The WB/NACA/WWF/FAO Consortium Programme on Shrimp Framing and the Environment and other Experiences: Lessons Learned - Michael J. Phillips, Jason W. Clay, Ronald Zweig, and Rohana P. Subasinghe. The presentation described the World Bank, NACA, WWF and FAO Consortium Programme on Shrimp Farming and the Environment. The Consortium Programme is intended to analyze and share experiences on the better management of shrimp culture in coastal areas.
The geographical scope of the Programme is world-wide, including major shrimp producing countries in Asia, the Americas and Africa. Phase 1 started in July 1999 and finishes in December 2000. The synthesis of studies, and management practices, will be undertaken in 2001. The funding for the programme is provided by the World Bank-Netherlands partnership programme, WWF, FAO and NACA.
Shrimp farming is a very diverse sub-sector, economically, in terms of farming systems and geographic location, environmentally and socially. Much shrimp farming in Asia’s undertaken by small-scale farmers owning less than 5 ha of land, and in both Asia and Latin America, shrimp farming is an important source of employment and income for hundreds of thousands of people. Employment and income is generated in supply industries as well as in shrimp processing and distribution, including retailing. Controversy over social and environmental problems associated with shrimp culture in shrimp producing and importing countries has arisen. Generally, issues raised include: social and ecological consequences of coastal habitat changes, nutrient and organic release and water quality issues, biodiversity issues, such as collection of wild seed, social issues, equity and conflicts. Sustainability of shrimp farming has been questioned because of shrimp disease outbreaks, and significant economic losses. Such problems emphasize the importance of identification and promotion of effective on-farm and sectoral management practices.
A number of past and ongoing initiatives have been taken in various meetings organized by the private sector, governments and international/regional organizations, including the Bangkok FAO Technical Consultation on Policies for Sustainable Shrimp Culture (8th- 11th December 1997), that produced a consensus “that sustainable shrimp culture is practised and is a desirable and achievable goal which should be pursued”. The Consultation emphasized the need to identify appropriate management practices leading to sustainable shrimp culture, and vigorous promotion of such practices. The Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA) is addressing sustainability issues in shrimp culture, in support of the implementation of relevant Articles on Aquaculture Development in the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF). Private sector associations and national and international non-government organizations (NGOs) are also focussing on sustainable shrimp farming practices. The World Bank in 1996-98 completed a study of the environmental interactions of shrimp culture. It examined the suitability of shrimp culture for poverty alleviation in coastal areas. It recommended further specific case studies to generate key information on management strategies for sustainable development of shrimp farming.
Recognizing the importance of co-operation and co-ordination among efforts to promote better management practices in shrimp culture, the consortium was formed comprising four agencies; the World Bank, NACA, WWF and FAO. The Overall programme objectives of the consortium are: (1) To generate improved information on key issues for sustainable shrimp culture development and management; (2) To facilitate consensus building among stakeholders at various levels from international, regional, and national, through to local levels; (3) To identify management strategies for sustainable shrimp culture (which will be of assistance to the financing and executing agencies, participating countries, investors, and farmers), (4) To provide a basis for broadly informing policy makers on management strategies for sustainable shrimp culture; and (5) To provide a platform for identification of future development activities and assistance for implementation of management strategies for sustainable development of shrimp culture.
The programme involves thematic reviews, and country specific cases studies, including Asia, Africa and Latin America. Thematic reviews cover identification of better management practices, with a complementary review on implementation through Codes of Conduct and Practices; management strategies for shrimp viral diseases, social aspects and poverty alleviation, and mangroves and coastal habitat rehabilitation. The case studies in Asia cover Shandong province, China, Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. In Africa, a summary of existing experiences with shrimp culture is being prepared. Case studies in Central and South America involve Honduras, Belize, Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil and Peru.
The background and case study reports are being made available on a web site (www.enaca.org/shrimp) and a synthesis of findings is being prepared during 2001. The follow will focus on implementation and further co-operation/partnership, and dealing with questions that remain. This Expert Consultation represents an important opportunity for review of the studies undertaken and an important step towards identification, development and implementation of better management practices.
Thematic Review on Coastal Wetland Habitats and Shrimp culture - Donald Macintosh, Michael J. Phillips[18], Barry Clough, and Robin Lewis. A thematic review on coastal wetland habitats and shrimp culture is being carried out as part of the World Bank/NACA/WWF/FAO Consortium Programme. The geographical scope of the review is Asia and South America. The review covers the major interactions between shrimp culture and coastal wetland habitats, with special reference to mangroves, mangrove rehabilitation, and experiences in co-existence between aquaculture and mangroves. Also covered are social, economic and institutional/legal factors governing co-existence and rehabilitation.
A workshop was held with the private sector, government scientists, policy makers and NGO participants to discuss the preparation of the review. The agreed objectives are as follows: “To promote coastal aquaculture in an environmentally responsible basis, adopting the principles of co-existence, of supporting livelihoods of local communities, and a net increase in mangrove area, where the policy of the country concerned”
The major components of the review include a synthesis document, country case studies in Bangladesh, Ecuador, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines and Thailand and cases demonstrating various ‘management’ practices. These cases cover zoning and legislation, the use of mangroves in effluent treatment (in Colombia, Australia and Indonesia), mixed shrimp farming-mangrove systems (in Vietnam and Indonesia) and poverty alleviation and social and economic issues. The review also gathers experience and analyses on mangrove rehabilitation in disused shrimp culture ponds.
Management interventions include: (1) Before shrimp farm development, including policy, legislation, coastal management planning and zoning, siting of farms behind mangroves and maintaining buffer zones and mangrove functions; (2) During the construction and operational phase, when factors such as design features and construction practices, on-farm management practices and systems, effluent treatment and biofilters and mixed farming systems can be considered; and (3) After rehabilitation and restoration of disused ponds. The review gives examples of the management practice options and critical success factors concerning the management at each level.
