Desert Sweet Shrimp

And Desert Sweet Biofuels

On October 6, 2008, I interviewed Craig Collins, shrimp farm manager at Desert Sweet Shrimp, a small shrimp farm in Gila Bend, Arizona.

Shrimp News: Hi Craig, I read an article about Desert Sweet Shrimp at AZ Central.com that said some of your shrimp ponds were going to be used to grow algae for the production of biodiesel.  You’re the last of four shrimp farms that got established in southeastern Arizona in the late 1990s.  Are you still farming shrimp?

Craig Collins: Yes, because our customer base is getting bigger and bigger all the time.  We’re not growing as much shrimp as we were in the early 2000s, but the volume has been going up for the last few years, and this year we expect to harvest 70,000 pounds.  Our product is chemical and antibiotic free.  We can’t call it “organic” yet, but it really is a very “natural” product.  The “locavores” really find it appealing, and we do a lot of business with them.

Shrimp News: Locavores?

Craig Collins: It’s a restaurant term that stands for the people who request locally grown products, people who want to reduce their carbon footprint by reducing the amount of energy it takes to deliver the products they consume.  It takes a lot less energy to ship a product from Gila Bend to Tucson than from China to Tucson.  Consumers and restaurants are seeking locally grown, natural products.  Most of the growth in our shrimp business comes from up-scale restaurants in Tucson and Scotsdale.  We ship shrimp to them via Federal Express ground delivery, which is very inexpensive within the state.  It’s when you ship out of the state that it gets a little more expensive.  We put enough dry ice in the styrofoam box so the shrimp stay frozen for a couple of days, even though the average delivery time is about 24 hours.

Shrimp News: What do you charge for your shrimp?

Craig Collins: We’re selling them for a pretty good price, anywhere from $6 to $13 dollars a pound, wholesale, depending on the size of the shrimp and the size of the order.  With the Fed Ex delivery system, we don’t have to employ a truck and driver, we don’t need insurance, the paperwork is easy, and Fed Ex comes right out to the farm and picks up the boxes that we pack.

Shrimp News: Give me an example of your shipping costs with Fed Ex.

Craig Collins: I ship a 160-pound box of shrimp and dry ice to San Francisco, California, by ground delivery for about $45.  In Arizona, depending on how far it goes, we typically pay around $13 to ship a 40-pound package.

Shrimp News: Do people come out to the farm to buy shrimp?

Craig Collins: Yes, we encourage pond-side sales, and this is the time of the year when it really gets good because of the “snowbirds”, people who come to Arizona from the northern tier of states to soak up some sun.  They come back to the farm every year to buy shrimp.  We’ve really developed a nice business with them.

Shrimp News: How many ponds did you stock this year?

Craig Collins: Eleven, nine of them are two-acre ponds, and the other two are one-acre ponds, so we have twenty acres in production, which is an increase over the past couple of years.

Shrimp News: Where do you get your feeds?

Craig Collins: Rangen, of course, I only buy the best.

Shrimp News: Where do you get your seedstock?

Craig Collins: Shrimp Improvement Systems, and I’m very happy with the animals that I’m getting from them.  I just couldn’t kill them this year.

Information: Craig Collins, Desert Sweet Shrimp, P.O. Box 1-A, Gila Bend, Arizona 85337 USA (email desertshrimp@hotmail.com).  Desert Sweet’s shrimp can be purchased at http://www.desertsweetshrimp.com or you can call 623-393-0136.

Desert Sweet Biofuels

Gary Wood, owner of Desert Sweet Shrimp, has created a new business—Desert Sweet Biofuels—to grow algae in former shrimp ponds, hoping to produce and refine biodiesel fuel on site.  Algae is transformed into fuel by pressing the oil out of the algae and then adding lye, sodium and ethanol as a catalyst to purify it.  The lye, sodium and ethanol can be reused.  Wood said the company would look for the best oil-producing strain of algae until it finds “the magic bullet”.  Gila Bend’s sunny climate is perfect for growing algae.

Wood said, “This is more of a test facility (for algae) than anything.”  He estimates the facility will need to generate 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel a year per acre to break even.  His ponds, however, might be able to generate as much as 15,000 gallons per acre.  “Everything just explodes out here in the heat,” he said.

Energy researchers at Arizona State University said the Southwest desert is ideal for farming algae because of its abundant sunshine, warm weather and brackish groundwater.

Wood expects his first biofuel to be ready in three to four months, adding, “I’ve heard a lot of people saying ‘drill baby drill’ when they should be saying ‘grow baby grow.’”

