Nearly 40 years ago, Thailand recognized a problem: many nearshore fisheries habitats were being endangered by destructive fishing practices that destroyed the mangroves.
When commercial shrimp farming was introduced in Asian countries to provide an economic opportunity for export, Thai officials realized that farming could further decimate the habitat and the mangrove forests, since shrimp farming is blamed for worldwide destruction of 38 percent of the world’s mangroves.
At least 20 years ago, in most cases, the Thai government launched Royal Projects throughout Thailand to correct the damage, prevent further damage and help restore habitat, and in the process, restore some marine fisheries. Besides reclamation, King Bhumibol Adulyadej expects the royal pilot projects to be used as models to show how fishing and fish farming practices can be conducted in a sustainable fashion.
The deep and high mangrove roots not only help protect the shore from a measure of destruction during severe storm events, but provide protective nurseries for many species. Mangroves are considered some of the most productive ecosystems on the planet – besides buffering against hurricanes and tsunamis, they sequester huge amounts of carbon.
The Kung Krabaen Royal Development Study Center in Chanthaburi Province along the Gulf of Thailand, is one of roughly 3,000 royal projects. This one features a model shrimp farm and a once-heavily damaged shoreline that has been reclaimed by planting two species of mangroves in the brackish water.
Figure 1. Bang Phat village, a royal project, has restored the traditional crab fishery, the mangroves along the coastline and added “crab banks” to allow egged female crabs to deposit eggs, and for eggs to hatch. Villagers then release the tiny crabs into the bay. Villagers also do some fish farming and have added a little tourism to their economic mix.
“It’s a sustainable system, a good model. We have a closed system for shrimp, the shrimp residue provides organic fertilizer with which we can grow organic mushrooms and rice, and feed for livestock for human consumption,” said the center’s manager. “If villagers produce more than they can use, they can sell it. And the mangrove trail is a living museum.”
Shrimp top-seller
For several years now, shrimp has been the biggest-selling seafood in the U.S. Although New England and the Atlantic Canadian provinces have important fisheries for the tiny, sweet Pandalus borealis, the bulk of the shrimp sold in the U.S. and Canada is bigger, similar to those harvested by southern shrimpers in the Gulf of Mexico. And most of the shrimp sold in the U.S. and Canada are not wild-caught at all, but farmed in several Asian and South American countries.
Americans have consumed 4.1 pounds of shrimp per capita for the past several years, with “one of the highest consumption rates in the world,” said Eric Schwaab, NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service.
Figure 2. Crab bank at the Bang Phat village includes some giant shrimp. These shrimp had nearly disappeared from Thai waters but now appear in sufficient numbers to support small commercial fisheries in some Thai harbors. Harvests are sold domestically because stocks don’t support a fishery large enough for export.
By far, the largest percentage of imported, farmed shrimp comes to the U.S. from Thailand – around 445 million pounds (201.8 million kg) annually. Thailand exports more than one-third of its farmed shrimp to the U.S. and according to statistics supplied by Tanida Sitchawat, first secretary for agriculture at the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington, D.C. Thailand is also the biggest supplier of frozen shrimp to Canada (15.2 million kg or 3.3 million lbs. in 2010) – more than double the next closest exporter, Vietnam.
Several years ago, Thai shrimp farms were criticized in a report for allowing labor practices such as forced labor for refugees from Myanamar, and for employing children. Experts close to the Thai industry say the charges were exaggerated, involved only a small number of shrimp plants, and occurred mostly where work was outsourced, and were dealt with immediately when they were discovered. To restore the industry’s reputation and out of concern for citizens, during the past decade the government has passed many additional laws to protect workers and children.
Asian shrimp farming countries also were criticized for using unsafe levels of antibiotics and other chemicals deemed harmful and banned by the U.S. The Thai industry and government worked quickly to turn the situation around, making every effort to insure production of a high-quality, chemical-free, environmentally sustainable product.
“Our aim is for every farm to produce all natural shrimp, sustainably grown,” said a Thai Department of Agriculture official. Farms wishing to sell to U.S. and E.U. markets must meet stringent rules for certification under national good agricultural practices (GAP). All plants also must meet the U.S. federal HACCP inspection standard, good management practices (GMP), other E.U. requirements, as well as Thai Code of Conduct (COC) rules. Thai plants also meet several International Organization for Standardization (ISO) criteria.
From the tiniest independent farms to a 1,000-acre, indoor biosecure farm, samples from every harvest of shrimp grown in Thailand are tested by government labs – spotless high-tech, state-of-the-art facilities – for banned chemicals and other contaminants. Farms are also inspected regularly for hygiene and GAPs.
Figure 3. A department of fisheries employee displays two giant clams during an official ceremony in Phuket, Thailand, presided over by the director general of the Thai Department of Fisheries. Many of the clams, grown out from seed in government labs, were returned to the sea. These clams hardly move from their resting place on the bottom and when they reach full size, measure up to five feet across. Their primary predator is man, but since the shells don’t close fully, sea turtles nibble on their tissue. Another predaator is a small snail that gets inside their shell. Each clam wears an electronic informational device that includes the clam’s age, size and date it was transferred to the sea.