The Shrimp Culture Industry Better Practices for Addressing Poverty and Social Equity Issues - J. W. Clay. The shrimp culture industry has made significant contributions to global shrimp production as well as the foreign exchange earnings of producing countries. However, there are also concerns that the industry has fallen short on its potential to deliver positive social impacts. For this reason the Consortium Programme on Shrimp Farming and the Environment decided that one thematic review would identify and analyze innovative approaches to improve the social and equity impacts of the industry.
The thematic review has focused on four issues in both Asia and Latin America. The first task was to identify areas where the shrimp industry can improve its social performance. The primary focus was to look both at those employed within the industry as well as those affected by it. A second focus was to explain or analyze (including financial analyses) better social practices so that producers can understand and adopt them when appropriate. The research identifies a range of better practices that could have an immediate impact on the industry. Particular attention is given to better practices that improve overall performance, or reduce costs, of operations. Finally, the better practices will be promoted to encourage adoption and create the next generation of better practices.
No shrimp farmer started business to hire people or stimulate local “development.” Many, however, have found that it makes financial sense to improve their social impacts. By the same token, few farmers are teachers although most want to learn. While farmers may be social innovators, few are prepared to document what they do much less teach about their innovations. For example, many farmers have found that retaining higher paid existing employees is more efficient than hiring cheaper workers who know nothing. Turnover has huge opportunity costs. Likewise, performance incentives, based on their contribution to net profits rather than simply increased production, can have positive social impacts. The goal is to promote efficient use of resources and the reduction of waste.
There are several key areas where innovation has occurred. There are, for example, direct employment issues that relate to salaries, benefits and the use of permanent vs. part-time or contract labor. Increasingly, incentives and bonuses are adopted because they have a positive impact on net profits. In some cases, all other things being equal, net profits were more than doubled. But, the analysis also shows that there are real costs of bad practices. The shrimp industry spends considerable money on fencing, guards, lawyers, PR and lost permits because of social conflicts with neighbors or other resource users.
The review highlights a wide range of social benefits or “outside-the-box” innovations. Many producers invest in human resources (e.g. education or specific training, health) and infrastructure because it is an investment that pays off in many ways. Several innovations offer “win-win” solutions where benefits accrue to the producer as well as to workers or neighboring communities. These activities can include such approaches as developing spin-off businesses for transport, food or laundry that are owned by workers or neighboring communities; allowing community or workers to cut wood in mangroves to stimulate growth and improve their performance as biofilters; creating joint ventures for ponds, hatcheries and/or processing plants with worker or community groups; developing profit sharing programmes with workers or community landowner groups; transferring ownership from corporations to communities after 5-15 years; and rent or lease on-farm management to neighboring small-farmer, collectively-owned shrimp farm and creation of jointly owned processing plants.
The information in the thematic review will be organized around key issues and posted on a web site. The information will be up-dated periodically with new information or examples as they become available. Any information or examples are welcome particularly specific examples of innovations as well as information on the impact of the industry’s contribution to government through taxes. This information is not well documented.
Codes of practice for shrimp farming - C. Boyd. A review of Codes of Conduct for shrimp farming revealed that these documents consisted primarily of brief statements of practices that could be applied to minimize negative environmental impacts. These statements represent logistical objectives, but the amount of detail provided for the practices is not sufficient, in most cases, to explain how the practices should be applied. Thus, operation manuals are needed that explain methods for applying practice. Another common shortcoming in the Codes of Practice is the limited coverage of social issues.
There has been little implementation of the practices in Codes of Conduct. At present, the practices are nicely written in document form, but they have not been installed on farms. Of course, Codes of Conduct have been widely publicized, and it is expected that this publicity may be providing some benefits. Shrimp farmers are hearing and thinking more about environmental performance. Nevertheless, if Code of Conduct programmes are to produce their maximum benefits, aggressive implementation programmes must be initiated.
The most advanced Code of Conduct programme is the Responsible Aquaculture Programme of the Global Aquaculture Alliance. This organization has developed best management practices and quantitative standards for their programme.
A method for developing a compliance plan for the Responsible Aquaculture Programme has been developed. Once participants have implemented the compliance plan, third party inspection will be used to verify compliance with the programme.
There are several advantages to Codes of Conduct programmes, as follows: the potential to reduce negative impacts; increase efficiency of production; allow input to stakeholders; provide an avenue for introducing good practices; allow co-operation with government regulatory agencies; and marketing advantage. The main disadvantages of Codes of Conduct is that they are voluntary, there has been little implementation, and benefits are assumed rather than proven.
Survey of Legal and Institutional Arrangements - A. Van Houtte. A survey has been conducted and is being finalized to provide a comparative account of legal provisions concerned with shrimp farming which are operative in different countries engaged in the activity; and to offer suggestions as to the possible contents of good legal and institutional arrangements for the regulation of shrimp farming.
The survey places particular emphasis on the legal requirements which relate to the environmental impacts of shrimp farming. Such impacts are broadly of two kinds: (1) “access” = the initial impacts of establishing a shrimp farm at a particular location, and the potential adverse effects that this may have upon biodiversity and the potential conflicts that may be raised with other competing uses of land and water; and (2) “actual operation of a shrimp farm” = the continuing environmental impacts, upon environmental and ecological quality, which may arise through the actual operation of a shrimp farm when once it is established at a particular location or, indeed after cessation of activities. A third group of associated concerns relates to the efficiency of the shrimp farming industry and the quality of the products which it produces, and which often reflect underlying environmental concerns.
The survey provides information on the following topics: National approaches towards “sustainable development”; Legislation; Institutional responsibilities; Devolution of controls; Acquisition of land rights; Location licensing for the establishment of shrimp farms; Continuing controls upon shrimp farming activities; Freshwater use regulation; Waste water discharge regulation; Shrimp movement regulation; Genetically modified organisms; Chemical use restrictions; Food sources and utilization; Product quality controls; The internationalization of standards; Guidance and producer’s organizations; Enforcement; and other issues.
