Country Reports

Australia
Infectious Imports

Tests by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) show that up to 25 percent of raw imported shrimp carry the whitespot virus. Australia's Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries has posted a notice to its website warning recreational fishermen not to use imported shrimp as bait. Shrimp meat in supermarkets is not tested at all by AQIS and imported shrimp are not being checked for the Taura or yellowhead viruses. Biosecurity Australia, which oversees shrimp imports, says that it is aware of the issue, but that measures already in place are strict enough to deal with the risks.

Source: FisheNews (an email supplement to Austasia Aquaculture magazine, www.austasiaaquaculture.com.au). Editor, Tim Walker (austasiaaquaculture@netspace.net.au). Prawns: Tests Show 25 Per Cent of Imported Prawns Infected. June 15, 2006.


Brunei
Shrimp Farmers Rent Sites with Infrastructure

The Department of Fisheries of Brunei (a small country on the north coast of Borneo) has rented aquaculture sites to one crab farm and eleven shrimp farms. The government will supply the sites with roads, electricity, seawater, freshwater and telephone service.

Source: Brudirect.com News. Prawn Companies Sign Agreement on Rental of Aquaculture Sites (http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/June06/220606/nite05.htm). P. Marilyn. June 21, 2006.


India
Production Statistics

India's Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), the government agency that oversees the development of aquaculture, expects substantial expansion of freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium species) and marine shrimp (Penaeus monodon) farming in the states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Orissa. Over the next three or four years, MPEDA predicts that the three states will implement 10,000 additional hectares of ponds.

In 2005, according to MPEDA, India had 43,433 hectares of prawn ponds that produced 42,820 tons of prawns, and 140,000 hectares of shrimp ponds that produced 143,000 metric tons of shrimp. The bulk of this production came from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

MPEDA has set up the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture in Thirumullaivasal, Tamil Nadu. The Centre has been instrumental in streamlining the production of mud crab seedstock and in breeding blue sea crabs. Recently it launched a project in the Andaman Islands (1,300 kilometers east of Madras in the Bay of Bengal, closer to Thailand than India) to produce specific pathogen free (SPF) shrimp broodstock (P. monodon).

Collaboration between MPEDA and the Network Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (Bangkok, Thailand) has improved shrimp health management and raised aquaculture production in Andhra Pradesh.

Source: The Hindu. MPEDA on a mission mode to expand: Aims at increasing production in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Orissa (http://www.hindu.com/2006/06/14/stories/2006061408301900.htm). June 14, 2006.


Kuwait
Wanted--Penaeus indicus Broodstock

We need 50 male and 50 female specific pathogen free Penaeus indicus broodstock, delivered to the Kuwait International Airport.

Information: Dr. M.R. Kitto, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Toxicity Testing and Safety Evaluation Laboratory, Environmental Sciences Department, P.O. Box 36471, Raas Salmiya 24755, Kuwait (phone 00965-5716690, extension 341, fax 00965 5737075).

Source: AquaNic (The Aquaculture Network Information Center, a gateway to the world's electronic aquaculture resources, http://aquanic.org/index.htm). Shrimp Discussion Group (http://ag.ansc.purdue.edu/discuss/shrimp.htm). Wanted Adult Penaeus Indicus Broodstock for Kuwait (http://www.aquanic.org/discuss/_shrimp/00000f56.htm). From: Dr. Kitto. June 23, 2006.


Malaysia
Viagra Shrimp

Did you know there are "Viagra" prawns in Sarawak? No, they are not highly sexed crustaceans, nor are they prawns that do what Viagra does. Instead, these are dried prawn that are stiff and straight rather than curled, hence the cheeky moniker. At between $19.10 and $21.80 a kilo, the shrimp don't come cheap, but locals say they are extra tasty.

Source: The Star Online. Delicious discoveries (http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2006/6/17/lifetravel/14251577&sec=lifetravel). Pamela Phang Kooi Yoong. June 20, 2006.


Mexico
Agribusiness Executive Elected President and CEO of Ocean Garden Products

On November 25, 2005, El Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior (Bancomext, Mexico's foreign trade bank) announced that it sold Ocean Garden Products (OGP, an importer/exporter/marketer of seafood) to Granjas Aqua Tech, Acuícola Boca, and Grupo Industrial Pesquero, a group of companies based in the state of Sonora, that produce wild and farmed shrimp. Acuícola Boca, owned by the family of Sonoran governor Eduardo Bours, also produces poultry and shrimp feeds.