Joel Cuello, a professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at the University of Arizona, said that algae can be grown in treated wastewater and that it does not require fertile land.  He cautioned, however, that biofuels from algae need to be mass-produced to make them economically feasible.

Information: Gary Wood, Desert Sweet Biofuels, P.O. Box 1-A, Gila Bend, Arizona 85337 USA (phone 623-393-0136, email desertshrimp@hotmail.com).

Sources: 1. Craig Collins.  Telephone Interview by Bob Rosenberry, Shrimp News International, October 6, 2008.  2. AZ Central.com.  Energy Blog.  Arizona shrimp farm to grow algae for biodiesel.  Ryan Randazzo.  October 2, 2008.  3. WWW.Azstarnet.com (the online service of the Arizona Daily Star).  Business/Algae ponds in Gila Bend may help solve oil problem.  Dan Sullivan (email dsulliva@azstarnet.com).  October 10, 2008.

Country Reports

Bangladesh

Freshwater Prawn Hatcheries and Broodstock

For a free, long, detailed report on the status of freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) hatcheries and broodstock in Bangladesh, go to http://www.enaca.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1777.

Source: Aquaculture Asia (the magazine of the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific).  Freshwater prawn hatcheries in Bangladesh: Concern of Broodstock.  Nesar Ahmed.  Volume 13, Number 3, Page 22, July-September 2008.

Ecuador

Census of Unregistered Ponds

Ecuadorian authorities plan to carry out a census of the 45,000 hectares of unregistered shrimp ponds that are operating without permits.  The General Merchant Navy Board will carry out the census between October 10 and November 9, 2008.  Cesar Monge, president of the National Chamber of Aquaculture, thinks the census is a good idea.  “Since 2007, the sector has been asking the government to consider a process to regularize shrimp farming companies that are in some cases small and mid-sized operations, but not all of them.  They have been operating in the country for several years, but don’t have their documents in order or are not fully complying with the regulations.  We’ve been working on this issue and the government is now about to enact a decree to try and regulate the sector, which is necessary.  I don’t think this should be taken negatively or with fear,” said Monge.

Source: The Wave (an online, subscription-based news service published by IntraFish Media, Norway).  Editorial Director, John Fiorillo (phone 206-282-3474, extension 25, cell 206-963-5732, fax 206-282-3470, email john.fiorillo@intrafish.com).  Ecuador moves to issue permits to shrimp farms.  Paula Carvajal.  October 10, 2008.

India

Penaeus vannamei Gets the Nod

In early October 2008, the government gave the nod to Penaeus vannamei farming in India, but farmers must wait a few months before stocking their ponds, while the regulatory procedures are sorted out.

The Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture in Chennai is likely to be authorized to import broodstock and keep it in quarantine until it’s distributed to hatcheries and farms, said Vishnu Bhat, director of the Marine Products Export Development Authority, the government trade body that has jurisdiction over the aquaculture center.

Source: LiveMint.com (The Wall Street Journal). White shrimp farming set to begin.  Ajayan.  October 13, 2008.

India/Thailand

Thai Union Frozen Products Invests in Indian Shrimp Feed Plant

In a deal worth $1.2 million, Thai Union Frozen Products (TUF) acquired a 14.99 percent stake in Avanti Feed, India’s second largest manufacturer of shrimp feed.

Thiraphong Chansiri, president of TUF, said the investment follows a long business relationship between the TUF subsidiary Thai Union Feedmill (TFM) and Avanti Feed.  For the last several years, TFM, specializing in the production and distribution of feed products for shrimp and fish in Thailand, has been supporting Avanti with technical know-how on the production of giant tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) feed.

Source: The Nation.  TUF invests in Indian shrimpfeed operator.  October 7, 2008.

Mexico

Shrimp Session, May 2009 Meeting of the World Aquaculture Society

Dr. Darryl Jory posted the following note to the Shrimp List:

Greetings Listers!

Dr. Craig Browdy and I have once again reached a state of temporary insanity, which has led to the development of a special session on shrimp farming at World Aquaculture 2009 (May 25-29, 2009, Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico).  We’re going to put together a book of the proceedings and have it ready for distribution at the meeting.  You may recall some of the earlier proceedings in this series: Swimming Through Troubled Waters and The New Wave (still available at the Society’s book store at very low prices).

Submission of Manuscripts: Manuscripts for the Veracruz meeting should be 10 to 15 pages, double spaced and well referenced, following the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society guidelines.  High quality graphics and illustrations are encouraged.  The papers will be reviewed by the proceedings editors, but proceeding submissions are not considered as peer reviewed journal submissions and are designed for overview papers.  Manuscripts are due by December 30, 2008.  Craig and I will edit manuscripts and discuss any necessary revisions during January 2009, so that final manuscripts can be sent to the printer in February 2009.  The book will be delivered to Veracruz for sale at the meeting in May 2009.