In the countries on which information was sought on shrimp farming legislation, responses proved to be of highly variable quality. Supplementing incomplete responses were even more acute where no response was provided.
What does the survey suggest? There is legislation but it often fails to recognize the distinctive nature of shrimp culture. The activity is also subject to a bewildering range of regulatory regimes with distinct, and sometimes, conflicting objectives. Consolidation of provisions governing shrimp culture in a single enactment might be seen as a beneficial move in some jurisdictions. There are issues not unique to shrimp culture e.g. GMOs, water use, and food safety issues but still this should not be a reason why shrimp farming can be regulated as a range of distinct and fragmented activities.
A distinctive feature of shrimp farming is the need for a relatively high level of technical expertise to be possessed by those who must regulate certain aspects of the activity. It is imperative to provide institutional support somehow and that the geographical and technical demands involved are taken into account when allocation of institution responsibilities is determined.
The conditions of access to land and to capital are key factors (often more important than profitability) towards a responsible development and management of shrimp culture.
There appears to be relatively little use of licensing systems to impose general continuing controls upon shrimp farms, indicating a lack of monitoring and control. A general operation licence governing day to day activities instead of a proliferation of licensing requirements which may apply to a particular shrimp farm. Codes of conduct are coming to the forefront. Definitely this is a timely call for good legal and institutional arrangements that can change the image of shrimp culture be it for the international and national.
Shrimp health management strategies - R.P. Subasinghe. Disease has become a major constraint to shrimp culture, especially since the outbreak of White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV). Some estimates on economic losses are available. The presentation was based on the recommendation and conclusions of the WB/NACA/FAO/WWF Joint Expert Consultation on Management Strategies for important Viral Diseases of Shrimp, held in Cebu, Philippines in November 1999 which reviewed, in detail, the status of shrimp health in Asia and Americas; discussed the strategies used for managing shrimp health during major outbreaks in different countries by different stakeholders; evaluated the successes and failures of such strategies; examined the investments made and costs and benefits of improved management practices; and looked at how effective the responses were. Where the responses were not effective, the possible reasons for these were discussed. The consultation tried to understand what lessons could be learned for future interventions; what forms of co-operative arrangements could work best; what specific needs could be identified as important to be addressed under co-operative arrangements; how effective has regional and inter-regional co-operation been; and what type of regional and/or inter-regional co-operation could be effective.
From the workshop recommendations, it was clear that there have been many interventions by all parties to address the current shrimp disease situation at farm level, co-operative or local level, national level, and international levels. The interventions came with varying success; some have been effective and some have not. The Report of the Consultation contains many detailed recommendations as well as some broad management strategies, particularly with reference to movement of live shrimp.
When considering the epidemiology and spread patterns of diseases and pathogens of shrimp, especially the viral pathogens, there is convincing evidence that disease outbreaks are associated with movement of live shrimp [broodstock and post-larvae (PLs)]. The potential implications on aquatic biodiversity and human health have also being recognized. Therefore, it is important to remain very cautious over the international or regional movement (also national in large countries) of live shrimp stocks bound for aquaculture. This precaution would apply even to domesticated stocks and to a single shrimp species cultivated in different places. However, movements should be permitted when proper quarantine and screening procedures have been applied, according to the agreed upon international treaties and standards. In the Asia-Pacific region, an Asia Regional Technical Guidelines on Health Management for the Movement of Live Aquatic Animals has recently been adopted by 21 countries of the region. The Technical Guidelines provide countries with technical guiding principles towards minimizing risks of trans-boundary movement of pathogens through responsible and safe movement of live aquatic animals.
There is concern about the risks involved with the movement of shrimp products as contributing to the trans-boundary movement of pathogens. Responsibilities of farmers, processors, and traders, have been questioned. Management practices, institutional support, human capacity, and legal frameworks for facilitating responsible movement/trade of shrimp products appear to be inadequate.
Shrimp health management should be a long-term strategy. The current understanding of technical avenues and options for controlling shrimp diseases, especially WSSV, has improved over the past years, mainly through the experience gained in Asia and in Latin America. The ultimate solution for combatting shrimp disease problems is to culture certified domesticated stocks free of specific pathogens on nutritious dry feeds in bio-secure ponds under conditions non-stressful to the shrimp. This should be the long-term goal for the shrimp industry. With regards to farm health management strategies, there are both manageable and unmanageable risk factors involved in the culture process. With respect to stress, it’s impossible to control weather, but it is possible to control pond carrying capacity, feed inputs and water exchange. At present, the dry feeds appear to be adequate, although there is obviously still room for quality improvement. The biggest potentially controllable problems that farmers currently face are uncertainty regarding the quality of PLs used in culture and the bio-security of the pond environment from pathogen carriers. The simplest way to solve PL quality problem is to change from the use of PLs derived from captured broodstocks to PLs derived from domesticated stocks. However, this practice requires considerable research efforts and field-testing, and is still beyond our grasp. The shift from wild PLs to domesticated, hatchery reared PLs requires adequate consultation and careful planning, as this process may result in significant social and economic implications. Finding alternate good practices may be considered at the beginning and appropriate institutional, policy, and regulatory environment is essential for a successful transition.
Farm health management strategies must include ensuring bio-security in ponds through appropriate screening of PLs for important pathogens prior to stocking. The procedures and methodologies for screening PLs for important pathogens (currently the WSSV and for some others) are known. However, some training, capacity building, and upgrading and infrastructure development of hatcheries and diagnostic centres are necessary. There are some vital requirements - technical standards developed and harmonized, standardized, validated and agreed upon by the hatchery producers, both nationally and internationally.
Pond management strategies may include creating a rearing environment secure from disease carrying reservoir species. There are many existing alternatives. Completely closed, re-circulating culture systems comprise one alternative. Filtration is also possible in many instances. The required changes may not be financially feasible or physically possible depends on the type of operation. With respect to chemical usage, where treatments are required, responsible and safe use of drugs and chemicals are essential.
