Farmed vannamei shrimp

Bahia seeks to reactivate its shrimp farming industry

BRAZIL
Friday, February 22, 2019, 22:40 (GMT + 9)

About 80 percent of dried shrimp and 50 percent of fresh shrimp consumed today in Bahia come from other areas of the country, a worrying situation for a state that came to occupy the third position among the largest farmed shrimp producers in Brazil.

Shrimp farming in the state of Bahia fell sharply in the last ten years, going from about 8,000 tonnes per year to less than 2,500 tonnes in 2016. Between 2017 and 2018 the sector began to register a slight rebound, but not very significant, Correio reported.

According to data from the Shrimp Producers Association of Bahia (ACCBA), total shrimp production did not exceed 3,500 tonnes last year. This volume represents less than 6 percent of Brazilian production, and places Bahia in seventh place in the national ranking of crustacean producers, even behind other states with much less extensive littoral strips, such as Sergipe and Paraíba.

The northeast region is still responsible for 98.8 percent of the national production of shrimp, but the largest producers are Rio Grande do Norte (37.86 percent) and Ceará (28.9 percent), followed by Sergipe, Piauí, Paraíba and Pernambuco

Among the geographical aspects it is possible to emphasize that Bahia is the fifth state of the country in territorial extension and corresponds to 36.3% of the total area of the Northeast of Brazil and 6.64% of the national territory.

The sharp decline in shrimp production is due to a combination of factors. It started with white spot disease, caused by a virus capable of causing losses of up to 90 percent in production.

This virus was detected for the first time in 1993 in Asia, and in Brazil it killed about 30,000 tonnes of shrimp in Ceará in 2017. In Bahia, the virus reached a segment already affected by other problems.

Furthermore, an article published in the newspaper Correio states that the shrimp industry in Bahia has been facing consecutive crises of regulation. In the last 13 years, in order to renew or apply for licenses, shrimp farmers had to go through a new licensing process, which established other production rules. Authorities and producers disagreed with the requirements for licenses.

White spot is a disease produced by the virus of the syndrome of the white spots (white spot syndrome virus - WSSV), and produces high mortality in postlarvae and juvenile shrimp (it can be close to 100% in a few days); is of acute course and is transmitted horizontally or vertically (zooplankton, contaminated water ►

While the situation was not resolved, the sector began to operate under the protection of provisional decisions, which may fall after the case has its merit judged. Thus, many farms are still operating thanks to appeals.

With an uncertain legal situation, the producers reduced theirs investments and more than 20 farms changed activity. Until last year, new regulatory decrees were published by the State Government and the situation began to change. Among the measures, the rules went on to frame shrimp farming as an activity with a medium potential to pollute the environment, whereas before it was considered high potential.

However, representatives of the segment say that the determinations have not yet been enough to take advantage of the resumption of production.

"The situation has improved, in the last two years we have managed to increase production using new technologies, and last year, a few producers have already obtained licenses for projects, but the studies required to obtain these licenses have a high cost, making it unviable for micro and small producers," explains Bruno Pinho, director of the ACCBA.

Representatives of the official bodies responsible for promoting the activity admit the problem. "In fact, the process for implementing shrimp farming projects in the state still does not have the bureaucratic facilities and the costs that we would like," acknowledged Eduardo Rodrigues, president of Bahia Pesca.

"The shrimp farming industry in the state is a sleeping giant, we need to awaken the potential of this activity, which has everything to become the great promoter of the agribusiness in Bahia. Our expectation is that by the end of 2020 we can double both the production area and the estimated production, and get to produce more than 8,000 tonnes per year," he added.

At present, the only species cultivated in Bahia is the white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei, a species that is more profitable than smaller shrimp because it can be used in export markets. 

To overcome the obstacles and increase the efficiency of their farms, producers are investing in new technologies as a business strategy. With more profitable and sustainable modern techniques, which also reduce the environmental impact with the use of water recirculation systems, it is possible to increase production by up to 20 times using the same area. According to the ACCBA, about 10 farms in Bahia have already implemented the system.

Read the full Correio article here (in Portuguese)

editorial@seafood.media
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