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Tropical shrimps
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Scientific name:
Penaeus chinensis (Chinese white shrimp),
Metapenaeus monoceros (Speckled shrimp), Litopenaeus vannamei
(Pacific white shrimp), Fenneropenaeus indicus (Indian white
shrimp), Penaeus monodon (Black tiger shrimp)
Market Names:
Black tiger shrimp, Tiger prawn, white
shrimp, Ebi
Summary:
Although shrimp are considered
to be resilient to over fishing due to their short lifespan
and high rate of reproductions, their fishing negatively effects
in environment in a number of different ways. Both those that
are farmed and wild caught should be avoided.
Wild caught tropical shrimp are caught using trawling and account
for 27% of the worlds by-catch or as much as 10kgs of discarded
sea-life for every kilogram of shrimp. This sea life is returned
to the ocean often dying or dead.
The practice of farming tropical shrimp effects the surrounding
habitats and population in a number of different ways. Shrimp
farms use large amounts of fresh water which could other wise
be used for agricultural purposes or human consumption, often
leading locals to be short of water. These farms also poison
the land with high quantities of salt that come from the shrimp
living the end part of their life in saltwater. The salt can
not only ruin the land on the a short term basis for any agricultural
use but it can leech into the local fresh water supply along
with chemicals that are used in the raising of shrimp.
Perhaps, the biggest effect that shrimp farming has on the environment
with through the replacement of native mangrove forests with
shrimp farms. It is estimated that in Indonesia and Southeast
Asia, where 80 percent (the remaining 20 percent are located
mostly in Latin America) of the world’s shrimp farms are
located, over one third of the mangrove forests had been replaced
for use by shrimp farming. The consequence of removing the mangroves,
which act as a natural barrier, put humans at a higher risk
from tsunamis and cyclones. Mangroves dense root systems help
to spread and to dissipate the force of tsunamis and cyclone
storm surges, thus they are able to better protect the population
that live behind them. This example has played itself out a
number of times over the past few decades with untold consequences.
Thus explaining why in some native languages their word for
mangrove translates to “that which protects us from tsunamis”.
Biology:
Shrimp reach sexual maturity in 5-11 months
and can live in the wild for up to 2 years.
Alternatives:
Cold-water shrimp caught using sustainable
methods.
Sources:
www.fishonline.org
www.montereybayaquarium.org
Petrini, Carlo, Slow Food Nation, pp.110-113
www.nautilus.org |
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