Approximately 80 percent of Thai shrimp farms now use reduced water exchange systems, far more than farms in any other shrimp-growing country. Farms use a combination of settling ponds and fish to clean the water for recycling or reuse in shrimp-growing ponds.
Education & tourism
At Kung Krabaen, where many thousands of mangroves were planted, oysters grow on strings in an outlet canal to further clean the water and decrease plankton. Egg-bearing swimming crabs are returned to the water so their eggs can hatch. Artificial reefs are constructed near natural coral reefs to provide habitat for the endangered giant clam and other species. While some land was taken for the reclamation project, officials say what’s left is more productive and profitable for the residents. In three villages inside the project area, 57 families operate marine fish farms, mostly grouper. And it’s a four-season camping area for tourists.
The mangrove reclamation area covers 247 acres now, but researchers plan to plant another 200 acres. The multipurpose center allows tourists to kayak through the mangrove forests, and encourages them to plant a mangrove seedling or release small fish into the bay. Visitors may also take a self-guided mangrove forest study hike along a 1-mile long boardwalk, and climb a tall tower with sweeping views of the bay and forests.
While the center offers education for tourists, it also illustrates for local residents of the 23 villages in the region the value of protecting and restoring the environment, and shows how fishing and fish farming can co-exist without doing ecological harm.
Another, smaller, royal project returned several species of fish to the area surrounding a 100-year-old village built on posts adjacent to an island in Phang Nga province. The crab fishermen of Bang Phat village saw their traditional crab harvest shrinking and the mangroves near shore disappearing. As part of the reclamation and shrimp farming project, they learned to build pens to grow out the tiny crabs caught in their gillnets, rather than waste those too small for market. They call it the “crab bank.”
“Villagers are now seeing species they haven’t seen for 40 years,” said Adhinand Indrapim, fisheries biologist with the Fisheries Foreign Affairs Division of the Thai Department of Fisheries. Residents of the tiny village proudly show visitors their new practices and the results of the project. As well as knowledge of how to properly handle resources, all the royal projects aim to instill pride in the people of the surrounding communities.
Figure 4. Members of the Sureerat family stand before some of their shrimp farm’s ponds. Theirs is the largest organic shrimp farm in Thailand. Agricultural officials anticipate a trend toward organic shrimp due to market demand. Nets above ponds discourage most of the birds from preying on shrimp. Aerators run almost constantly in all shrimp ponds to keep oxygen in the water
Most women in this Muslim village wear veils, but don’t cover their faces or take a passive role. The village chief is a Muslim woman. Women pick crabs alongside men, run shops and “home stays” – the equivalent of bed-and-breakfasts.
Moving toward organics
Several commercial shrimp farms throughout Thailand have switched to production of organic shrimp and that’s expected to be a growing trend, since the organic designation adds value and further protects the environment, said representatives of the Thai Department of Agriculture.
The Sureerat family farm in Chanthaburi Province, the largest organic shrimp farm in Thailand, has 133 growout ponds and allows no wastewater discharge into the environment. Feed for the shrimp comes from natural seaweed, fish and fish oils and other ingredients certified as organic by Naturland, the Germany-based international certifying agency.
Their farm exemplifies many facets of Thai life. Three generations of the Sureerat family live together in a big house. Each has a separate “apartment” with living room, bedrooms and bath, but all share a large living room, dining room and kitchen. All the adult family members are involved in running the farm.
The industry started out by growing Black Tiger shrimp, but Vannemei, or white shrimp, are the most frequently grown in Thailand now since they are more resistant to disease and grow to market size more quickly. But Black Tiger shrimp are prized, so the Sureerats are growing both, figuring the longer grow-out time will work with an organic product that carries a higher price. Much of their shrimp goes to the Chinese “live” market for a 10- to 20-percent higher price, so the shrimp are transported, similar to U.S. and Canadian lobster, to be kept alive in tanks when they reach market.
From the feed plants, to the hatcheries and nurseries, through the growout phase and all the way through processing, Thai shrimp are monitored and inspected. Every step in the growing and transportation process in all Thai shrimp farming is documented for traceability. Because of the consistently warm climate, all Thai shrimp farmers may grow shrimp year-round, so harvests can be staggered to meet market needs.
Importers close to the Thai industry say the country’s attention to sanitation, BAPs, quality and traceability are the reasons most U.S. and Canadian shrimp come from Thailand.
“We want every shrimp from Thailand to be of the highest quality,” said Rapibhat Chandarasivonga, minister of agriculture with the Office of Agricultural Affairs, Royal Thai Embassy, Washington, D.C. “We want to be the kitchen to the world.”
(Ed. note: I traveled to Thailand in February to visit shrimp farms, federal fisheries labs, processing plants and royal reclamation projects. While there, I interviewed scientists, agricultural and fisheries managers, fishermen and residents of villages where reclamation projects are taking place.)
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