Headquartered in San Diego, California, USA, Ocean Garden specializes in Mexican wild-caught and farm-raised shrimp.

Recently, Sergio Mazon, who has been involved in shrimp farming since 1994, was elected President and Chief Executive Officer of OGP, and he will retain the title of Chairman of the Board. Mazon is also Chair of the Mazon Group, a diversified company with holdings in shrimp farming, produce and real estate. He has an undergraduate engineering degree and a Masters in Finance from the University of Arizona. Reporting to Mazon will be Rodrigo de la Serna (Operations), Frank Barrancotto (Finance and Administration) and John Filose (Sales and Marketing).

Mazon cites the collective clout of the new owners as the force that will move Ocean Garden into the future. "We have been on both sides of the market," says Mazon, "so we know what the producers need, and what customers want."

John Filose says, "These companies understand the risks and rewards of agribusiness, and they know the shrimp industry from the inside out. They bought Ocean Garden to grow it, and our employee group is very excited about its future."

Ocean Garden's highly successful launch of its new Pride of Mexico® all-natural, restaurant quality one-pound bag presentation is just the opening salvo in a long-range plan to broaden the company's product line for foodservice--and retail!

Information: John Filose, VP Sales & Marketing (phone 858-571-5002, extension 1281, email jfilose@oceangarden.net).

Sources: 1. Seafood.com (an online, subscription-based, fisheries news service). Sergio Mazon is new president of Ocean Garden, backed by experienced management team in San Diego. Editor and Publisher, John Sackton (phone 781-861-1441, email jsackton@seafood.com). June 23, 2006. 2. Ocean Garden Products' website (http://www.oceangarden.com/eng/corporate.htm). June 26, 2006. 3. Email from John Filose on June 26, 2006. 4. Bob Rosenberry, Shrimp News International, June 26, 2006.


New Caledonia
Penaeus stylirostris Finds Home in South Pacific

New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific, has four shrimp hatcheries (P. stylirostris), sixteen shrimp farms, two processing plants and two feed mills. The industry employs about 900 people (300 permanent, 600 seasonal).

Shrimp farming in New Caledonia is semi-intensive in earthen ponds, but with two variations: large ponds (8 to 12 hectares) and small ponds (2 to 4 hectares). In the large ponds, postlarvae are stocked at 18-22 per square meter and in the small ponds at 30 to 35 per square meter. Five of the sixteen farms range from 10 to 20 hectares, nine range from 30 to 60 hectares, and two range from 80 to 130 hectares. For the last five years, the average yield per hectare has been about 4,000 kilos.

Source: World Aquaculture (the magazine of the World Aquaculture Society). New Caledonian shrimp farming aims for a zero defect product: Case study on black spots. L. Della Patrona (ldellapa@ifremer.fr), P. Brun and L. Chim (IFREMER, Laboratoire Aquacole de Calédonie, Quai des Scientifiques, BP 2059, 98846 Nouméa, New Caledonia). Volume 37, Number 2, Page 33, June 2006.


Pakistan
Wants Shrimp Farming Investments from Kuwait

Islamabad...Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has assured investors from Kuwait that Pakistan is open for business. An official of the Board of Investment said that Pakistan expected foreign direct investment of $2-3 billion from Kuwait in the next two to three years. He said that working groups had been formed to encourage investments in a wide range of businesses--including shrimp farming.

Source: Daily Times. Pakistan open for investment, Aziz tells Kuwait (http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C06%5C21%5Cstory_21-6-2006_pg7_10). June 21, 2006.


Philippines
2005 Production

On June 22, 2006, Roberto Gatuslao, president of PhilShrimp, an organization of shrimp farmers, said the country's shrimp and prawn farmers harvested at least 50,000 metric tons of shrimp in 2005.

Source: Sun Star. Shrimp business bounces back (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/bac/2006/06/23/bus/shrimp.business.bounces.back.html). Roberto L. Bacasong. June 23, 2006.


