Aquaculture of white shrimp Penaeus vannamei in Thailand.

Aquaculture production in Thailand has been practiced for a long time. Thailand has a huge flood plain, long riverine stretches, natural lakes, reservoirs and brackish-water areas along the coastline. On the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea there are approximately 2,600 kms of shoreline. Marine shrimp farming in Thailand has been part of the culture for the last 80 years (Tookwinas, 1994). However, the technology of intensive shrimp farming has expanded significantly along the coastal province in the last two decades. Presently, Thailand has become the leading country in shrimp production in the world market since 1991 (World Shrimp Farming, 2004) with a total production area of approximately 75,000 ha and 30,800 farmers and production of 330,000 tons in 2003. Recent statistics show that 37 percent of shrimp farmers are small operators utilizing a farming area less than 0.8 ha, the area between 0.8–1.6 ha of 28%, the area between 1.6–4.8 ha of 24% and the area over 4.8 ha of 11% (National Statistical Office, 2000). The farming species are Penaeus monodon and P. vannamei. More than 95 percent of marine farming production has been exported frozen, headless and with the shell on. The importing countries are United States, Japan, European Countries, Canada and etc