Information: Ladislav Safarik, Director, Aquabait, Pty., Ltd., P.O. Box 5107, Dora Creek, NSW 2264 Australia (phone 4973-5505, fax +61-2-4973-5515, email les@aquabait.com.au, webpage http://www.aquabait.com.au).
Source: Emails to Shrimp News International from Ladislav Safarik on April 29 and 30, 2006.
Malaysia
CAB Cakaran Corp
CAB Cakaran Corp., Bhd., a poultry and marine products (including shrimp) processor in Kuala Lumpur, has big plans and aims to increase its regional and global presence. Datuk Zakaria Hashim, chairman of CAB Cakaran, said the company was getting into shrimp farming. "Having our own shrimp farms will not only ensure a constant supply of shrimp but also control over cost," adding that the company was identifying suitable sites, but that it had not allocated any money to the project yet.
Source: The Star Online. CAB to beef up poultry, marine units (http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/5/4/business/14142148&sec=business). May 4, 2006.
Philippines
Program for the Fifth Shrimp Conference
At the "5th Shrimp Congress", scheduled for June 21-23, 2006, in Bacolod City, Negros Island, Penaeus vannamei will officially be introduced to the shrimp farming industry. The Congress will also include a trade show, shrimp farm tour and presentations on P. monodon and P. vannamei farming. Click here to see the program and to get registration information.
Source: Aqua Culture Asia Pacific (Editor/Publisher, Zuridah Merican, email zuridah@aquaasiapac.com, webpage www.aquaasiapac.com). The 5th Shrimp Congress in the Philippines. Volume 2, Number 2, Page 9, March/April 2006.
Thailand
Shrimp Farmers May Lose Fuel Subsidy
To cope with soaring oil prices, shrimp farmers in the eastern provinces of Chachoengsao and Prachin Buri switched to subsidized liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, cooking gas) to run their aerators and pumps. It cut their fuel costs by a factor of five! Some farmers saved more than $2,500 a crop. That's a lot of money for a one-hectare farm that produces two or three crops a year. Now shrimp farmers are fuming over a proposal to reduce the subsidy on LPG.
Sources: 1. Bangkok Post. Govt to get tough on oil measures (http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/06May2006_news01.php). Post Reporters. May 6, 2006. 2. Bob Rosenberry, Shrimp News International, May 8, 2006.
Thailand
Crabs
Witnessing dramatic drops in the commercial catch of blue swimming crabs (Portunus sp.), government experts encourage crab fishermen to become crab farmers. "We have to find some means to help the fishermen," said Banchong Tiensongrusmee, coordinator of a blue crab program for the Thailand Research Fund.
Each female crab spawns roughly a half million eggs, which hatch into larvae that pass through several stages before settling on the bottom as juveniles. Researchers use tanks with a layer of sand on the bottom to give the juveniles a place to burrow and hide from their cannibalistic peers and elders. They are also studying the crab's DNA, hoping to breed a less aggressive animal that likes feed pellets better than live crab. They predict 60 to 80 percent survivals on crab farms.
Source: BaltimoreSun.com. Helping nature (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.hatchery30apr30,0,7051772.story?coll=bal-news-nation). Gady A. Epstein (Sun foreign reporter). April 30, 2006.
United States
Florida-OceanBoy Farms
OceanBoy Farms, a zero-exchange, low-salinity shrimp farm in central Florida, got started in 2000 and harvested its first crop in November 2001. It projects production of at least 2 million pounds in 2006.
OceanBoy's broodstock descend from specific pathogen free stocks at the Oceanic Institute in Hawaii.
OceanBoy has invested nearly $60 million in the farm.
Source: Industry Briefs (The newsletter of the United States Marine Shrimp Farming Program). Paula Bender, Editor and Webmaster (pbender@oceanicinstitute.org). OceanBoy Farms: A super-intensive model for growing a shrimp business (http://www.usmsfp.org/). Paula Bender. V-12, N-2, P-1, April 2006.
United States
Hawaii-United States Marine Shrimp Farming Program
"The latest taxpayer rip-off of the week smells more than a little fishy. Over the past twenty years Congress has been dumping truckloads of money into shrimp aquaculture research, and by now, it's more like an overwhelming, pervasive stench. Since 1985, Congress has appropriated a whopping $65.7 million for shrimp aquaculture research, including $4,200,000 from the 2006 Agriculture Appropriations Bill (H.R. 2744) for research in Arizona, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, South Carolina, and Texas."
Source: Human Events Online. Taxes & Spending: Taxpayer Rip-Off of the Week: $4.2M for Shrimp Aquaculture Research (http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=14437). Stephen P. Laffey (Laffey is mayor of Cranston, R.I., and Republican candidate for the USA Senate). May 2, 2006.
United States
Texas-Shrimp Farm For Lease
Stephen Lau reports: I have a 350-acre farm for lease in Imperial, Texas. It has 14, 3.5-acre shrimp ponds, wells that draw good quality water for shrimp farming (about 10% salinity), two houses and some equipment. It's the former Regal Farm, owned by Don Morris, which produced shrimp for more than five years.
Equipment:
2 livestock feeder bins
2 fuel tanks
1 shrimp feeder
1 Massey Ferguson tractor
72 paddlewheel aerators
3 large emergency paddlewheels
2 bush hog mowers
1 scale (300-pound)
6-8 accumulation tubs
Oxygen meters and salinity meters
Large pump
Shrimp harvesting machine and equipment
Not all of the equipment is in working condition and some may be missing.
The farm address is 206 Border Road, Imperial, TX 79743.
Information: Stephen Lau, 20545 Medley Lane, Topanga, CA 90290 USA (phone 310-497-2435, email slau599622@aol.com).
Source: Emails to Shrimp News International from Stephen Lau on April 28 and 30, 2006.
United States
Virgin Shrimp
The University of the Virgin Islands is conducting experiments to determine if shrimp farming could be profitable in the Virgin Islands.
UVI's Agricultural Experiment Station on St. Thomas recently harvested about 100 pounds of shrimp. Although the yield was less than the projected 400 to 600 pounds, UVI researchers considered the harvest successful, saying it was the first time shrimp were produced on the island using "aquaponics", an environmentally friendly aquaculture technique. The system involves raising shrimp in high-density tanks, said Jason Danaher, a UVI researcher.
Source: The Virgin Islands Daily News. Editorial opinion for April 28 Shrimp farming research (http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_editorial?id=16319080). April 28, 2006.
Vietnam
Banks Drop Financing for Shrimp Farms
Commercial banks financed the rapid expansion of shrimp farming in the Mekong Delta. Now they have cut back on their loans to the sector because it has been tagged as a high-risk and "unprofitable" business.
Source: Vietnam News. Nation's banks send mixed messages (http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01BAN290406). April 29, 2006.
Vietnam
Transshipments
Vietnam is importing an increasing volume of seafood for domestic consumption and for transshipment to other countries, and a whopping 70% of it is shrimp. India provides 26% of Vietnam's seafood imports, China 18%, Hong Kong 9%, ASEAN countries 18%, and Taiwan 6%.
Source: Vietnam Net Bridge. VN imports $200mil worth of seafood every year (http://english.vietnamnet.vn/biz/2006/05/566509/). Ha Yen. May 2, 2006.
