Aero-Tube

“In about a year, we converted 80% of the hatcheries
in Mexico to Aero-Tube.”

At “Aquaculture 2009”, the recent World Aquaculture Society conference in Seattle, Washington, USA (February 2009), I interviewed Ben Williams, business development manager for Aeration Products at Colorite Plastics, which markets Aero-Tube™, an alternative to paddlewheel and Venturi-type aeration systems.

Shrimp News: Tell me a little bit about your products and how shrimp farmers use them.

Ben Williams: The core of our product line is Aero-Tube, our diffuser tubing, invented and patented by Colorite over five years ago.  It offers almost no resistance to the flow of air so less expensive air blowers can be used to power it.  It’s used in our aeration bars, diffuser grids and airlift systems.  We focus on shrimp because the bubbles coming out of our tubing are much, much smaller in saltwater than in freshwater, which means much better oxygen transfer.

Some people say our systems don’t generate a current the way other aeration systems do.  But that’s not true.  Our airlift system generates a lot of flow.  It can have up to sixty meters of tubing in it.  We’ve done tests with a one-horsepower, three-grid airlift and it pushed water at a meter per second.  The other objection I hear all the time is that the Aero-Tube is going to clog.  That just doesn’t happen, especially when it’s running all the time.

Shrimp News: How long will Aero-Tube last under constant use in a hatchery tank or a growout pond?

Ben Williams: Up to five years under typical shrimp farming conditions.

Shrimp News: Do you sell the air blowers that work with your Aero-Tube products?

Ben Williams: Not as stand-alone products, but we do use blowers with low electrical consumption and high output in Aero-Tube airlift systems.

Shrimp News: Are hatcheries using Aero-Tube?

Ben Williams: Yes, hatcheries really like Aero-Tube.  In the past, hatcheries typically used air stones or drilled PVC to aerate their tanks, which meant big bubbles, high head pressure and a lot of wasted energy.  In Mexico, for example, they would use a ten-horsepower blower to aerate forty tanks.  With our equipment you can run eighty tanks on the same amount of electricity.  In about a year, we converted 80% of the hatcheries in Mexico to Aero-Tube.  Hatcheries typically use two meters of tubing for each meter of raceway or tank.  It’s not an expensive change over, and the payback is tremendous.  Once hatchery managers see Aero-Tube in action in one tank, they want it in every tank.

Shrimp News: How are farms using your equipment?

Ben Williams: On farms, I recommend airlift systems because they really move a lot of water.  A one-horsepower airlift will replace three, one-horsepower paddlewheels.  That’s because they’re more efficient.  Paddlewheels give you two and a half pounds of oxygen per hour per horsepower.  In full-strength seawater, our one-horsepower Aero-Tube Airlift gives you 13 or 14 pounds, more than five times as much.

Shrimp News: Earlier, you mentioned that you had a big sale in Vietnam.  Tell me about that.

Ben Williams: We did a trial in one pond, and the company bought 1,300 diffuser grids.  Afterward, they reported better food conversion ratios and better overall pond conditions.

Shrimp News: Have you done any cost comparisons between your systems and paddlewheels?

Ben Williams: Electrical costs for our airlift systems are one-third the cost of equally powered paddlewheel systems.  And there’s almost no maintenance with airlift systems.  We’ve all seen the paddlewheel graveyards around the world.  That doesn’t happen with Aero-Tube systems.

Information: To view videos of Aero-Tube in action go to Colorite Plastics’ Home Page, scroll to the bottom of the page and then click on the big green arrow in the lower right hand corner of the page.  Click here to see pictures of some of Colorite’s products for shrimp farmers.

Information: Ben Williams, Business Development Manager/Aeration Products, Colorite Plastics, 5804 Van Winkle Lane, Austin, Texas 78739, USA (office 1-512-494-5155, mobile 1-512-944-8192, Skype: ebwill1 www.aero-tube.com, email ben.williams@tekni-plex.com, webpage http://www.coloriteaerationtubing.com).

Information: John Cooksey, World Aquaculture Conference Management, P.O. Box 2302, Valley Center, CA 92082, USA (phone 760-751-5005, fax 760-751-5003, email worldaqua@aol.com, webpage http://www.was.org).

Source: Ben Williams.  Interview by Bob Rosenberry, Shrimp News International, Seattle, Washington, USA, February 18, 2009.

