Royal Caridea, LLC

Purchases Super-Intensive Shrimp Farming Technology

 from Texas A&M University

Royal Caridea, LLC, has purchased the worldwide rights to shrimp farming technology developed by Dr. Addison Lawrence at Texas A&M University.  Called “Super-Intensive Raceway Shrimp Farming Technology”, or SIRSFT, it has the potential to start a whole new shrimp farming industry in the United States.

Shrimp News emailed Dr. Maurice Kemp, co-founder and president of Royal Caridea, a list of questions about the technology.

Shrimp News: Dear Dr. Kemp, Please tell me a little about yourself and the technology.

Maurice Kemp: I currently serve as Chief Technical Officer for Mionix Corporation and in this role developed several products ranging from anti-mold applications for the building industry to shrimp feed additives that control pathogens in shrimp.  I have a PhD in medical microbiology with a specialization in virology and an extensive background in biochemistry.  From 1985-1992, I was Associate Professor of Veterinary Microbiology at Texas A&M University.

Shrimp News: What stirred your interest in shrimp farming?

Maurice Kemp: When I was a faculty member at Texas A&M University, one of my students worked on the isolation of viruses from shrimp, and I became aware of the shrimp research carried out at the Texas AgriLife Research Mariculture Laboratory at Port Aransas, a Texas A&M System facility.  Later, while evaluating the effects of shrimp feed additives and needing an explanation for some of our results, I contacted Dr. Addison Lawrence for his input.  Through this initial contact, he and I have developed a close personal and working relationship.  The entrepreneurial side of me instantly grasped the significance of Addison’s super-intensive shrimp farming technology.  I followed up with colleagues and a decision was made to create a new venture, Royal Caridea, LLC, to secure the license for the technology and market it.

Shrimp News: What did you get in the licensing agreement with Texas A&M?

Maurice Kemp: An “exclusive worldwide license for SIRSFT” from The Office of Technology Commercialization, Texas A&M University System, effective April 21, 2010.  In addition, Royal Caridea, LLC, was granted the right to sublicense SIRSFT worldwide.

Shrimp News: What can you tell me about the technology?

Maurice Kemp: We have filed a worldwide patent application that defines SIRSFT.  Basically, shrimp will be grown in shallow (less than 30 centimeters), indoor, stacked raceways.  It will be a continuous cycle, with each layer of the stack containing a different size class of shrimp.  After about 165 days, 30-gram whole shrimp will be harvested from the bottom layer, although partial harvests of any layer could be done daily.  The farms will be in biosecure buildings and operate year round, with no geographic restrictions.

High-quality feeds play an import role in our production plans.  They will be provided around the clock with no diurnal variation.  Shrimp will be maintained under low light conditions at ideal temperatures for growth.  We expect food conversion ratios of less than 1.4 (or better) and production of 24-72 kilograms of shrimp per year, per square meter of floor space occupied by a stack.

Shrimp News: You must be planning on very high stocking densities.  Where do you plan to get your postlarvae, and how high will your stocking densities be?

Maurice Kemp: Postlarvae will be purchased from specific pathogen free hatcheries.  Stocking densities will be adjusted to yield 300-700 shrimp per m³ with a mean size of 30 grams.

Shrimp News: Where do you plan to locate the farms?

Maurice Kemp: We plan to build the first farm in the Coastal Bend area of Texas area, somewhere between Brownsville and Rockport.  It will be designed to produce 1,500,000 pounds of shrimp a year.  Subsequent installations will be placed to meet market and licensee demands.

Shrimp News: Will Royal Caridea provide any services for other shrimp farms in the United States?

Maurice Kemp: Shrimp farmers in the United States are at a competitive disadvantage with those that operate in more tropical climates, mostly because domestic farmers can only produce one crop a year.  Using our technology, PLs could be grown up to 2-4 grams and then stocked into the ponds, creating the possibility of two crops of shrimp a year in the southern United States.

Shrimp News: What kind of product will your farms market?

