Sustainable shrimp farming in the dry tropics: third generation shrimp farming technology

摘要

In considering the recent outbursts of public concern about the apparent laisser faire attitude of the marine shrimp farming industry that have sometimes resulted in auto-pollution and a lack of sustainability, we should not forget that many experienced aquaculture advisors, consultants and project managers identified the problem many years ago. These individuals stated their alarm and concern clearly and publicly. I remember well that a decade ago, Imre Csavas, at that time the FAO Regional Aquaculture Officer based in Bangkok, was already expressing his fear about greed and carelessness being the source of environmental disasters. In the 1980s, these common faults led to the demise of most of the shrimp farming industry in Taiwan. General auto-pollution of shrimp farming sites had caused endless sanitary problems that were too often and too easily blamed on so-called "viruses". When we read the analysis of this Taiwanese drama by Csavas (1990), we can only be impressed by his thorough understanding of the problem and by the clairvoyance of his prediction for the future (see sidebar). Unfortunately, time has proved him correct in his expectation that similar disasters, now compounded by socio-economic problems, would occur in other countries where shrimp farming was introduced.