Country Reports

Australia

The Right to Name a New Species of Shrimp

Anna McCallum, a PhD candidate at Museum Victoria, which is responsible for the state of Victoria’s scientific and cultural collections, has discover a new species of shrimp and plans to auction off the right to name it on eBay.

Shrimp News contacted McCallumm, whose thesis title is “Exploring Decapod Diversity Along Australia’s Western Continental Margin”, for more information about the new shrimp.  She said:

It’s an adult female, about three centimeters long, with a carapace length of ten millimeters, captured in 2005 using a trawl net.  Only one animal was captured.  It’s in the genus Lebbeus and the family Hippolytidae.  Lebbeus shrimp are commonly known as anemone shrimp because they often live in association with anemones, sponges and sea lilies.  They occur across the world, live in shallow and deep water and have been found on seamounts.  Video cameras sent down to the habitat where this shrimp was collected show a soft muddy bottom with many anemones, so it is possible this shrimp lives among anemones.  One other thing—I have stipulated that the shrimp cannot be named after a commercial entity!

Famous Australian author Tim Winton, a failed vegetarian, who lives in Australia’s southwest said: “Who wouldn’t love this spotty little bugger?  Who wouldn’t want their name on it, and what kind of Australian could resist shelling out for the privilege of naming a crustacean?  It’ll be a stampede, so get your bid in early and go hard.”

The auction has started!  Click here to see the action.   In the page that appears, right in the center of the page, you’ll see a black rectangle containing the words “PLACE YOUR BID”.  Click on that rectangle, it will take you to the eBay page where the auction is taking place. 

Information: Anna McCallum, PhD Candidate, Science Department, Museum Victoria, 11 Nicholson Street, Carlton 3035, Australia (phone 61-8341-7440, email amccall@museum.vic.gov.au).

Source: Emails from Anna McCallum on March 17 and 18, 2009.

India

Chitosan—Removes Body Odor from Clothes

Chitosan, a chemical extracted from shrimp, crab and lobster shells, may be the answer to embarrassing body odor.  Chitosan-treated clothes are free of odor because chitosan has antimicrobial properties that destroy odor-producing bacteria.

Ahmedabad Textile Industry Research Association (ATIRA) plans to tie up with Ahmedabad-based Mack Pharma, Cochin-based India Sea Foods, Ltd., and a company in West Bengal to make chitosan-treated fabrics.  ATIRA has been working on the process since 1996.

Source: The Times of India.  Chemical removes body odour, heals wounds too.  March 5, 2009.

India

Update on Macrobrachium Book

The new book, Macrobrachium: The Culture of Freshwater Prawns, is now available from the World Aquaculture Society.  This arrangement makes it possible for overseas buyers to purchase the book without sending cash or exchanging currency.

Information: Dr. C. Mohanakumaran Nair, Dean (Faculty of Fisheries), Kerala Agricultural University, College of Fisheries, Kochi, Kerala 682 506, India (phone +91-484-2700337, cell +91-98470-23828, fax +91-484-2700337, email naircm@hotmail.com).

Source: Email from Dr. C. Mohanakumaran Nair to Shrimp News International on March 5, 2009.

Malaysia

Whitespot “Vaccine”

Dr. Phang Siew Moi, a University of Malaysia researcher, is working with a protein that acts like a vaccine against whitespot.  She said it’s based on “VP28, a viral coat protein”.  The project, which began in September 2007, is funded by Malaysia’s Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry and should be completed in November 2009.  The Ministry, in collaboration with Global Satria, Sdn., Bhd., a shrimp farming company, has already spent $274,000 on the $542,000 project.

Source: Bernama.com.  Vaccine to Fight Prawn Disease Discovered.  March 5, 2009.

Philippines

Mud Crab Farming

The province of Northern Samar on the island of Samar is one of the country’s leading suppliers of wild-caught mud crab (Scylla serrata) megalopa, the first postlarval stage of crabs.  Juan Albaladejo, regional director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), said, “Traders buy at $0.10 each and then illegally sell them in other areas of Visayas Islands and on the island of Luzon at $0.29 each.”  A provincial fishery ordinance in Northern Samar says that only larger, matchbox-size crablets can be exported from the province.  In 2007, between 150,000 and 250,000 megalopa were illegally shipped off the island every week.