Maurice Kemp: Royal Caridea will offer live, fresh (never frozen) and IQF products.  The IQF and fresh shrimp will be available as head-on and head-off products in sizes from 15 grams to 35 grams.

Currently, there is no market for live shrimp in the United States because the costs of moving live shrimp around the country are just too high.  Caridea can build shrimp farms close to major metropolitan areas and significantly reduce the distribution costs of live shrimp and supply a totally new market.  Caridea believes that if live shrimp were delivered on consistent bases at a reasonable cost, markets would grow significantly and quickly.

Large fresh shrimp are in high demand at upscale restaurants across the country.  Caridea has the ability to provide fresh shrimp every day of the year.

IQF, frozen, head-on shrimp will be marketed through high-end restaurants and to grocery chains.  Caridea is currently in discussions with highly experienced shrimp marketing and distribution individuals who see this as a market opportunity ripe for the picking.

Shrimp News: How do you plan to finance the development of your farms?

Maurice Kemp: With private equity investment and/or license fees from SIRSFT licensees.

Information: Maurice C. Kemp, PhD, President, Royal Caridea, LLC, 603 S. Mays Street, Round Rock, Texas 78664, USA (phone 1-916-616-7038, fax 1-512-380-3960, email mkemp@royalcaridea.com, webpage http:www.royalcaridea.com, under construction).

Source: Dr. Maurice Kemp.  Email interview by Bob Rosenberry.  Shrimp News International.  July 10, 2010.

Country Reports

China

Rain Delays Shrimp Harvest—and New Feed Orders

In late May and most of June 2010, South China experienced heavy rain, especially along the coast, the heart of the country’s shrimp farming industry.  Rain and flooding have disrupted the usually robust shrimp farming industry during one of its busiest seasons.  Feed purchases have been postponed.  Consequently, volume on the fishmeal market has been slow and prices remain relatively stable.  In June 2010, at southern ports, regular grades of fishmeal were being offered at $1,739 to $1,769 a metric ton, with super steam fishmeal at $1,813 to $1,842 a ton.

Source: PRNewswire.com.  Himfr Analyzes China’s Fishmeal Market.  July 5, 2010.

Ecuador

Reference Prices July 2010

Source: Boletin Informativo (Ecuador’s Cámara Nacional de Acuacultura).  Editor, Jorge Tejada (jtejada@cna-ecuador.com).  Precios Preferenciales del Camarón.  July 7, 2010.

Ecuador

Farm For Sale

My shrimp farm in La Tolla is for sale.  It’s half a block from the ocean, on 70 hectares with fruit trees.  Thanks, Shannon Chiriboga.

Source: The Shrimp List (a mailing list for shrimp farmers).  Subject: Revista Tilapia y Camarones en Ecuador y América Acuícola.  July 2, 2010.

India

Jobs—Eight Shrimp Hatchery Technicians

I.S. Trading International, an international shrimp trading company, has positions open for eight shrimp hatchery technicians at various locations in India.  Those hired will be in charge of PL production at a hatchery.  The job will include travel to Thailand for advanced training.

Qualifications: minimum five years of experience in rearing P. monodon or Macrobrachium rosenbergii, or one year with P. vannamei.

Salary: $2,000 to $2,500 a month, or negotiated based on qualifications.

Closing Date: Saturday, July 31, 2010.

Information: Mr. Prafulla Naik (aquauae@ymail.com).

Source: AquaNic (The Aquaculture Network Information Center, a gateway to the world’s electronic aquaculture resources).  Jobs Directory in cooperation with the WAS Employment Service.  Search jobs.  Shrimp Hatchery Technician.  Posted July 2, 2010.

Oman

Benoit Hillion’s Shrimp Farm

Our shrimp farm is located in the Al Wusta region, near Duqm.  We have our own state-of-the-art shrimp hatchery that produces Penaeus semisulcatus and P. indicus.  We only produce endemic species and all our broodstock is collected near the farm, which can produce 500 metric tons a year.  We produce head-on product with sizes ranging from 30/40 to 60/80 per kilo.  We are still expanding and hope to be producing 3,500 tons a year when we finish construction.

