To Eat or Not To Eat?
That is the question when it comes to farmed shrimp. As referenced by many, there is a negative history of farmed shrimp production that is very serious and very real. There is no question that the operation of too many farms in certain areas has resulted in the destruction of mangroves, pollution being released to the surrounding environment, and significant social impacts. In extreme cases, people have been killed in the heated conflicts that have taken place between shrimp farmers and the communities.
Most of this happened during the early 1990’s, during the shrimp gold rush, when shrimp prices were very high and many were trying to produce as much shrimp as quickly as possible. At that time, it was actually profitable to build a farm and produce only one crop out of it, often destroying the environment in the process, and then simply move on to a new site for the next crop.
But that was over 20 years ago and the question is how much of this still holds true today? Does shrimp farming have any hope for ever being a sustainable product?
For starters, let’s consider the biology of shrimp. Shrimp are not top-level predators and are in fact bottom feeders that, if grown in the right densities, do not even require feed. Thus, they do not need lots of wild fish as fishmeal to be grown and, depending on the farming techniques, do not necessarily create pollution. It all comes to down to farm site location and how many are grown together.
Furthermore, let’s consider how shrimp are farmed and what they are farmed in. As a general rule, anything can be produced very poorly or very well. Shrimp are no different. You can have anything from the ugly hard-core industrial feed lots that rely on heavy antibiotic use to ponds that have green banks and trees growing along side. Sometimes farms can also be integrated into mangrove areas, requiring no external inputs such as feed or chemicals – a technique known as a silvofishery. Shrimp can also be grown with other fish in polyculture systems.
Finally, there are currently over 300,000 producers in the world, most of which are actually quite small. This allows for ample opportunities to create collaborations that foster a sustainable shrimp industry, if the supply chain is willing to step up to the plate and provide the necessary support to allow such small players to have a chance at competing in the marketplace.
There is no doubt that working towards solutions is hard and westerners have a tendency to point out difficult problems, which is certainly important, but a harder action is take this knowledge and apply in such a way that works to foster solutions. We have reached a point as a species where our problems are very difficult and complicated and, therefore, will also be difficult and complicated to solve. These problems will NOT be solved overnight. It will take time and there will need to be a progression of steps towards a solution, the most important of which being consumers, buyers, and the entire supply chain taking responsibility for their part.
Today, the shrimp farming industry operates on very thin margins due to low prices compared to those of the early 1990’s, which, thankfully, has resulted in a cessation of the gold rush mentality that was to blame for many of the industry’s worst offenses.
In some cases, governments have made changes to address the problems that previously plagued the industry. In Thailand, for example, the government put in a standard called “Thai GAP” which is mandatory for all farms and seeks to control effluents, use of antibiotics, and other important factors. While it’s clear that this standard does not solve all of the issues, it is a step forward that deserves recognition for its improvement of the Thai shrimp industry, especially relative to other countries in the region such as China, Vietnam, and Indonesia that have done less to address these issues.
Finally, the shrimp aquaculture dialogue standards for the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) are soon to be finalized and farms are expected to be certified to these standards later this year or in early 2014. The ASC standards were developed by an unprecedented collaboration between industry players and environmental groups such as Oxfam, IUCN, WWF, and the Seafood Watch program. These standards will feature certain requirements for the first time, such as a Biodiversity Environmental Impact Assessment as well as a Participatory Social Impact Assessment. Farms certified to the ASC standard will be producing shrimp in the best way currently possible, giving consumers the information and power to make a better shrimp choice.
While it’s critical that we don’t forget the past, it’s equally critical that we do not obstruct the future by dwelling on the past, especially in areas where there has been acknowledgement of the issues and important steps have been taken to make improvements. There is no inherent reason why shrimp farming cannot be sustainable, but there is also no question that this future will not be realized if effort is not put forth to find innovative solutions across the supply chain that ensure greater environmental and social sustainability of the industry.
In short, let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. We need as many legitimate food productions systems that we can get and this can be one of them if the effort is put forth to realize this goal. Keep in mind that no change is possible without the action of those who purchase these products. To support sustainable aquaculture, buy better shrimp!