In the meantime, BFAR is looking to expand mud crab production in Northern Samar to 2,000 hectares.  The province provides optimal conditions for mud crab fattening because of its ample coastal mangroves, the crab’s natural habitat.

Last year, crab farmers in some 20 coastal towns in Northern Samar harvested 13,000 metric tons of mud crabs.

In early 2007, the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center’s (SEAFDEC) Aquaculture Department and the Australian Center for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR) jointly implemented a project to enhance mud crab farming in Northern Samar.  The $68,300, 30-month project, which ended in November 2008, established demonstration crab farms in the towns of Laoang, Lavezares, Rosario and Pambujan.  It sponsored on-farm demonstrations of nursery and growout techniques and assessments of feeds and marketing.

BFAR says farmers must obtain large volumes of fish waste to feed the crabs.  Leftover fish from a sardine manufacturer in Northern Samar will be used to support the expanding industry.

Source: FIS United States.  Illegal shipments of mud crablets concern Govt.  Denise Recalde (email editorial@fis.com, webpage http://www.fis.com).  March 10, 2009.

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United States

Delaware—DuPont Releases Vibrio Test Kit

DuPont Qualicon has introduced a real-time PCR assay for Vibrio that produces results in less than 24 hours.  It can detect low levels of Vibrio cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus—from just one sample.  Its performance is equivalent to, or better than, the reference culture method that typically takes three to five days.

Information: Michael Chong, Asia Pacific Business Manager, DuPont Qualicon, 1 Harbour Front Place, #11-01 Harbour Front Tower One, Singapore 098633 (phone +65 6586 3635, fax +65 6586 3494, email qualicon.support@usa.dupont.com, webpage http://www2.dupont.com/DuPont_Home/en_US/index.html).

Source: Dupont’s Webpage.  DuPont Qualicon Releases BAX System Assay for Rapid Vibrio Detection.  February 23, 2009.

United States

Florida—Another Tiger Shrimp Catch

A shrimp fisherman recently caught an eight-ounce tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon), a nonindigenous species, off the east coast of central Florida.

Source: Seafood.com (an online, subscription-based, fisheries news service).  Bored at the end of the season, shrimp captain strikes it rich archeologically and with shrimp.  Editor and Publisher, John Sackton (phone 1-781-861-1441, email jsackton@seafood.com).  March 5, 2009.

United States

Maine—Maine Bait Bloodworms

Maine Bait, a family-owned business that has been in business since 1950, markets sandworms and bloodworms to shrimp maturation facilities around the world.

Wholesale Prices (insulated box included, shipping costs not included).

Bloodworms (Glycera dibranchiata):

Less than 100 pounds, $35.00 a pound

Over 100 pounds, $32.50 a pound

Over 250 pounds, $30.00 a pound

Over 400 pounds, $25.00 a pound

Sandworms (Nereis virens):

Less than 100 pounds, $25.00 a pound

Over 100 pounds, $22.50 a pound

Over 250 pounds, $20.00 a pound

Over 400 pounds, $15.00 a pound

Nutritional Analysis: Frozen Bloodworms: protein (19.84%), fat (1.44%), fiber (1.60%), ash (3.62%), moisture (71.42%).

Dried Bloodworms: protein (69.42%), fat (5.04%), fiber (5.60%), ash (12.67%).

Frozen Sandworm: protein (11.37%), fat (0.76%), fiber (0.90%), ash (6.24%), moisture (80.37%).

Dried Sandworms: protein (57.92%), fat (3.87%), fiber (4.58%), ash (31.79%).

Maine Bait’s bloodworms have been tested several times for yellowhead and whitespot viruses and have always been negative, probably because they come from cold waters (Lat 44° N) where those viruses are less common.

Shipping: UPS overnight or airline shipping by Maine Bait.

Information: Robin Brooks, Maine Bait, 150 Route 193, Deblois, Maine 04622, USA (phone 1-207-638-2073, fax 1-207-638-2073, email info@mainebait.com, webpage http://www.mainebait.com).

Sources: 1. Email from Robin Brooks to Shrimp News International on March 8, 2009.  2. Telephone conversation with Robin Brooks on March 9, 2009.  3. Maine Bait’s InfoPage on March 9, 2009.

