Seawater irrigation systems for intensive marine shrimp farming in Thailand

The aim of the seawater irrigation system (SIS) is to clean up shrimp pond effluent and provide high quality seawater for shrimp farming. The system has 3 components: water intake; treatment reservoir and discharge system. There are criteria for site selection because shrimp farmers are required to form associations so they can work closely together. The construction site must be on the coastal area outside a mangrove forest and located away from a production agricultural area. All construction sites must have undergone an environmental impact assessment, and should be located on the area listed in Thailand's Coastal Zone Management Plan. Five SIS projects, which cover a culture area of 6,500 ha with 1,300 farmers (families), were completed and operated. The Department of Fisheries has planned for another 28 projects, that will cover almost 44,000 ha of culture area

Closed-recirculating shrimp farming system

This collaborative SEAFDEC/ASEAN project aimed to develop sustainable shrimp culture technology packages to address the problems in shrimp culture (e.g. discharges from shrimp farms threatening mangrove and marine ecosystems, clearing of mangrove forests to make way for shrimp ponds, etc.). In this context, a closed recirculating shrimp farming system is discussed touching on: pond preparation, water preparation, stocking, feeding, management, DO level, problems, record keeping, and harvesting

Marine shrimp culture industry of Thailand: operating guidelines for shrimp farms.

The marine shrimp industry in Thailand had developed a code of conduct for its operations. This code of conduct is a set of principles and processes that provides a framework to meet the industry’s goal for environmental, social, and economic responsibility. The foundation of the code of conduct is the following mission statement. The marine shrimp farming industry in Thailand is committed to producing high quality, hygienic products in a sustainable manner that provides for environmental, social, and economic benefits for the present and future generations. Policy statements have been formulated to outline actions that the industry will undertake to meet its commitments under the mission statement. These policy statements cover a broad range of topics, including: environmental protection, public consultation, regulatory compliance, location, quality and safety, continual improvement, efficiency, research and development, social responsibility, monitoring and auditing, education and training, international trade. The code of conduct is voluntary, but it has been signed by a wide variety of industry stakeholders. The code commits the signatories to specific actions, including the development of a series of operating guidelines and procedural manuals. These actions will aid the industry in carrying out its operations in a manner consistent with the objectives of the code of conduct

Seafarming and searanching in Thailand

Seafarming is undertaken in the coastal sublittoral zone. Different marine organisms such as molluscs, estuarine fishes, shrimps (pen culture), and seaweeds are cultured along the coast of Thailand. Seafarming, especially for mollusc, is the main activity in Thailand. The important species are blood cockle, oyster, green mussel, and pearl oyster. In 1988, production was approximately 51,000 metric tons in a culture area of 2,252 hectares.Artificial reefs have been constructed in Thailand since 1987 to enhance coastal habitats. Larvae of marine organisms have also been restocked in the artificial reef area

Commerical cockle farming in Southern Thailand

Translated from Tha

Mitigation plan on the use of mangroves for aquaculture: Thailand.

Mangrove forest is one of the important coastal natural resources of Thailand, however, mangrove forests have deteriorated very rapidly at a rate of more than 50% of the mangrove loss during 1961–1996. The utilization and destruction of mangrove forest has been seriously discussed in many fora. Shrimp farming is one activity, which has disturbed the mangrove forests. According to the inventory and analysis of LANDSAT5 TM satellite imagery data of 1993, only 17.49% of shrimp farms are located in mangrove forests and only 7.36% in the productive area. In addition 10.10% of shrimp farms are in unproductive or upland area, which have been leased legally by the farmers. Therefore, the Royal Thai Government has been working closely with the local communities and NGOs to implement a mangrove reforestation program targeting a replanting of 24,394.64 ha. As a result, the mangrove area has increased to 252,750.88 ha in 2001

Coastal aquaculture in Thailand

The coastal area has been explored for aquaculture and coastal aquaculture has expanded quite rapidly in Thailand. The economically important culture species are shrimp (Penaeus monodon), sea bass (Lates calcarifer), and two species of grouper (Epinephelus malabaricus and L. salmoides). The area for marine shrimp culture in 1989 was around 78,209 hectares with a production of 100,000 tons. Approximately 40% of these ponds, by area, is under intensive shrimp cultivation. The average survival rate was reported to be 40-80% with a production of 6 tons per hectare. Sea bass and grouper are mainly cultured in cages. Two cage sizes are used: 10 x 10 x 2 and 5 x 5 x 2 meters. In 1988, the production was about 1,034 and 357 tons for sea bass and grouper, respectively

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

Seawater irrigation system for intensive marine shrimp farming in Thailand

The aim of the seawater irrigation system (SIS) is to clean up shrimp pond effluent and provide high quality seawater for shrimp farming. The system has 3 components: water intake; treatment reservoir and discharge system. There are criteria for site selection because shrimp farmers are required to form associations so they can work closely together. The construction site must be on the coastal area outside a mangrove forest and located away from a production agricultural area. All construction sites must have undergone an environmental impact assessment, and should be located on the area listed in Thailand's Coastal Zone Management Plan. Five SIS projects, which cover a culture area of 6,500 ha with 1,300 farmers (families), were completed and operated. The Department of Fisheries has planned for another 28 projects, that will cover almost 44,000 ha of culture area