Development and provision of good management practices, appropriate standards, and adequate institutional and legal frameworks are imperative. Awareness building and education among farmers is essential for the effectiveness of all interventions. Co-operate strategies are vital in the process. Experience in establishing aquatic animal health information systems in Asia, and the benefits that the sector achieved through such programmes were considered important. Establishment of an appropriate, self-sustaining aquatic animal health information and reporting networks would be highly valuable in ensuring that the vital technical and scientific information are made available to the shrimp farming sector. This will also help to reduce trans-boundary movement of aquatic pathogens.
Developing technical guidelines and standards on health certification for safe trans-boundary movement of live aquatic animals (broodstock and PLs of shrimp), and harmonizing them within a region, and among regions, was considered timely and appropriate and is now in place in Asia. However, this will take some time to realize and compliance will remain an issue until appropriate national capacities, policies, and enforceable regulatory frameworks are developed. Capacity building among national institutions involved staff, and shrimp farmers are important. Farmers should be made aware of the options and opportunities available for controlling diseases, especially the WSSV.
Development of good farm and hatchery management practices and documenting them with adequate scientific evidence and field data is also considered as vital to the sustainability of the sector. There are many ongoing activities by many agencies and organizations in support of shrimp health management in Asia and Latin America. They deal with many issues and any new assistance programmes from other sources should be complementary and should benefit from them.
It was concluded that diseases will continue to emerge. Efforts to control them will be pursued and there will always be a range of problems to be tackled along the way. The varying levels of political, economic and social development among countries, the trans-boundary nature and commonality of many major disease problems, and the need to harmonize approaches, all strongly argue for effective co-operation at all levels of management in order to make the most effective use of limited resources. Wide-ranging stakeholder consultation and consensus building (at all levels) is crucial. Building on sub-regional, regional and international co-operation through joint strategies and harmonized approaches that avoid duplication of effort and competition are essential for this process. However, all such efforts will be ineffective without national commitment from responsible authorities. The current situation offers a big challenge to all concerned and, if maintained at the present level, risks of major epidemics will continue to threaten and emerge with costs that extend far beyond economics.
Environmental Management of Shrimp Farming in Australia - Nigel Preston, M. Burford, Peter Rothlisberg and C. Jackson. In Australia, strict Commonwealth and state environmental regulations have constrained uncontrolled development of shrimp farming. A high level of resources, relative to the size and value of the industry, has been devoted to collaborative research on the environmental management of shrimp farming in Australia. This research has quantified nutrient processes in shrimp ponds, determined whole farm nutrient budgets, analyzed effluent composition, determined the effects of different effluent treatment strategies and traced the fate of effluent in receiving waters. The results are being used to provide a scientific basis for discharge license requirements for shrimp farming. These data are also being incorporated into an advanced geographic information and decision support system in order to improve site selection and aquaculture planning.
Despite these improvements, there are ongoing public concerns about the environmental management of shrimp farms. One potential avenue for providing a more logical and systematic basis for this debate is through the establishment of environmentally sustainable development (ESD) performance criteria for the industry. This process has already commenced with an initial focus on the Queensland shrimp farming industry. This study has identified that the environmental management of shrimp farms needs to be incorporated into environmental management of the water body and catchment adjacent to shrimp farms. By this means, aquaculture can be compared to other forms of agriculture, particularly in relation to permitted discharge loads. This concept is not unique to Queensland or Australia but has rarely been addressed. We anticipate that this study will provide an opportunity to determine more effective ways of broadening the environmental planning and licensing of shrimp farming to include environmental standards for the whole catchment.
Social aspects of coastal shrimp culture in Bangladesh - Anwara Begum. Caritas, a NGO in Bangladesh, conducted a case study on “Social Aspects of Coastal Shrimp culture in Bangladesh”. The study applied Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), Group Discussion (GD), key informant interviews, workshops with Government, NGO and other stakeholders to assess social impacts and management of shrimp culture in selected coastal areas in the south-western part of Bangladesh. Polder 23 (Sholadana Union) under Paikegacha Upazilla and Polder 33 (Dacope Union) under Dacope Upazilla have been selected for study. In addition the study team had a preliminary assessment over the situation in Polder 22 under Paikegacha Upazilla. Four PRAs with shrimp farmers and women from poor landless families (mainly fry collectors) at village level and four Group Discussions with the secondary stakeholders at Upazilla, District/Division and National level were conducted.
Over the last decade or so significant developments have been taking place and three polders now look quite distinct from each other. Polder 23 has been experiencing all the facilities of shrimp culture as since 1991 it has been witnessing planned shrimp culture under the Third Fisheries Project. Polder 33 has been experiencing shrimp culture in an unplanned manner. Polder 22, having all the elements of potential shrimp farming, deliberately opted out of it. The Delta Development Project had some role to play in excluding this polder from shrimp production. So all these polders stand on different scales in terms of natural environment, and the status of shrimp farming. It is therefore, useful to compare the social environment in these three polders with different degrees of shrimp culture experiences, and to document the effectiveness of different management practices.
The livelihoods of the people of the study area are mostly dependent on agriculture (crop and shrimp culture mainly), fishing, crab and shrimp fry collection from the adjacent rivers. Shrimp culture has been the singular dominant economic activity over the last two decades in the areas. Twenty-two types of activities related to shrimp and agriculture are identified in both the polders. Even in the non-shrimp polder 22, shrimp culture indirectly provides significant livelihood benefits to people living in the polder. Landless people are involved in fry collection, or grazing cattle from nearby shrimp polders.
