Aqua culture farms leave fishers in deep waters

According to NJ Bose, president of Rameswaram Port Mechanised Boat Fishermen Association, Ramanathapuram is known for flower shrimp production that largely caters to global consumers. However, in the recent years, the demand has gone down substantially, as exporters prefer L Vannamei that is grown in aqua farms. Due to this, the procurement price of marine shrimp landed on the shores of Rameswaram, Mandapam and Pamban has declined by Rs 40 to Rs 50 a kg, he said. This may go down even further, as the season would go on till July end, Bose added.

Four export traders, including one from Kerala, had been determining the market value of marine shrimp.

While one kilogram of marine shrimps, about 10 pieces, costs Rs 700, farm shrimp is available at Rs 400. Another factor that drives their choice is availability of farm shrimps throughout the year to cater to the demands of buyers globally. TR Sudhakaran Nair, a shrimp exporter from Ramanathapuram, said there was a high demand for cultured shrimp from buyers in Japan, US, Europe, Middle East and Far East countries. Apart from availability, they are also of uniform size, which helps the exporters.

However, added D Durairaj, an exporter from Thoothukudi, the demand has come down. Concurring with him, Sudhakaran Nair said the export has fallen by 10 per cent. Another exporter, J Robert from Mandapam in Ramanathapuram, said the export and price were brought down by competition from other countries. “Countries such as Thailand and Ecuador have been involved in bulk production of shrimp, proving to be a tough competition for us,” Robert said. After the conclusion of the harvest season by the end of July, the exporters here would be affected, as they would have to rely on the farms in Andhra Pradesh for procurement, he added.

But it is not all rosy for the shrimp farms either. Cultured shrimps at some locations were vulnerable to white spot syndrome, a bacterial infection, reducing their productivity. According to B Gunalan, assistant professor, Department of Zoology, Thiru Kolanjiappar Government Arts College, Virudhachalam, L Vannamei was vulnerable to this due to high stocking density.

Nicholas, shrimp buying agent from Salem, opined that such disease could be a localised outbreak, but not an epidemic.