South Africa
SeaArk Slowed by Environmental Permit

SeaArk Africa--a 50/50 joint venture between SeaArk Holdings Incorporated of the USA and the Bosasa Group of Companies of South Africa--has been formed to develop mariculture facilities in Africa and the Middle East.

The company's first pilot project will be at a government-owned industrial park in Eastern Cape Province, at the mouth of the Coega River, north of Port Elizabeth. Over the next six years, it could grow into a $600 million project creating over 4,000 jobs.

The project has been slowed by a backlog on environmental permits. SeaArk managing director Wikus Luyt says that problem has been resolved and that the project should get the go-ahead by July 1, 2006.

SeaArk Holdings Incorporated is a member of the Fausel Foundation of the USA, while Bosasa is a diversified, broad-based, black economic empowerment group of companies that provides management services. Bosasa's chief executive officer is Gavin Watson, a Port Elizabeth businessman.

SeaArk Africa maintains captive broodstock (Penaeus vannamei) at a hatchery in the Bahamas. The farm in Africa will be based on "a world-class proprietary indoor biosecure production facility" to be constructed on 1,100 hectares. SeaArk says the venture will include processing, packing and distribution functions and should be completed by 2011.

Sources: 1. The Herald Online (newspaper, Port Elizabeth, South Africa). R3.6-billion seafood project for Coega (http://www.theherald.co.za/herald/news/n01_10042006.htm). Patrick Cull, Political Editor. April 10, 2006. 2. Coega Development Corporation Website (http://www.coega.co.za/). Home Page. April 12, 2006. 3. The Herald Online. Shrimp farm venture to go ahead despite delays (http://www.theherald.co.za/herald/biz/03_21062006.htm). Bianca Capazorio. June 21, 2006.


Thailand
Shrimp Exports Soar

Chantra Purnariksha, director-general of the Export Promotion Department, said exports of farmed goods, in particular shrimp, have risen sharply. In May 2006, shrimp exports were up 28 percent over May 2005, with exports to the United States up 44 percent.

Source: Seafood.com (an online, subscription-based, fisheries news service). Thai shrimp exports soar in May, US shipments up 44%. Editor and Publisher, John Sackton (phone 781-861-1441, email jsackton@seafood.com). June 22, 2006.


Thailand
Shrimp Disease Course

On July 24–29, 2006, Alltech (all natural products to boost production on shrimp farms) and the Network of Aquaculture Centers in Asia-Pacific (NACA) will offer a shrimp health management workshop in Bangkok.

Aimed at aquaculture producers and professionals in the shrimp industry, the registration fee is $550, covering tuition, five lunches, the awards dinner, course literature and accommodations during the farm tour. Participants will be responsible for their own lodging and dinners during the workshop. Registrants will receive details on hotels.

Instructors

Mr. Julian Davies: Managing Director of Siam Natural Resources Co., Ltd. (SNR), Thailand, a shrimp farming operation:

In 1997, Davies led a management buyout team that purchased SNR's assets, which, today, include two shrimp farms in Trad Province. He has experience with tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) and Pacific white shrimp (P. vannamei). SNR specializes in marketing farmed shrimp to retail markets like Carrefour, Siam Jusco and Tops Supermarket.


Dr. Tim Flegel: Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand:

Flegel currently heads 45 research scientists and post-graduate students at the Center for Shrimp Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (also called Centex Shrimp) at Mahidol University in Bangkok. He has been working on shrimp diseases for the past 18 years and focuses on shrimp viruses.


Mr. Daniel F. Fegan: Alltech's regional technical manager for aquaculture in Thailand and a former president of the World Aquaculture Society:

Fegan has wide experience in all aspects of shrimp farming. He worked in Latin America in the mid-1980s, moved to Asia in 1986, and became technical manager at Aquastar (a huge contract shrimp farming operation in Thailand) for ten years. He's done consulting work in the private sector and for national and international agencies. He also managed the Shrimp Biotechnology Business Unit of Thailand's National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, which developed products and services for the aquaculture industry. He joined Alltech in 2004.


Dr. Pornlerd Chanratchakool: Technical Manager at Novozymes A/S, Thailand, a supplier of bioremediation products for shrimp farms:

Chanratchakool spent 18 years with the Aquatic Animal Health Research Institute of the Thai Department of Fisheries. He is a recognized expert on aquatic animal health, especially shrimp, and has been widely involved in farmer training and education. He has served as a consultant for commercial farming operations and for national and international agencies.