Traditional gher fisheries are an age-old practice in some areas of coastal belt in Bangladesh. In the traditional types of ghers, juveniles of fish and shrimp were allowed to entire the gher with tide water during spring tides through sluices. This practice of natural stocking of the ghers has been progressively replaced by artificial stocking of the ghers after construction of coastal embankments. Coastal embankments provided improved protection from natural hazards such as tidal surges and provide an opportunity for shrimp culture inside the polders. Rich outsiders primarily initiated shrimp culture, two decades back, creating social conflicts. However, small local farmers are becoming conscious about the economic benefits from shrimp culture, and are finally come forward to cultivate shrimp into their own land collectively and thus the presence of outsiders in shrimp farming has been declining. This change in land use and ownership patterns has significantly reduced conflict in some parts of Bangladesh.
Shrimp culture has rejuvenated the stagnant rural economy in some coastal areas but has also resulted in new environmental management problems, involving land and water, leading to social tensions. Intervention by the World Bank supported Third Fisheries Project in polder 23 indicates that planned shrimp culture with technical support to local people can reduce environmental costs. The social consciousness of the ordinary people living in Polder 23 developed under project has improved. The project benefits include increased savings, improve infrastructures, better social and natural environment, reduced influence of outsiders and greater co-operation among small landowners. The activities of a NGO (Caritas) was successful in promoting local shrimp farmers to participate in shrimp cultivation rather than leasing out the land to outsiders. Farmers are now able to cultivate paddy and shrimp in rotation, thus contributing to a reduction in social tensions. The major benefits resulting from shrimp culture in Polder 23 are: (a) improvement in livelihoods in terms of better income and improved living condition, (b) average daily wage rate has increased, (c) number of earning members per household increased; (d) price of land raised; (e) mobility of women in outside home activity increased; (f) helps to stimulate small business in the vicinity of shrimp farms; (g) Food security in household level enhanced; and (h) collection of shrimp fries from nature has emerged as secondary source of income.
Social conflicts result from improper distribution of benefit from shrimp farming. Among them the most important factors are a) Sluice gate and water management, b) Fault in deed writing, c) Leasing system, d) Lack of mechanism on dispute resolution, e) Control of khas land, f) Land is not backed timely, and h) Hari is not paid regularly. Besides these, there are minor conflicts too. A possible solution for managing the conflicts has been generated. The important issues are: (a) Clearly mentioning all related conditions while writing a deed agreement and these should be kept with both the parties; (b) Leasing should be made for a period of at least five years and 85% land owners need to be agreed in leasing the gher; (c) Existing leased out canals should be cancelled to make the water accessible to the shrimp farmers; (d) All occupied sluice gate must be kept free; (e) countable Block committees should be formed again and power should be given to these committees; (f) encouragement and financial support should be provided to the small gher owners; (g) Legal protection must be given to the small gher owners; (h) Basic utility services need to be provided in the shrimp culture area; (i) a fund may be generated to support the affected families; and (j) a policy must be to consider keeping five bighas of land for grazing in every 100 bighas of shrimp culture areas; and (k) finally forming a polder based committee is recommended to manage the local conflicts.
Implementation of the Code of Conduct for Shrimp Farming: Preliminary Results from Demonstration in Thailand - Siri Tookwinas, Putth Songsangjinda, Krissana Chankaew, M.J. Phillips and Sih Yang Sim. The mission statement on the environment policy basis for the Code of Conduct for Sustainable Marine Shrimp Farming in Thailand was signed in 1998 by government and shrimp farm industry representatives (Department of Fisheries, Marine Shrimp Farming Association, Frozen Food Association, Canning Food Association, Aquaculture Business Club, Buyer and Seller Club, Animal Feed Mill Association) under initial support from the World Bank. Guidelines on the farming methods based on the Code of Conduct were prepared in a consultation workshop among the farming associations in various coastal locations, and with technical inputs from universities and the Department of Fisheries. Based on the guidelines, more locally specific manuals have been prepared in small local workshops with groups of volunteer shrimp farmers. These manuals have been prepared in Songkhla and Rayong provinces in early 2000. After preparation of the manuals, a trial has been started at these two locations to demonstrate intensive marine shrimp farming using the principles of the Code of Conduct. The trials were started in early 2000 at two farming sites in Songkhla and Rayong.
The pond preparation, shrimp fry stocking, culture technique, water management, feeding, chemical and drug usage, shrimp health management, effluent management, harvesting, social responsibility, training and documentation have been carried out following the Code of Conduct. A monitoring programme for water quality in the culture pond, farming area, farm sanitation, effluent treatment, social conflict observation and documentation checking was carried out by staff of Department of Fisheries. Shrimp harvesting was done in October 2000. The yield is still high in comparison with previous crops (normal operation without using the Code of Conduct manual), although operational costs are less. The paper presents the results of the demonstration trials which indicate that implementation of the Code of Conduct can lead to more profitable farming.
These favorable results provide a basis for further dissemination of management practices following the Code of Conduct for shrimp farming, which it is hoped will be widely accepted among the shrimp farmers in Thailand.
Case studies of shrimp culture in North and North Central Vietnam - Tran Van Nhuong. This case study on coastal aquaculture management was carried out in the North and North Central coastal area of Vietnam. The study was based on primary and secondary data collected through participatory discussions and structured interviews with aqua-farmers, agriculture farmers, extension officers, commune key persons, and local, provincial and national level officials.
The objectives of the study were to describe the current coastal aquaculture practices, the impact on the livelihood of the coastal inhabitants (aqua-farmers and non-aqua-farmers) and on the environment, to discuss the current situation in relation to the respective articles in the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF), and identify issues where better management practices should be introduced.
Coastal aquaculture activity in Bang La, Quang Thuan and Quynh Bang provinces (the North and North Central of Vietnam) showed an increase after 1990 under the influence of the Doi Moi economic reform in Vietnam but is currently still characterized by extensive and improved extensive culture systems of small-scale farmers with low input use and leading to low productivity levels, but the transition to semi-extensive culture systems is beginning. The cultured species are mainly tiger shrimp and mud crab. Aqua-farmers are showing a tendency to specialize in tiger shrimp monoculture, which offers higher net benefits but is very prone to diseases and therefore implies higher risks. The current production systems include two annual crops (shrimp/shrimp, crab/crab or shrimp/crab), average stocking densities of 2.3/m2 for shrimp and 0.9/m2 for crab in ponds of 0.8 ha and a depth of 0.8 m. Inputs provided are mainly limited to lime, livestock manure, fertilizer, pelleted feed, trash fish and molluscs, of which only lime is supplied in appropriate quantities in one commune.