We carefully selected our site to avoid cold water.  Thanks to the upwelling phenomena off our coast, our water contains many beneficial nutrients that contribute to natural productivity in the shrimp ponds.

Information: Benoit Hillion, Bentoot Seafood Products, PO Box 149, PC 130 Azaiba, Sultanate of Oman (phone +968-244-85-641, fax +968-244-78-195, email bentout@omantel.net.om).

Source: Email to Shrimp News International from Benoit Hillion.  July 7, 2010.

Thailand?

Shrimp Farming Company Buys $400,000 Worth of Ozone Equipment

The world’s largest seafood and shrimp farming company [name not provided, but it sure sounds like CP Foods in Thailand?] purchased its first mPact-250S Antimicrobial Ozone System from AMFIL Technologies in 2009.  Now that same shrimp farming company has purchased four more in a deal worth $400,000.

The systems are used “to treat water and reduce harmful bacterial populations found in onshore and estuary shrimp farming operations”.

AMFIL is the manufacturer of cold water ozone-powered cleaning and antimicrobial systems for food processing equipment, zoological life support facilities, gaseous ozone fumigation systems—and aquaculture.

Information: AMFIL Technologies, General Sales Inquiries (USA phone 1-805-275-2433, fax 1-805-275-1553, email sales@amfiltech.com; Canada phone 1-519-652-7245, fax 1-519-652-1062, email sales@amfiltec.com).

Sources: 1. Trading Markets.  AMFIL Technologies’ Trademarked mPact-250S Results in the $400,000 Sale of Four Additional Antimocrobial Ozone Systems to the W.  July 6, 2010.  2. AMFIL Technologies’ Webpage.  Site Visit on July 6, 2010.

Thailand

Thailand’s Good Agricultural Practices Benchmarked with GlobalGAP

In May 2010, ThaiGAP (Good Agricultural Practice), a voluntary private sector standard for safe and sustainable Thai farm products, was officially benchmarked with GlobalGAP’s certification standards, which means the two organizations have common standards.

According to the Thai Chamber of Commerce’s food and agriculture committee, the benchmarking of the standards will improve the export potential of Thai farm products and help them access major international markets, particularly the European Union.

The ThaiGAP standards cover farms, hatcheries, processing plants, food safety and social issues, all in an effort to promote sustainable Thai agriculture.

Previously, small farmers encountered difficulties when applying for GlobalGAP certification because of complicated procedures, language barriers and high certification costs.  ThaiGAP was developed to help overcome those obstacles.  The process took more than three years.  The guidelines are in Thai and easy to understand, which will reduce both implementation and certification costs for farmers.

A ThaiGAP committee is in the process of forming a certification body and selecting auditors to check farms.

The ThaiGAP project will start with fruits and vegetables—and then add shrimp!

Source: CommodityOnline.com. Thailand Speeds Up Farm Product Certification.  July 2, 2010.

United States

Florida—The Closest Shrimp Farm to the Gulf Oil Spill

In Port St. Joe, Florida, Mark Godwin at Woods Fisheries runs a shrimp processing plant and 25 acres of shrimp ponds that utilize brackish well water.  The shrimp farm—Gulf American Shrimp—is inland and will not be affected by the oil spill.  This is what Godwin said about the BP spill and its effects on his business: “At first, wholesale prices went up considerably with concerns about the future supply of Gulf shrimp.  The boats that were fishing were actually catching good; some had record catches at high dock prices.  Then concerns about food safety reduced demand for gulf shrimp considerably.  Sales became more difficult and the wholesale price is now falling significantly.  For the farm, I am hoping its product will bring a higher price.  But that product won’t be available until late October 2010.  Who knows what will happen between now and then?”

Information: Granvil Treece, Aquaculture Specialist, Texas A&M University, Sea Grant College Program, 2700 Earl Rudder Freeway South, Suite 1800, College Station, Texas 77845, USA (phone 1-979-845-7527, fax 1-979-845-7525, email g-treece@neo.tamu.edu, website http://texas-sea-grant.tamu.edu).