If you are interested in submitting a manuscript for the proceedings and have funding to attend the meeting, please submit an abstract and an outline of the proposed paper to me, Darryl Jory, at dejry2525@aol.com.

Thanks and I look forward to seeing you in Veracruz for what is shaping up to be an amazing meeting.

Information: Darryl E. Jory, Ph.D., Aquaculture Technical Support, Aquatic Eco-Systems, Inc., International Division, 2395 Apopka Blvd., Apopka, Florida 32703 USA (phone 407-886-3939, fax 407-886-4884, email darrylj@aquaticeco.com, webpage http://www.aquaticeco.com).

Source: The Shrimp List (a mailing list for shrimp farmers).  Subject: Proceedings of the Special Session on Sustainable Shrimp Farming.  From: dejry2525@aol.com.  October 15, 2008.

Northern Mariana Islands

Tinian—New Shrimp Farm

During the summer of 2008, Melvin Crisostomo, who lives on the island of Tinian, approached Michael Ogo, aquaculture specialist at Northern Marianas College’s Cooperative Research Extension and Education Service, and asked him about the possibility of starting a shrimp farm.  Just three months later, Melvin and his partners, Gerald Crisostomo and Hiromitsu Iwashita, stocked their first 2,000 postlarvae into tanks.  The postlarvae, supplied by a hatchery at the University of Guam’s Aquaculture Development and Training Center, will be ready for harvest in March 2009.

For now, the partners plan to grow shrimp and tilapia for their own consumption.  They see their endeavor as a pilot project, but hope to produce broodstock for other farmers and possibly fresh delicacies for their restaurant, the Island Garden Restaurant in Tinian’s San Jose Village.

Information: http://crees.org.

Source: Saipan Tribune.  Workshop spurs Tinian aquaculture project.  October 11, 2008.

Peru

A Blogger Reports

Nathan and Milene Haft are Peace Corps volunteers in Cajamarca, Peru.  Nathan blogs: I work with three groups: a women’s weaving association, a shrimp farming business and a tourism development committee.  We are working on a business plan to construct a shrimp hatchery that will dramatically cut down on the farm’s production costs.

Information: Nathan and Milene Haft, Voluntarios de Cuerpo de Paz, Casilla Postal No. 779, SERPOST La Libertad, Trujillo, Peru, South America.

Source: Nate and Milene’s Excellent Adventure.  Email Update from the First Four Months.  October 7, 2008.

United States

California—Global Food Technologies

On October 14, 2008, Global Food Technologies (GFT), a California based biotech company specializing in food safety, announced a contract with a shrimp processor in Vietnam.  The contract calls for installation of GFT’s proprietary equipment in the FIMEX Vietnam shrimp processing facilities in Soc Trang in January 2009.

Established in 1996, FIMEX has the capacity to process forty metric tons of shrimp a day.  Most of the shrimp gets exported to the USA, where FIMEX enjoys a favorable dumping tariff.

Global Food Technologies CEO Keith Meeks explained, “We have pioneered a daily on-site food safety service program with a unique ‘boots on the ground’ approach to initiate cleaner food at the foreign processing source.  Anchored by our patented ‘organic clean-step’ technologies and system hardware, the iPura Food Safety and Quality Assurance Services Program protects food by implementing extraordinary science-based controls with the manpower to combat food-borne pathogens and to identify and prevent contaminants from entering the food supply.  iPura makes food cleaner and safer without altering the seafood’s natural taste, texture, color or nutritional value.”

Information: Michael Shaw, Investor Relations (webpage http://www.ipura.com).

Source: SeafoodSource.com.  iPura Adds Shrimp to Its Product Launch.  October 14, 2008.

United States

Florida—Drunken Shrimp

“Ya know, down here in Florida, we got lots of shrimps.  What a lot of people don’t know is that we got lots of beer, too, cause we got lots of good ole’ boys (and gals, too!) down here.  So it figures that we would put the two of them together to create some mighty tasty shrimps that are sure to get your taste buuuuds hoppin’!!!!!  So take your favorite beer, add the spices and stuff that you see in the followin’ recipe and don’t forget some goooooood French bread and some of your favorite cocktail sauce.”

Here goes the recipe (for one mighty hungry person or four shrimp cocktails):

• One pound of U20-24 whole shrimp.

• One six pack of your favorite beer (4 for the stockpot, 2 for YOU, or vice versa, NOT)!

• Two lemons cut into quarters (or key limes, oranges or regular limes).

• Three bay leaves.

• Ten peppercorns.

