pennies as a kid for a simple science project and now it is helping to pay the taxes in the state where I live.

It’s a good thing...riding the sea monkey all the way to the bank.

Source: ABC4.com.  Revenge of the Sea Monkey.  Ross Becker.  January 29, 2009.

United States

California—Retail Shrimp Advertisement

The major grocery stores in Southern California mail out brightly colored, newspaper-style advertisements on their special bargains every week.  Ralphs, one of the biggest supermarket chains, ran this ad for farmed shrimp right before Christmas 2008.

Source: Ralphs Grocery Company’s Mailbox Advertisement.  December 2008.

Video of Freshwater Prawns With Eggs Swimming in an Aquarium

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