ASEAN-SEAFDEC Project
Mangrove-friendly shrimp culture
A collaboration that is partially funded by the Government of Japan

SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department in the Philippines takes centerstage in reviving the shrimp industry through an environment-friendly farming system. The experimental farm shown at left has provisions for water and effluent treatment.

Shrimp farming is a major dollar earner for Southeast Asia. However, recent disease outbreaks and production failures have made it increasingly clear that the sustainability of shrimp farming depends on the highest regard for the environment -- both within and outside the farm. Interest is therefore high within the entire Southeast Asian region for countries to collaborate with each other and find ways to make shrimp farming benign to the environment not least of which is the mangrove ecosystem.

It is in this light that SEAFDEC and ASEAN came up with a collaborative project which aims to develop sustainable shrimp culture technology packages to address the said problems.

At present, two state-of-the-art technologies have already been developed and verified:

• Closed recirculating shrimp farming
• Partial/low-discharge shrimp system