• Two tablespoons of fresh chopped garlic.

• Two to three tablespoons of any good Cajun seasoning.

• Hot sauce optional.

“Put the above ingredients except the shrimp into a large stockpot and bring to boil.  Add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp turn orange.  Remove and serve warm with the French bread and cocktail sauce.  Just peel and eat.  Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm good!”

Source: Examiner.com.  It’s the weekend...time for some drunken shrimp!  Joseph Granato.  October 10, 2008.

United States

Virginia—Virginia Shrimp Farms

Virginia Shrimp Farms (VSF) is housed in a 2,972 square meter building in Martinsville, Virginia.  It’s part of and adjacent to Blue Ridge Aquaculture, which produces tilapia and some other finfish in a recirculating system.

At the Seventh International Conference on Recirculating Aquaculture (Roanoke, Virginia, July 2008), William R. Martin, Jr., owner of Blue Ridge Aquaculture, and Todd Blacher, manager of Virginia Shrimp Farms, described their shrimp production system:

Hatchery: The hatchery has a maturation system, a spawning/hatching room, a postlarvae (PL) production room, and facilities for producing live feeds, like algae and Artemia.  The hatchery produces PLs for on-site use only; it does not sell to outsiders.

Growout: The growout facility has nine production tanks that are partitioned into three segments holding increasing volumes of water (21, 38 and 76 cubic meters, respectfully).  Segmented tanks were chosen to allow higher stocking densities to be maintained throughout the growth cycle by moving animals to larger tanks as they grow.  Segmented tanks help distribute labor and PL requirements over time and provide a more uniform flow of product to market.  Each tank has a water heater, radial flow separator, media biofilter, protein skimmer, air diffusers and a cone for oxygen injection.  A centralized recapture pit with radial flow separator, propeller-washed bead filter and UV sterilizer collects the effluent from the tanks and treats it for reuse.  Every attempt is made to conserve and reuse the artificial seawater within the facility.

Performance to Date: The first three growout tanks were stocked on February 16, 2008, with PLs purchased from Shrimp Improvement Systems (Plantation Key, Florida, USA).  The tanks were stocked at densities to achieve a final biomass of 12 kg/m³, assuming 15% mortality in each tank segment.  The remaining six tanks were stocked between March 12 and March 23 with PLs produced on site.  As of April 16, 2008, the shrimp in the first tanks reached an average weight of approximately 7.6 grams.

Hatchery Challenges: Many of the hatchery challenges revolve around the utilization of a recirculating system for PL production.  Challenges include: ion and mineral depletion due to reuse of artificial seawater, filtering wastes without filtering feed components and achieving industry standard production rates.  Because we are inland, we also face the challenge of using artificial seawater rather than natural seawater.  Learning to operate under a continuous, rather than batch production model, is also a unique challenge for our facility.

Growout Challenges: Because of the unique horizontal substrate design intended to help increase densities, accurate tracking of feed consumption gets complicated.  Achieving production levels that make the venture economically feasible will not be easy.  Initial biofilter seeding has been challenging in most systems, and surprisingly successful in others.  High density systems usually have difficulty with uniform growth rates.  Grading throughout the production cycle may be necessary to achieve uniformity.

Source: Proceedings of The Seventh International Conference on Recirculating Aquaculture.  Virginia Shrimp Farms: Start Up of a Large-Scale, Commercial Recirculating Shrimp Production System.  William R. Martin, Jr., and Todd Blacher (todd@blueridgeaquaculture.com).  Roanoke, Virginia, July 2008.  Information: The proceedings of this conference is available on a CD for $15 from: Terry Rakestraw, International Conference on Recirculating Aquaculture, Virginia Tech, Mail Code 0418, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 USA (phone 540-231-6805, email aqua@vt.edu).

Vietnam

White Shrimp Farming Expands in Mekong Delta

Farmers in Bac Lieu and Ca Mau provinces are expanding their production of white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) because it has proven to be a very profitable species.  White shrimp are now selling for $9 per kilo.  With an average output of 10-13 tons per hectare, farmers can earn $7,500 to $9,375 per hectare.

Bac Lieu Province is carrying out a pilot project to farm white shrimp in 1,700 hectares of ponds, but already most of the farmers in the project have expanded beyond the government’s permissible level of 10 hectares.  Bac Lieu plans to develop 11,000 hectares of white shrimp ponds by 2010, requiring an investment up to $357 million for broodstock, equipment and farming technology.

The Ca Mau Seafood Department said about 31 families in Dam Doi District had applied for permission to expand their white shrimp farms.

Source: Vietnam News Agency.  Farmers raise more whiteleg shrimp.  October 11, 2008.

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