From: Autrand Michel <autr1298@eurobretagne.fr>
To: AQUA-L@LISTSERV.ifmt.nf.ca
STATUS OF FISH FARMING IN ASIA
I am more "negative" than Bob Rosenberry regarding the whole situation. Asian production fell down now for three years and last year the production drop in Thailand was really a crash.
I was in Malaysia last week for a shrimp farm assessment. After visiting some farms and talking with Officials (Pulau Sayak Center), I think the situation is really worrying too. Firstly because 90 per cent of the farms are constructed on mangrove areas and have a lot of acidic problems. Secondly, the country is really booming from an industrial point of view and many farms are badly located within polluting areas (effluent discharge is also a big problem). Thirdly, Whitspot virus is already affecting most of the farms except Sabah / Sarawak (Borneo island) where the Department of Fisheries has prohibited movements with peninsular Malaysia.
Regarding Thailand, even if some (good) progress are recorded in minimizing virus impact, the task is hard and nobody knows what will be the future of the virus and if new techniques will allow to improve the situation. Is it realistic to said the virus is already overcome ? As Whitespot crisis is sporadic, it is too early to know if situation will improve. New techniques are reducing rearing areas (about 15 to 20 per cent of the farms are occupied by reservoir), limiting density and period of growth... all these new (and very positive) factors will necessary induce a shrimp production drop even without virus outbreak. What is your opinion ? what about new projects in Thailand today ?
In India the situation is more than worrying. After a terrible cyclone
(November) now the Supreme Court ordered that intensive farms located within 500 m of the high tide level should cease operations by March 31'97 (for limiting environmental and social degradation). More than 65 per cent of Indian farms are concerned... If this decision is confirmed, Indian shrimp farming industry will collapse (for several years).
Bangladesh and Vietnam have many problems like pollution, environmental degradation (mainly in the Mekong delta), and always diseases...
In Indonesia, do you have an idea of the real production of these two big farms (23 000 ha and 16 000 in Sumatra ?). One is working for several years but I do not see a big increase in the Indonesian production.
Sri lanka, big problems; Philippines, big problems (even if this country seems to be whitespot free, there is strong disease due to luminescent bacteria). Only China is now better and Government has very ambitious plans to develop aquaculture.
In conclusion the picture is not really bright. Most of Asian countries are presently strongly affected by environmental issues and virus diseases. Nobody can expect short term improvement. Big pressures are now generated by environmentalists on Governments to regulate shrimp farming. Recent collapses prove that current intensive shrimp farming techniques can not be indefinitely sustained. What are the solutions?
I personally think that there are solutions through another approach of
shrimp farming, probably less profitable but much more sustainable. Choice of semi-intensive techniques, carrying capacity studies of potential areas, good site selection and management techniques, domestication (through broodstock rearing) etc. Techniques exist.
Sorry to be so negative but I hope that many people will have comments and open a discussion on this topic.
Michel Autrand
Shrimp Culture Expert
11 Rue Michel Ange - 29 200 Brest / France
Tel.: (33) 2 98 45 35 63
Fax: (33) 2 98 49 80 36
E-mail: autr1298@eurobretagne.fr
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