Pictures of Belize Aquaculture's Expansion

Belize Aquaculture, Ltd., a large, environmentally friendly, zero-exchange, super-intensive, integrated shrimp farm (hatchery, growout ponds and processing plant) in Belize, Central America, is in the process of installing its own power plant and expanding its growout area with 28, 4-acre ponds.

The first of three Wartsila 7.86 megawatt generators arriving at the farm. Each generator weighs 133.5 metric tons. A special ten axle trailer was brought in from Guatemala to move the generators from the port at Big Creek to the farm. A building will be erected around the generators, which should be operational by December 2006.

Harvest canal under construction




Lining a pond

Source: Emails from Michael Bowen (michael.bowen@balshrimp.com). Belize Aquaculture, Ltd. Received June 7 and 16, 2006.

Country Reports

Australia
Imported Shrimp Carry Diseases

On Australia's northeast coast, the State of Queensland has issued a warning against using imported raw shrimp as bait, amid growing concerns that imported shrimp carries diseases that could infect wild shrimp.

Commercial shrimp fishermen want raw shrimp imports stopped and say shrimp import inspections are too random. They say up to 60 consignments have recently tested positive for the whitespot virus.

Dr. Ian Anderson, Queensland's principal veterinary pathologist on fish disease, agrees that imports pose a threat: "Shrimp imported for human consumption can get purchased by recreational fishermen and then used in their fishing activities and that is a potential route for the spread of the virus from the imported product for human consumption through to our wild fishery stock."

Eric Abetz, Federal Fisheries Minister Senator, says Biosecurity Australia is fast-tracking its risk analysis of raw shrimp imports.

Source: ABC North Queensland. Dept, fishermen warn of imported prawn disease (http://www.abc.net.au/news/items/200606/1655414.htm?northqld). June 5, 2006.


Brazil
Genus Sells SyAqua/Brazil for $6 Million

In late 2005, Genus, PLC, a British cattle genetics company, bought Kentucky-based Sygen International, which owned SyAqua, a shrimp genetics company, which owned shrimp hatcheries in Brazil, Mexico and Thailand.

Recently, Genus sold the Brazilian hatchery for $6 million.

Richard Wood, Chief Executive of Genus, said, "With Brazil now sold, we are considering offers for the Mexican and Thai shrimp businesses."

Genus said its pre-tax profits were up 79 percent to $247 million in the 12 months to March 31, 2006, after Sygen delivered better numbers than expected when it was bought for $345 million in December 2005. Most of the cash flow came from Sygen's pig business. The "volatile" shrimp unit reported losses of $1,290,000.

Information: Richard Wood, Chief Executive, Genus, PLC (phone 01256-345971); David Timmins, Group Finance Director, Genus, PLC (phone 01256-345977); Charles Ryland and Suzanne Brocks, Buchanan Communications (phone 020-7466-5000).

Sources: 1. Yorkshire Post Today. Genus Profits from Move into Pigs as Shrimps Arm is Put up For Sale (http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=1299&ArticleID=1551175). June 9, 2006. 2. Money Week. Sygen gives Genus big boost (http://www.moneyweek.com/file/13582/sygen-gives-genus-big-boost.html). June 6, 2006. 3. Genus. Genus, PLC, Disposal of SyAqua Brazil (http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=130998&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=872243&highlight). June 14, 2006. 4. Bob Rosenberry, Shrimp News International, June 23, 2006.



India
Freshwater Prawns Are Veggies

Moti Kashyap, Fisheries Minister in the state Madhya Pradesh (central India), has been criticized by the state's Jain Community (mostly vegetarians, one of the oldest religions in the world, not an offshoot of any other religion) for having claimed that freshwater prawns (Macrobrachium) qualify as a vegetarian food.

In his eagerness to promote freshwater prawn farming in Madhya Pradesh, Kashyap argued: "Like eggs, the protein content in prawns is very high. Both are covered in shells. Scientists consider eggs vegetarian. Therefore, I have labeled prawns as vegetarian too." He says that eggs and prawns both solidify after being boiled, and prawns, like poultry eggs, do not hatch or reproduce in fresh water.

"The minister's remarks should be condemned in the strongest words," said Poorna Sagar Maharaj, a Jain saint.

"Moti Kashyap has lost his mental balance," said Congress Spokesperson Manak Agrawal. Even Kashyap's own party, the BJP, can't seem to find reason in his logic. "It's not as if the Minister is the most knowledgeable person in the world," said BJP leader Sunderlal Patwa. Kashyap is now back-tracking and says he is ready to apologize to the Jain Community.