Course Outline

Introduction to Shrimp Biology
Shrimp Culture Systems
Shrimp Pond Preparation
Postlarval Assessment and Stocking
Pond Environment
Water Management
Feed Management
Record Keeping
Principles of Shrimp Health Management
Shrimp Diseases
Disease Outbreak Management
Shrimp Farm Operations Management
Field Trip
Dinner and Awarding of Certificates

Information: email shrimp-sschool@alltech.com.

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


United States
California-Shrimp News International

Under construction: Hi, I've added a site level search engine to the top of the Shrimp News Home Page and the Previous Free News Page. Try it out on your first and last name, your country or on any topic that interests you, like "Viagra", "hatchery feeds" or "Penaeus vannamei". Yes, include the quote marks when you're working with more than one word. It restricts the search to instances when those words appear next to each other. The search engine is not case sensitive, meaning you get the same results with all uppercase or all lower characters.

You can organize the search results by Score or Date [I'm still working on getting the Date organizer to work properly] by clicking on the links in the upper right hand corner of the search results window.

If you arrive at one of my long-winded pages and can't fine your search term, hit Control-F and a search box will appear that will allow you to search just that page. To find additional instances of your search term on that page, hit Control-G.

To return to the search results page, hit the back button on your browser. If you run into problems, hit the refresh button on your browser.

After I put World Shrimp Farming 2006 in the "can" (scheduled for distribution in mid-October 2006), I'm going to start putting more and more free stuff up on my webpage. Most of it will be previously published articles from the World Shrimp Farming Series, articles that contain good, pertinent, background information. All of it will be searchable.

Source: Bob Rosenberry (bob@shrimpnews.com), Shrimp News International, June 30, 2006.


United States
New Jersey-Charles Woodhouse

In his June 2006 column in Fish Farming International, Charles Woodhouse said:

• In 2006, Ecuador is expected to produce 200,000 metric tons of whole farmed shrimp--a record!

• Brazil is back to full production, after disappointing production in 2005.

Source: Fish Farming International (http://www.fishfarming.co.uk). Too much shrimp! Charles F. Woodhouse (cfwoodhouse@aol.com). Volume 33, Number 6, Page 9, June 2006.


United States
Texas-Bart Reid

Fourteen years ago, Bart Reid started a shrimp farm in west Texas with the help of Texas A&M University. A marine biologist by trade, he had previously raised redfish and shrimp in Florida. In 2005, facing competition from foreign shrimp imports, he transformed the Texas farm into the Organic Aquaculture Institute, a place where private companies can test their organic products and institutions can conduct research. He plans to run trials on shrimp feeds that don't contain fishmeal.

On the commercial side, Reid grows fish and shrimp for a nearby store that he runs. He offers a catering service, and he ships shrimp to anyone who wants it. Customers from Washington, DC, to New York, NY, have purchased Reid's shrimp. "It's probably just 3 or 4 percent of our business, but it gets out there," said Reid.

Information: Bart Reid, Organic Aquaculture Institute, P.O. Box 448, Imperial, TX 79743 USA (phone 915-356-2216, fax 915-536-2216, email pssc@west-tex.net).

Source: OA Online. Business: Shrimp farm rethinks its future--Owner diversifies into research (http://www.oaoa.com/oil/oil061806a.htm). Geoff Folsom. June 19, 2006.


Vietnam
No More Mandatory Drug Tests

Hanoi...According to Nguyen Tu Cuong, director of the National Fisheries Quality Assurance and Veterinary Directorate (NAVIQAVED), Vietnam's seafood exports to the USA and Canada are now exempt from mandatory quality inspections. Cuong said, from now on, seafood exports to the USA would only be subject to random checks. He said the USA Food and Drug Administration and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, following a field investigation in Vietnam (April 2006) to monitor the use of antibiotics, have indefinitely exempted shipments of Vietnamese products from mandatory quality inspections when they are certified under NAVIQAVED's quality standards.

Source: Seafood.com (an online, subscription-based, fisheries news service). U.S. and Canada exempt Vietnamese seafood from mandatory inspection. Editor and Publisher, John Sackton (phone 781-861-1441, email jsackton@seafood.com). June 22, 2006.