Negative environmental impact of coastal aquaculture development in the 3 communes is low because the expansion of aquaculture did not result in the destruction of large areas of mangroves (instead marshland, swamps and salt fields were converted into ponds) and the present mode of production (improved extensive) has limited effluent impact. The only sign of negative environmental impacts are observed in crab of which the prices of crab seeds are rising indicating a local overexploitation of the species.
Coastal aquaculture activities in the three communes investigated is currently changing rapidly from (improved) extensive to semi-intensive. Rapidly increasing population in the coastal areas is a major incentive in this process. To generate more employment and income coastal aquaculture needs to change to smaller ponds per household and higher uses of inputs leading to a higher productivity per hectare, and hopefully higher net benefits per hectare. Productivity of small ponds (around 0.2 ha) appeared to be tenfold higher than of large ponds (>1 ha). However, this study showed that pond sizes of 0.2 ha are probably too small for a household to make a living only from coastal aquaculture, considering the economies of scale related to labor inputs, stocking densities, costs and benefits of the currently used system. Further investigations into the current and more intensive production systems (pond size, stocking density, input use, marketing, etc.) are therefore needed to support the coastal aquaculture development planning processes and policies.
Coastal shrimp farming has benefited many farming households. In addition it supported also directly the livelihoods of many, often poor, people that are involved in seed collection, trash fish commercialization, feed production, processing and small scale marketing, via new employment opportunities and incomes. For each 3 aqua-farming households one household is active in services provision (seed collection, processing, marketing) in the sector. Incomes in these aquaculture services sub-sector are often better paid than in the production itself, e.g. incomes from seed supply and in the marketing of the product were on average respectively 30% and 100% higher than from aquaculture. Another advantage of coastal aquaculture is more indirectly for the local economy, due to the increased expenditures of aqua-farming households, the alternatives it offered to fishers to become employed in aquaculture, and the migration (knowledge drain) to the urban centres.
The accessibility of coastal aquaculture production itself for the poorest of the poor is restricted by the decreasing availability of suitable land, the structure of the land markets, lack of technical know-how, lack of investment resources, regulations in favor of those with assets, prejudice of officials towards the capacities of the poor and the competitors in other layers in society. Especially the current land distribution practices under the Land Law increase inequality and limit the access of the poor to aquaculture. Land use contracts in many cases are given only for 5 years and the price of the land rent increases every time when renewal is needed, in this way decreasing the opportunities for the poor to get involved and discouraging sustainable investments in aquaculture. Some government and local level policies are slowly trying to change this situation, but a positive pro-poor policy implementation is lacking. Moreover, in the 3 communes there were some efforts made by local people such as the introduction of group management strategies, in which poor farmers together manage and reap the benefits of a common property pond. Initiatives of this kind show that the poor can benefit a lot from aquaculture, but support and training in pond management, planning and incentives to invest are definitely needed to get more poor actively involved in aquaculture development.
The case study results show that an increase in quantity and quality of aquaculture research and extension to develop further and implement, both in a participatory way, new BMPs in pond management, more intensive production systems, disease prevention measures and product quality management, appear necessary. In addition, the contribution of aquaculture development to the reduction of poverty in coastal areas in Vietnam is definitely significant and visible and the challenge of formulation and implementation of pro-poor policies in the sector, including pro-poor extension services, is taken up by the government and aqua-farmers together. In this respect, advantage should be taken of the present willingness of aqua-farmers to improve their management practices in the process of transformation from (improved) extensive to semi-intensive farming systems.
Case studies on shrimp farming in Ecuador - Stanislous Sonnenholzner, L. Massaut, Jorge Calderon, and C.E. Boyd. A series of case studies on shrimp farming in Ecuador were conducted by CENAIM-ESPOL[19] to identify management practices compatible with sustainable shrimp farming.
Case study on “Use of Wild Post-Larvae” reveals that preference of farm managers in Ecuador for wild post-larvae has decreased in the last five years. Unpredictability of wild seed and year-round availability of hatchery seed are considered the primary reasons for actual preference of stocking hatchery post larvae in grow-out ponds. Year-round production of commercial shrimp hatcheries in Ecuador could supply enough PL to farmers under current stocking densities of 8 to 12 PL/m2.
Farm demand for PL is estimated between 38 to 45 billion PL per year. Analysis of historical data from 12 commercial farms stocked either with hatchery or wild post-larvae showed that there is no difference in performance between these two sources of larvae in terms of production in pounds/ha and growth rate (g/week).
A case study on “Shrimp Production in Mangrove” was designed to obtain a scientifically-based opinion as to the suitability of mangrove soil for shrimp farming. Chemical analysis of mangrove and non-mangrove soils in Ecuador showed that mangrove soils are more acidic and have a higher carbon and sulfur concentration. However, production data obtained from several farms revealed no difference in shrimp performance among mangrove soils and other type of soils.
A case study on “Farm Management and Concentrations of Potential Pollutants in Effluents” was conceived to have a better understanding of the composition of shrimp farm effluents in Ecuador. Four farms having different managing practices were sampled at 2-week intervals. Water samples were taken at pond entrance, discharge monk and pumping station. Water quality variables measured were biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, total phosphorus, total nitrogen and chlorophyll a. Major management factors of concerns used to select ponds and farms were stocking density and daily water exchange rate. Based on this information we expect to identify those management procedures useful for improving effluent composition.
