Foreign Fishery Developments BURMA ':.. VIET­ ,' . .' NAM LAOS .............. Thailand's Shrimp ...... Culture Growing THAI LAND ,... ~samut Sangkhram :. ~amut Sakorn Pond cultivation ofblacktigerprawns, khlaarea. Songkhla's National Institute '. \ \ Bangkok........· Penaeus monodon, has brought sweep­ ofCoastal Aquaculture (NICA) has pro­ , ••~ Samut prokan ing economic change over the last2 years vided the technological foundation for the to the coastal areas of Songkhla and establishment of shrimp culture in this Nakhon Si Thammarat on the Malaysian area. Since 1982, NICA has operated a Peninsula (Fig. 1). Large, vertically inte­ large shrimp hatchery where wild brood grated aquaculture companies and small­ stock are reared on high-quality feeds in .... Gulf of () VIET­ scale rice farmers alike have invested optimum water temperature and salinity NAM heavily in the transformation of paddy conditions. The initial buyers ofNICA' s Thailand fields into semi-intensive ponds for shrimp postlarvae (pI) were small-scale Nakhon Si Thammarat shrimp raising. Theyhave alsodeveloped shrimp farmers surrounding Songkhla • Hua Sai Songkhla an impressive infrastructure ofelectrical Lake. .. Hot Yai and water supplies, feeder roads, shrimp Andaman hatcheries, shrimp nurseries, feed mills, Background Sea cold storage, and processing plants. Thailand's shrimp culture industry is Located within an hour's drive ofSong­ the fastest growing in Southeast Asia. In khla's new deep-waterport, the burgeon­ only 5 years, Thailand has outstripped its Figure 1.-Thailand and its major shrimp ing shrimp industry will have direct competitors to become the region's num­ culture area. access to international markets. Despite ber one producer. Thai shrimp harvests a price slump since May 1989, expansion in 1988 reached 55,000 metric tons (t), onall fronts-production, processingand a 320 percent increase over the 13,000 t marketing-continues at a feverish pace. produced in 1984 (Table 1). Indonesian year. However, the system demands a However, the industry faces significant and Philippine harvests rose by only 62 measureofsophistication in fry and feed problems, mostly related to thecost/price percent and 51 percent, respectively, production and in pond maintenance. The equation. Continued low prices over over the same time period. Thailand's intensive culture system employs ex­ several years could eliminate all but the 1989 farmed shrimp production is tremely high stocking densities to boost most efficient Thai shrimp producers. expected to nearly double, surpassing production to 800-2,000 kg/rai (5,000­ This report focuses on the recent boom l00,OOOt. 12,500 kg/ha), but there is the risk of in black tiger prawn culture along the Thailand's rapid advance into com­ shrimp losses from poor water quality , Songkhla-Nakhon Si Thammarat littoral mercial shrimp culture appears all the stress from overcrowding, and resultant region and details theexperiences ofthree more remarkable given its late start. Thai diseases. One such disease, monodon ofthe largestfirms operating in the Song- farmers have long been adept at using baclovirus (MBV), virtually wiped out traditional extensive shrimp farming Taiwan's tiger prawn industry and methods. They diked off estuarine and opened lucrative international markets to coastal mangrove areas to trapbrackish­ new competitors, such as Thailand. water marine life, which they harvested The explosive growth ofthe Thai cul­ Table 1.-Thailand, Indonesia, and Philippine cultured aftera45-to 60-day growth period. This shrimp harvests by quantity. 1984-88' . tured shrimp industry has been accom­ simple system gave an annual shrimp panied by the rapid expansion ofshrimp Harvest (1,000 t) yield of about 40 kg per rai (6.25 rais hatcheries and feed mills. In 1985, Thai­ Country 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 equal 1 ha). Semi-intensive shrimp cul­ land had one shrimp feed mill and a Thailand 13 16 18 25 55 tivation, a comparatively recent phenom­ market demand of 6,000 t. Three years enon, involves raising hatchery-pro­ later, there were 15 shrimp feed mills and Indonesia 32 37 41 45 52 duced pion commercial feeds in growout a market demand oflOO,OOO t. Supplies Philippines 29 29 31 33 42 ponds. This system yields from 500­ of shrimp pI are obtained from govern­ 'Source: U.S. Embassy, Bangkok, Thailand. 