Shrimps are valuable nutritional, economic and cultural components of the world’s food supply. Although shrimps make up only 4% of the world fisheries by weight, their monetary value is 11% of total commercial fisheries (2019). Shrimp aquaculture has greatly increased in recent years, so now that it is more than double that of shrimp fisheries in production and economic value. “Warm-water species” with “r-selected” life-history traits (penaeids and a sergestoid shrimp, Acetes japonicus) dominate shrimp fisheries. However, “cold-water” species with “K-selected” traits (mainly pandalid carideans) remain important. Bottom trawling by otter and beam trawls; skimmer, butterfly and fyke (stow) nets; and traps (pots) are the major methods used in commercial and artisanal fishing. The small-scale artisanal shrimp aquaculture practiced for centuries in southeast Asia has been dwarfed in recent years by expansion of high intensity culture. Improved technological methods for aeration, nutrition, and waste control have allowed development of massive ponds with high-density culture. Control of bacterial and viral diseases, exacerbated by high-density culture and biosecurity issues, is an ongoing task. A relatively few penaeid species compose the bulk of shrimp culture, although the warm-water carideans (Macrobrachium species) support a significant freshwater aquaculture industry. On the downside, both shrimp fisheries and shrimp aquaculture have considerable environmental impacts (e.g., wasted fishery bycatch and discard pollution; disturbance of bottom habitats by trawling; contamination by aquaculture waste water; loss of vital wetlands). However, these and other impacts can be ameliorated if shrimp industries and national governments apply solutions that are already available. |