A case study on “Water Exchange Practice” was proposed to identify current status of water exchange in shrimp farms and evaluate opinions and expectations of shrimp mangers towards water exchange. Results of the survey conducted on several farm managers reveal that water exchange practice has been reduced in the last five years. Most farmers indicate to have 0 to 2% water exchange per day. One of the reasons that may explain this change in water exchange is the reduction of disease carriers associated with lower exchange rates. Lower stocking densities and energy input since 1999 to manage White Spot Syndrome Disease also contributed to this reduction in water exchange. Historical data on diesel consumption, pumping capacity and pumping frequency is currently being collected in several farms to estimate water exchange practice in the past five years.
A review on “Coastal Wetland Habitats and Shrimp Culture” was envisioned to summarize existing legislation related to mangrove and shrimp culture and to review mangrove status and rehabilitation efforts. Data provided by the Center of Integrated Readings of Natural Resources by Remote Sensors (CLIRSEN) show that mangrove loss due to various economic activities including shrimp farming decreased considerably in the last few years. In fact, no mangrove loss is registered after 1996.
Belize Aquaculture - Robin Macintosh. Belize Aquaculture Limited has developed a highly intensive shrimp culture system that is operated in lined ponds with heavy mechanical aeration and water recirculation. The pilot study of the operation has been in progress for two years and a number of different trials have been conducted in ponds of 0.065 to 1.6 ha in size. Shrimp production has ranged from less than 8,000 kg/ha to more than 20,000 kg/ha per crop. Such high production per unit area without water exchange has several advantages over conventional shrimp culture. These include greater potential for mechanization, reduced use of land and water, fewer logistical problems in pond operations and less effluent. If this system is as efficient as the early data suggest, and if it is suitable for more general adoption by shrimp farmers around the world, it could provide a more environmentally responsible method of shrimp production. The presentation provided an overall description of the farm, and management strategies adopted to improve environmental performance and provide benefits to local people working on the farm.
Shrimp culture in East Africa - Rafael Rafael, J. Clay and Fernando Loforte Ribeiro. The study reviews the status of shrimp culture in selected countries in eastern Africa.
Shrimp culture in South Africa is a new activity; it began 10 years ago in Kwazulu Natal Province, with promising results. However, the prospects for industrial development are restrained due to sub-tropical to temperate climate and limited resources in terms of coastal land and shrimps for aquafarming. Yet, two commercial shrimp farms are in operation in the area, Amatikulu and Mtunzini, and production from intensive culture of Penaeus indicus has reached over 100 mt in year 2000. The major setbacks that shrimp culture faced in recent years in South Africa include lack of feed, low nutrition value of local manufactured feed, availability of breeders and overall management of the nursery phase. Despite local interest on shrimp culture, there are no prospects of new farms or further development of current farms managed by Amatikulu Prawns (Pty) Ltd. The sub-optimal conditions have driven the attention and interest of South African companies to invest in shrimp culture in Mozambique.
In Mozambique, the shrimp culture development is in its infancy despite the existence of an excellent environment and vast resources along the coast, which extends for about 2,700 km. Current production is limited to a single industrial farm operating 20 ha and producing around 60 tons per year. Based on culturing of P. monodon on semi-intensive system, several factors hampered the development of shrimp culture in Mozambique. Among these are: the centralized economic system, lack of tradition and a long and devastating civil war. In recent years, peace and the foreseen free market orientated Government policies resulted in economic growth and created a momentum for industrial development of shrimp farming. Over short- and medium-term development, shrimp farms and new projects in process of government approval will represent over 39 million USD in private sector investment. They will cover over 900 ha of shrimp farms and produce about 2,500 MT/year.
There is no single commercial shrimp farm in Tanzania. There are two proposals that have been reviewed: the African Fishing Company (the Controversial one) that wanted to farm shrimps in Rufiji delta, and the Prawntan. One extensive shrimp farm is operating in Bagamoyo. The rest are proposals that have not been submitted to the government for review. A national Mariculture Development Guideline was adopted in 2000.
The shrimp culture industry is the most important and developed aquaculture activity in Madagascar. Madagascar is the biggest shrimp farming country in Africa. The largest farm is AQUALMA. Other emerging farms are AQUAMEN, SOMAQUA and AQUAMAS. The shrimp culture industry is based on culturing P. monodon in a semi-intensive system. This activity has to follow Fisheries and Aquaculture regulations, be compatible with environmental friendly technology, and the Madagascar shrimp culture code of conduct.
AQUALMA Mahajamba Ferme, Madagasgar - Ken Corpron. Physical description of the farm: total farm land area: 3,800 hectares; total growout surface area: 680 hectares (82 ponds); total nursery area: 62 hectares (52 ponds); total broodstock area: 10 hectares (6 ponds); total supply canal surface area: 220 hectares. Regarding the local mangrove vegetation, the farm is constructed in “tanne” salt flat zone behind mangrove area. Vegetation removed in course of construction was less than 3% of original total. Avicennia marina is the main mangrove species represented, and principal species used in reforestation efforts. 100,000 mangrove trees were planted in 1994 along inlet canal and along drainage canals.
Water Supply Characteristics: 4 meter tidal amplitude; total pumping capacity: 72,000 cubic meters per hour; water exchange rate: average 12-15% per day.
Project Parameters; culture species: Penaeus monodon. Semi-intensive design with large growout ponds (6-10 ha/pond). Low stocking rates (<8.5-9.5 juveniles/sq./m.) are used, with an average yield per growout pond of 4.4 tones/ha/year. Average annual production of the farm is 3,000 tones/year. Shrimp broodstock source: ~50% captured, 50% cultured. Seasonal environmental variables are temperature (24-32 °C) and salinity (4-36 ppt).
Employment: AQUALAMA operations employ a total of nearly 1,200 full-time staff, drawn 70% from the region of the farm; 500 at processing plant; 550 at farm; 150 in other locations.
Village Community Developments. The nearest village (Besakoa) originally had only 30 inhabitants. There are now 3400. Village development has been carried out, including worker housing, potable water supply, health centre, school, security, fire protection, waste collection & disposal, and revolving credit fund. Incentive programmes are provided according to job function, farm production, technical/mechanical, harvesting, logistics, processing plant and other units.