Source: How the BP Oil Spill Is Affecting Aquaculture in Texas and Elsewhere: Notes by Granvil Treece.  Email to Shrimp News International from Granvil Treece.  Subject: A Couple of Articles.  June 30, 2010.

United States

Florida—Red Lobster

Darden Aquafarm, Inc., along with inventors from Florida Atlantic University, has applied for a patent on a system for collecting juvenile lobster seed.

Source: Seafood.com (an online, subscription-based, fisheries news service).  Editor and Publisher, John Sackton (phone 1-781-861-1441, email jsackton@seafood.com).  Darden’s Brunei Lobster Farming Project Faces Many Challenges.  Matt Shivers.  July 6, 2010.

United States

Hawaii—Oceanic Institute Aquatic Feed Mill

In an interview that appeared in the July 2010 issue of Fish Farming International, Ben DiPietro (ben.dipietro@intrafish.com), in charge of editorial production at Intrafish Media, asked Dr. Tony Ostrowski, current president of the Oceanic Institute and former director of the U.S. Marine Shrimp Farming Program, about the feed mill OI is developing:

Ben DiPietro: What’s new with your feed research?

Tony Ostrowski: We’re going to start construction of a pilot feed mill on the island of Hawaii.  It’s going to be a $4 million plant that will showcase USA equipment, conduct feed and feed processing research and demonstrate batch mixing in subtropical environments using subtropical ingredients.

The plant will be the only one in the country focused on aquaculture feeds and research.  It will have the capacity to mill up to about 4,000 kilograms an hour.  It could be a resource for the feed industry worldwide to do those batch mixing and processing research things they can’t do at the big mills that operate 24 hours a day.

Funded by the USDA, the mill has the support of the American Feed Industry Association and the feed industry, which donated $1 million worth of equipment discounts to the project.  The mill should be up and running in two to three years.

Source: Fish Farming International.  Editor, Rachel Mutter (rachel.mutter@intrafish.com).  Q&A Anthony Ostrowski, President, Oceanic Institute.  Ben DiPietro.  Issue-7, Page-30, July 2010.

United States

New York, New York—It’s a Wonderful Town, Switching to Farmed Shrimp

The aftermath of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may soon expand to include another set of victims: the plates of Downtown New Yorkers.  Seafood from the Gulf and the New York City restaurants that serve it are subject to an uncertain future.  Hemorrhaged oil has begun to clot popular sources of shrimp along the coast of New Orleans, and now many New York seafood restaurants are beginning to see increasing prices and limited availability of their coveted crustaceans.

Jeremy Marshall, owner of Aqua Grill on Spring Street, said, “We purchase wild shrimp...may have to switch to a farm-raised product.  The salinity and firmness are affected.  It’s not a bad product, but the wild shrimp is firmer with a more natural taste.”

Dana Sardinha, a public relations representative for restaurants, said, “We’ve already started looking into Thai shrimp, and we know that many countries are now starting to look to shrimp farming for the future.”

Source: DowntownExpress.com.  Downtown Restaurants Make Plans in Wake of BP Disaster.  Joseph Rearick.  June 25 to July 1, 2010.

United States

Texas—25th Shrimp and Fish Farming Short Course

The 25th Annual Texas A&M University Shrimp Farming Short Course and Marine Finfish Culture Course will be held from September 22 to 28, 2010.

For all the details, go http://www.texasaquaculture.org.  Scroll down the page that opens until you see the announcement for the course.  At the end of the announcement, click on the words “Course Description” and “Course Agenda” for PDFs that contain more information.

Information: Granvil Treece, Aquaculture Specialist, Texas A&M University, Sea Grant College Program, 2700 Earl Rudder Freeway South, Suite 1800, College Station, Texas 77845, USA (phone 1-979-845-7527, fax 1-979-845-7525, email g-treece@neo.tamu.edu, website http://texas-sea-grant.tamu.edu).