1,000 kg/rai (3,100-6,300 kg/ha) per ment hatcheries, about 1,500 family­ 52(2),1990 21 owned backyard hatchery operations, water. The resultant brackish water had tion in late August and September. and large-scale agro-industrial concerns. optimum salinity (25-26°/00) for stimu­ Aquastar transports the harvested lating rapid shrimp growth. However, shrimp to cold storage. The company is The Songkhla Pioneer when neighboring farmers complained currentlyrentingcoldstoragefacilities on In 1985, Aquastar1, an American­ that waterlevels in their wells weredrop­ theSongkhla-HatYairoad, buthasbegun owned consortium bought 64 ha ofrice ping, Aquastar shut down its own wells construction ofits own cold storage and paddiesadjacenttotheseainSongkhla's and used sea water, with a salinity of processingplantona 12-hasiteinSingha Ranod District. Aquastar's plan was 33-35°/00 (31-33°/00 during monsoons). Nakhon, 25 km from Songkhla's new novel: Expand shrimpcultivationbeyond While salt water culture results in a deep-water port. The processing plant the confmes ofestuarine and mangrove slower growth rate (11 days on the aver­ will have a capacity of50t perday when regions to paddy land, which had a long age), ithas the advantageoverfresh water construction is finished at the end of history of indifferent success growing of not harboring bacteria and disease. January 1990. Processed shrimp will be rice. Moreover, brackishwaterpondsmustbe packed in containers for shipment from Aquastar stocked 24 demonstration harvestedbeforethe monsoonseason, as Songkhla'sdeep-water port. Currently, ponds, eachofl ha, inJanuary 1988 with too much rain water subjects the shrimp Aquastar's markets are in Japan, but the shrimppI from itsnurseries, using an in­ tostressandinhibitsgrowth. Thisnottrue company intendsto expandto the United tensive culturedensity scheme to impress ofsaltwaterponds, sincea moderatead­ States in 1990 and to Europe in 1991. local farmers with the profit potential. mixture ofrainwater will only stimulate Thus, from egg to processedproduct for Initial trials yielded harvests of 6 t/ha, growth. international markets, Aquastar func­ gradually increasing to 7-8 t/ha. How­ Aquastar's ponds are uniformly con­ tions as a vertically-integratedenterprise. ever, inpractice, Aquastaris committed structed. Each farmer owns about 1.3ha; With phase one virtually complete, to a semi-intensive mode ofshrimp cul­ 1.0 ha ofpond area and 0.3 ha ofdikes, Aquastar is now beginning phase two­ ture: 15t020shrimp/m, resultingina3-4 drainage and intake canals, roads, and the development of 500-600 ponds. It t/ha harvest. caretakerhuts. A concreteouterwall-15 plans to expand the size of its pond Havingprovedthe potential for shrimp cm higher than the local roadbed-en­ groups. While the first groups ranged culture, Aquastar began negotiations closes each of the groups of ponds and from 26-30pondspergroup, 50ponds is with local landowners to convert mar­ provides flood protection. The 1988 now the average and is much more cost­ ginallyprofitablericepaddies intoshrimp floods had no effecton Aquastar'sponds, effective. The company hopes to organ­ ponds. Within 1 year, it had contracted though many nearby farmers' ponds ize future groups of 200-300 ponds. with 293 landowners in 7 locations, for were ruined. Each pond group is pro­ Bechtel Corporation is currently bidding a total of310 haofponds. Inthe process, vided with intakecanals on its outerbor­ to undertake all future pond construction Aquastar standardized irregularly­ deranddischargecanals onthe innerrim. for Aquastar, freeing itto concentrateon shaped plots into I-ha ponds. Most im­ Aquastarowns andoperateseach pond's productionandmarketing. Aquastarcon­ portantly, owners retained title to their intake pumping station and backup gen­ tinues to holda significantadvantageover plots and wereencouraged to personally erators. Electricity is essential for the other shrimp-growingcompaniesinthat, manage the new shrimp farms-a coop­ pond's aeration floats (eight per pond), as a cooperativeventurewithlocal farm­ erative concept designed to maximize which maintaina healthy flow ofoxygen ers, it is spared onerous land purchase profits for both farm owners and the to the water. costs and protracted negotiations. parent company. Ponds are stocked from Aquastar's Followingthe surveyingand reorgan­ shrimp hatchery, which obtains brood Taiwanese Competition izationoflandownership, Aquastarpro­ stock from the Andaman Sea. The 10­ Following Aquastar's success, other videdtraining for pondownersinshrimp tankhatchery produces 30 million fry per large shrimp-rearingcompaniestargeted cultivation while constructing the ponds. month, running continuous batches over the Ranod-HuaSaiarea. However, prime Groups of40 farmers were given a 20­ a 6-day period before transferring them shrimp-growing areas arelimited. North day training course at company head­ into a nursery for 15-18 days. From the ofHua Sai, shrimp farming is generally quarters-halfinclassroominstruction, nursery the shrimp are moved to grow­ carried out by traditional methods in half in practical field work. Aquastar outponds, where they are fed five times mangroveareas from the PakpanangDis­