Source: Daijiworld.com. Madhya Pradesh Minister in Dock for 'Fishy' Remarks (http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=22544&n_tit=Madhya+Pradesh+Minister+in+Dock+for+'Fishy'+Remarks+). June 9, 2006.


India
Fishermen Aim to Destroy Shrimp Farms

Bhubaneswar...The Chilika Mastchyajibee Mahasangha, a group of fisher folk around Chilka Lake, a thousand square kilometer brackishwater lagoon in the northeast state of Orissa, has threatened to demolish all "prawn gheries" [shrimp ponds] if the Government doesn't do it in the next 12 days.

 On June 8, 2006, Balaram Dash, president of the group, said that despite repeated assurances from the government and a directive from the High Court to remove the farms, nothing has been done. 

More than 100,000 fishermen and their families in 145 villages depend on the lake for their livelihood. Once living on the fringes of the lake, the villages and fishermen now find themselves on dry land, separated from the lake by the shrimp farms.

Source: Newindpress.com. Fishermen threaten to raze 'gheries' (http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEQ20060608230012&Page=Q&Title=ORISSA&Topic=0). June 9, 2006.


Pakistan
Aquaculture and Shrimp Farming Get a Half Billion Rupees

Islamabad...In its 2006-2007 budget, the Government of Pakistan has allocated $366 million to agriculture, food, irrigation, forestry and fisheries. Aquaculture and shrimp farming will get $8.3 million, with 85 percent of the money going for salaries and staff and only 13 percent to research, which grossly contradicts international standards that say 40 percent of the funds should go to research.

Source: Dawn. Farm sector allocation increased (http://www.dawn.com/2006/06/06/top2.htm). June 6, 2006.


Suriname
Jobs

From the north coast of South America on the Atlantic side comes this job posting:

Enviro-Fish Africa, Pty., Ltd., a fisheries and aquaculture consulting firm in South Africa, has been retained by the developers of the Suraq Prawn Farm (Penaeus monodon, under construction in western Suriname) to recruit a hatchery manager and a growout manager. The first phase of the farm includes a hatchery and 100 hectares of growout ponds. During the second phase the farm will expand to 550 hectares of ponds. The company offers highly competitive remuneration packages and seeks to make the appointments by mid-August 2006. 

The deadline for applications is July 5, 2006.

Information: 

Send your application and a comprehensive résumé with references to Professor Thomas Hecht, 
Enviro-Fish Africa, Pty., Ltd
., 22 Somerset Street, 
Grahamstown, South Africa (email t.hecht@ru.ac.za, fax +27-46-6227950, webpage www.envirofishafrica.co.za). Check the sources below for more information.

Sources: 1. Network of Aquaculture Centers in Asia-Pacific Webpage. Jobs: Shrimp farm senior personnel-- Suriname (http://www.enaca.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=784). Posted by Simon Wilkinson. June 8, 2006. 2. Website of 
Enviro-Fish Africa on June 11, 2006.


United States
Arizona-Josh Wilkenfeld

In response to a question about artificial salts that appeared on the Shrimp List, Josh Wilkenfeld, a shrimp hatchery manager in Mexico, responded:

Shrimp are reasonably sensitive to anything other than the correct relative proportions of the various key components of seawater, especially potassium and magnesium. They seem to be more sensitive to the proper ratios of the chemical constituents, as opposed to the actual salinity. I have worked with a number of synthetic sea salts, both for algae culture and for larval rearing, and one that has given me consistently good results for the last few years is Crystal Sea Marine Mix made by Marine Enterprises International in Baltimore, Maryland.

Information: Robert Spellman, Marine Enterprises International, Inc., 8800 A. Kelso Drive, Baltimore, MD 21221 USA (phone 800-200-7258, fax 410-687-2562, email info@meisalt.com, webpage http://www.meisalt.com/contact/index.html).

Information: Josh Wilkenfeld, Arizona Shrimp Hatchery Consultants, Ltd., 2554 West 16th Street, #340 Yuma, Arizona 85364 USA (email josh.wilkenfeld@gmail.com).

Source: The Shrimp List (a mailing list for shrimp farmers, "shrimp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com"). Re: [shrimp] dumb question on SALT. From: josh.wilkenfeld@gmail.com. June 8, 2006.


United States
California-- Aqua Bounty

San Diego...Aqua Bounty Technologies, Inc., a Waltham, Massachusetts-based company focused on enhancing aquaculture productivity through the application of advanced biotechnologies, is pleased to announce the appointment of Ben Williams to lead the company's sales effort in Latin America. Williams, whose career spans more than a decade in sales of aquaculture feeds and technical products, will manage the introduction of the company's feed additives, therapeutics, diagnostic tools and health management products across the region.