Source: The Webpage of the Texas Aquaculture Association.  The 25th Annual Texas Shrimp Farming Short Course and Marine Finfish Culture Course.  Website Visit on July 6, 2010.

Vietnam

Nutrico Buys Tomboy Aquafeed JSC

On July 1, 2010, Nutreco (The Netherlands, more below), a world leader in the production of aquaculture feeds, announced that it acquired 100% of Tomboy Aquafeed JSC, a producer of fish and shrimp feed in Vietnam.  With the number four position in the Vietnamese feed market, Tomboy is a leading player in shrimp feeds.  It has two feed mills near Ho Chi Min City and one in the Long An Province.  It has 300 employees and had annual revenues of $27.7 million in 2009.

Tomboy produces high-quality feed and has good brand recognition based on its reputation for reliability, quality and customer support.  Farmers like its technical support, and it has one of the best country-wide distribution networks in Vietnam for shrimp feed.

Knut Nesse, Nutreco Executive Vice-President of Aquaculture, said: “Skretting [the world’s largest producer of aquaculture feeds, a subsidiary of Nutreco] has a global leading position for the production of high-quality fish feed in a sustainable manner.  We want to capitalize on this position and our know-how by approaching new markets with regards to geography and species.  This acquisition perfectly fits in our growth strategy to further develop positions in strategic markets with feed for new species such as shrimp [new to Skretting].  It offers Skretting an entrance in Vietnam and an interesting platform for future growth.”

Nutreco is a global leader in animal nutrition and fish feed.  In business for more than 100 years, it employs approximately 9,700 people in 30 countries, has sales in 80 countries, and, in 2009, revenues of $5.6 billion.  It’s listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Euronext stock exchange in Amsterdam.

Information: Jurgen Pullens, Director Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, Nutreco, Prins Frederiklaan 4, 3818 KC Amersfoort, P.O. Box 299, 3800 AG Amersfoort, The Netherlands (phone +31 (0) 33-422-6134, mobile +31 (0) 6-5159-9483, email jurgen.pullens@nutreco.com).

Sources: 1. iStockAnalyst.  Nutreco Acquires Tomboy Aquafeed JSC in Vietnam.  July 1, 2010.  2. Nutreco’s Webpage July 6, 2010.

Vietnam

Running Out of Shrimp

Production of farmed shrimp drops to cyclical lows.  Shrimp prices spike to new highs.  Le Van Quang, CEO of Minh Phu Seafood Company, says there’s been a surge in demand by USA shrimp importers because the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has reduced the world’s supply of shrimp.  Prices for whole giant tiger shrimp [size not provided] have reached $13 per kilo, an increase of 30 percent over 2009 and the highest price in ten years.

Hot weather and decreased production in competing countries are also pushing prices up.  Production is down in India and Bangladesh, too.

Shrimp processors say they are missing out on fat profits because they can’t secure product.  Lam Ngoc Khuan at Phuong Nam Seafood Processing Company (Soc Trang Province) says foreign importers are eager to place orders, but the company dares not sign new contracts because it may not be able to fill them.  Khuan says he has only been able to buy 40 metric tons a day, though his plant can process and pack 120 tons a day.

Other Mekong Delta processing companies such as Fimex Vietnam, Stapimex, Kim Anh, Thai Tan and Ut Xi tell the same story: there’s only enough shrimp for them to run at 20-30 percent of capacity.

Ta Minh Phu, Deputy Director of the Bac Lieu Province’s Department for Agriculture and Rural Development, says that the number of hectares devoted to shrimp farming has been reduced in the last few years because prices fell below the cost of production for many farmers.  Now farmers don’t have the capital to resume farming, and banks are reluctant to provide loans.

Mekong Delta production, however, is expected to rebound with the second harvest that begins in September 2010.

Source: Vietnam Seafood Trade Magazines.  As World Prices Peak, Vietnam Runs Out of Shrimp to Sell.  June 23, 2010.