Global Aquaculture Alliance - G. Chamberlain. Dr George Chamberlain made a presentation on Global Aquaculture Alliance activities on developing management practices for shrimp farming. The consultation was provided with an overview of the history, membership and activities of the GAA. The GAA was founded to address the need to develop acceptable environmental management processes for adoption by the industrial shrimp farmers. The approach is to develop codes of practice, standards, and farm level implementation and audit compliance plans, which can be audited by third parties.
GAA hopes that they will be successful in convincing the market to pay a premium for an ‘ecolabelled’ product. The premium is expected to provide the incentive for producers to implement the management practices to achieve today’s standards and to seek continuous improvement.
The GAA documents were offered as a base standard for consideration by this meeting. It was indicated that the GAA was keen to have feedback on any matters which where unacceptable.
Industrial Shrimp Action Network or ISANet - Mr. D. Barnhizer. Mr. David Barnhizer of the Industrial Shrimp Action Network or ISANet provided a brief introduction about the organization, which is primarily a facilitator organization, particularly on regulatory systems, which now has a membership of about 20 associations around the world. It has supported some activities in Ecuador and Honduras. Law enforcement problems in various countries are hard to address. The case studies currently taking place are important as different organizations can provide a different focus on the same problem. He indicated that this workshop is a good move forward, as 4 or 5 years ago there was no dialogue, whereas at this workshop hopefully there will be an honest exchange of what can be done to make things better.
Discussion points:
The following summarizes the main discussion points arising after the presentations.
The poverty alleviation cases presented were examples from Latin America, and there are as of yet no examples from Asia. It would be appreciated if through this networking, cases of Asian examples can be collected. The case studies and information (grouped and clustered by types) will be posted and regularly updated on Internet by the end of year 2000. With regards to looking at wider impacts and difficulties in measuring changes in poverty over time, it was agreed that the information gathered needs to be further analyzed. Equity in relation to land tenure was brought up as an important issue to be considered.
Clarification was sought in regard to implementation of codes of practice. It was noted that various standards exist (e.g. ISO, HACCP and GAA). The issue of guaranteed standards from other sectors (e.g. hatchery, processing, post-harvest, feed) was raised. Whilst there are some standards, getting inputs or information (some are often confidential) from other sectors, cannot be guaranteed. There are only a few examples of codes (e.g. Thailand shrimp and US catfish) being implemented with operational guidelines. Experience with implementation of some codes (e.g. US catfish) suggests that the less organized the industry or sector is, the greater the benefits of introducing BMPs; whilst with better-organized sectors, the benefits are harder to discern.
In most countries, the weak link in the institutional ability to comply with legislation was identified and discussed. Madagascar was given as an example where environmental issues relating to shrimp farming are being addressed in almost a legal vacuum. The basic regulatory instrument is primarily the Government Lease Agreement and performance based schemes. It was raised that often where legislative frameworks do exist, inadequate financial resources result in an inability to implement or enforce compliance.
The biosecurity of ponds, screening methods (e.g. PCR technology, gross observation, etc.), human health hazards and the implementation of the Asia regional technical guidelines for responsible movement of live aquatic animals in Asia were raised. It was noted that the guidelines have only recently been developed during the Beijing Workshop in China in June 2000, their implementation is still being put in place and so their effectiveness has yet be assessed.
The potential benefits from domestication of shrimp, as a strategy to minimize the risk of disease translocation, was highlighted. It was noted that the domestication of different species of shrimp was at different stages of development. With respect to hatchery health standards and domestication programmes, the meeting was informed of an FAO TCP addressing such issues for implementation in Latin America. The potential for FAO to assist countries with the implementation of codes of practice and technical guidelines was confirmed.
The issue of equity in regard to allocation of farm sites was raised. It was considered that in an ideal situation prawn farmers should (in principle) be treated in the same manner as other users of land in the area. However, that is not the case.
The slow uptake of improved practices by farmers was raised. The current high levels of nitrogen wasted in prawn feeds were highlighted as an important issue. The quality of discharged sediments was discussed.
The implementation of the Thailand Code of Conduct for a wide number of small farms is not clear because of the costs and labor involved. There may be a need to focus on a few important parameters. The form of monitoring farms once certified under the new Thailand Code of Conduct has yet to be finalized. It is hoped that most farms will be certified. Smaller farms may need to combine treatment facilities in order to be certified. Water quality testing is based on discharge quality as most farms have zero exchange during production. The benefits of certification will be better quality, more marketable prawns.
The technology using plastic liners appears quite successful for P. vannamei and it may be possible to use for P. monodon, with some variation to the system, particularly the carbon-nitrogen balance. Sludge removed from the ponds is utilized by banana and citrus growers for use in sandy soils at little cost to the farm. Stocking densities of 130-140 pc/m2 were considered optimal for such a system. It was noted that this type of prawn farming was particularly capital intensive. However, depreciation is less than other types of farming system as a result of the longevity of the infrastructure. The importance of detritus in the feeding of prawns in this system was uncertain, but could account for 23-30% of the total feed requirements.
The discussion revolved around the performance of wild and domesticated broodstock and their Pls, water quality management, diseases and feed. With respect to performance of wild or domesticated broodstock, it was indicated that there was no difference observed in terms of fecundity, hatching rate and survival. Water quality is maintained through water exchange, rarely using aerators, except in emergencies during warmer periods of the year. It was indicated that whilst minimum water exchange may be a good practice from an environmental perspective, in most cases this has been driven by the need to minimize the risk of disease. No mortalities are experienced at low temperatures and salinity levels. Feeds are imported from Taiwan, US and Europe, and average feed conversion rate (FCR) is about 1.85:1.
The final discussion concluded with past and on-going debates about the impact of aquaculture. It was indicated that there has been much work undertaken over the past 30 years. This is not just a recent initiative. To promote good management in various aspects of aquaculture continued effort is required to further improve outcomes.