Williams is an academically trained biologist with significant international experience in market development, distribution and new product introduction. He served as shrimp sales manager at Zeigler Bros., a long-established aqua feeds producer in the USA, and helped launch the company's feeds on the international market. As the international sales and marketing manager for Magic Valley Heli-Arc, he introduced a shrimp harvesting system in Asia and Central America. He began his career at Prime Artemia, a supplier of brine shrimp cysts, as laboratory director and later assumed sales and marketing responsibility.

Headquartered at the Aqua Bounty Pacific offices in San Diego, California, Williams can be reached at bwilliams@aquabounty.com or by telephone at 208-948-9113.

Information: Henry Clifford, Aqua Bounty Technologies, Aero Drive, Lab 17, San Diego, CA 92123 USA (phone 858-467-6539 or 858-467-6675).

Source: Aqua Bounty Technologies News Release. Aqua Bounty Technologies Signs Sales Manager for Americas. June 9, 2006.


United States
Delaware-DuPont

DuPont, a science-oriented company with sales in seventy countries, has products to combat Vibrios and the shrimp whitespot virus.

Information: www.ahs.dupont.com. When you arrive at this site, click on "International", choose your language, and then click on "Site Search" at the bottom, left side of your screen. In the search box that appears, type in "shrimp" and you will be taken to 28 papers/items that Dupont has published on shrimp diseases and biosecurity.

Sources: 1. The Shrimp List (a mailing list for shrimp farmers, "shrimp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com"). Subject: [shrimp] Biosecurity in shrimp farming. From: govindarajugs@yahoo.com. June 8, 2006. 2. Bob Rosenberry, Shrimp News International, June 23, 2006.


United States
Hawaii-Oceanic Institute

This study indicates that growth of juvenile Penaeus vannamei is significantly enhanced in the presence of pond water from intensive shrimp ponds. Shrimp reared in pond water grew 32% faster than shrimp in well water, even though pond water was a degree centigrade lower than the well water. These results corroborate earlier work regarding the growth-enhancing effect of shrimp pond water on juvenile P. vannamei. Nutritional items in pond water that may contribute to this growth enhancement include detrital aggregates, bacteria, microalgae, nematodes, copepods, amphipods, polychaetes and other metazoans.

Results from this study also indicate that growth of juvenile vannamei is significantly enhanced in the presence of AquaMats. Shrimp with access to this artificial substrate grew 27% faster than shrimp without mats. Artificial substrate can provide additional surface area on which shrimp graze, and this additional food resource can supplement exogenous feeds.

In addition to providing additional habitat for potential food items, artificial substrate can also serve as a refuge for newly molted shrimp that are vulnerable to cannibalism. Also, added substrate can create habitat for nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria, and these bacteria can improve water quality by converting toxic nitrogenous wastes into less toxic forms.

Source: Journal of the World Aquaculture Society. Effects of Artificial Substrate and Water Source on Growth of Juvenile Pacific White Shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. Clete A. Otoshi, Anthony D. Montgomery, Eric M. Matsuda and Shaun M. Moss (Oceanic Institute, 41-202 Kalanianaole Highway, Waimanalo, Hawaii 96795 USA). Volume 37, Number 2, Page 210, June 2006.


United States
Massachusetts-John Sackton

The idea that dumping duties and bonds limit shrimp imports has been blown to smithereens!

USA demand for shrimp is simply too strong. In April 2006, customs figures for the first four months of the year show a gain of 12.9%, representing nearly 41 million pounds of shrimp. This means that imports are up over last year at a pace of about 10 million pounds per month. This is about the total amount of shrimp exported to the USA each month by Ecuador.

For the first four months of this year, USA shrimp imports of all types were 358 million pounds, versus 317 million pounds a year earlier.

Source: Seafood.com (an online, subscription-based, fisheries news service). Shrimp Imports surge in April, new consumption record likely. John Sackton. Editor and Publisher, John Sackton (phone 781-861-1441, email jsackton@seafood.com). June 12, 2006.


United States
New Jersey-Job

Barone Associates has a full-time position open for someone to sell specialty chemicals to the shrimp farming industry. Information: Don Rizzo, Barone Associates, P.O. Box 706, Allenwood, NJ 08720 USA (phone 732-292-0900, email barone20@optonline.net).

Source: Aquafeed.com (The FREE E-zine for aquafeed professionals, http://www.aquafeed.com). Jobs: Business Development Director-- Asia. Editor, Suzi Fraser Dominy (email editor@aquafeed.com). Issue-16, Volume-6, June 8, 2006.