United States

Texas—Farmed Shrimp Production in the USA

Granvil Treece, an Aquaculture Specialist at Texas A&M University, forwarded this report:

There has been a decline in USA farmed shrimp production since it peaked at 13 million pounds in 2003.  It declined to 7.8 million pounds in 2006, to 6 million pounds in 2007, and to an estimated 4.26 million pounds in 2008.  The decreased in 2008 was mainly the result of two large farms closing in Florida (both belonging to Ocean Boy Farms).  Most of the small shrimp farms in South Carolina have closed and other existing farms are struggling.  There is, however, a new $3-million farm being built in South Carolina that will use native postlarvae (Penaeus setiferus) to grow shrimp for the table market.  There is hope that super-intensive systems will revive the industry, but to date none of them has shown a profit.

Sources: Craig Collins, Desert Shrimp, Arizona; Dr. Ya-Sheng Juan, TPWD, Brownsville, Texas; Dr. David Teichert-Coddington, Greene Prairie Aquafarm, Alabama; Mark Godwin, Woods Fisheries, Florida; Al Stokes, South Carolina; Guy Furman, Kentucky; Dr. James Tidwell, Kentucky; Bob Rosenberry, Shrimp News International, San Diego, California; and Dr. Anthony Ostrowski, USMSFP, Hawaii.

Information: Granvil Treece, Aquaculture Specialist, Texas A&M University, Sea Grant College Program, 2700 Earl Rudder Freeway South, Suite 1800, College Station, Texas 77845, USA (phone 1-979-845-7527, fax 1-979-845-7525, email g-treece@neo.tamu.edu, website http://texas-sea-grant.tamu.edu).

Source: Emails to Shrimp News International from Granvil Treece on March 5 and 17, 2009.

United States

Washington DC—Two More Years for USDA Organic Certification

At “Aquaculture 2009”, the recent World Aquaculture Society conference in Seattle, Washington, USA (February 2009), George Lockwood—chairman of the Aquaculture Working Group on the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program, a past president of the World Aquaculture Society and a thirty-five-year advocate of responsible aquaculture in the United States—said:

The current version of the national organic standards is expected to go out for public comment again, soon.  All comments will be given serious consideration by the Aquaculture Working Group and the National Organic Program of the USDA, and they will go the Office of Management and Budget, which will circulate them among the government agencies that could be impacted by them, including, but not limited to, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Agriculture, the Corps of Engineers, the Small Business Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.

During the question and answer session that followed his presentation, Lockwood was asked:

A number of foreign countries are producing organic aquaculture products.  Are they allowed to market those products in the United States as “organic”?

Lockwood said “yes”, until the permanent organic standards are included in USDA’s Final Rule.  Foreign producers are not allowed to claim USDA certification, but they can market their products as organic.  We already have organic salmon coming into the USA from Scotland and Ireland.  Once the Department of Agriculture’s standards are handed down, however, foreign producers will have to be certified by the USDA.

Shrimp News asked Lockwood: How long do you think it will be until we have organic standards for aquaculture in the United States?

Lockwood said: The soonest would be a year-and-a-half, but if I had to make a guess, I would say two years.  Aqua farmers should take this time to develop their organic plans, which will have to be submitted to the government when they apply for organic certification.  After the final rules are handed down, farms will have to be certified by an independent, third-party certification agency.  Then they will be inspected once a year with an announced inspection and once a year with an unannounced inspection.  There will be a lot of record keeping.  There are already over 80 certification agencies accredited by USDA, most for terrestrial agriculture, so they will have to receive additional training to certify aquaculture facilities.

I really think USDA certified aquaculture products are going to provide a tremendous boost to seafood sales in the United States, and the USDA organic label represents a marvelous marketing opportunity for fish and shellfish farmers.

Information: George Lockwood, P.O. Box 169, 8 El Robedo, Carmel Valley, CA 93924 USA (phone 1-831-659-4145, cell 1-831-601-6761, email georgeslockwood@aol.com).

Information: John Cooksey, World Aquaculture Conference Management, P.O. Box 2302, Valley Center, CA 92082, USA (phone 1-760-751-5005, fax 1-760-751-5003, email worldaqua@aol.com, webpage http://www.was.org).

Sources: 1. Aquaculture America 2009 (Seattle, Washington, February 2009).  Aquaculture Marketing Tools and Techniques.  Progress Towards Organic Marketing in Aquaculture.  George Lockwood.  February 18, 2009.  2. Bob Rosenberry, Shrimp News International, March 13, 2009

Vietnam

Heavy Rains Destroy Shrimp Ponds

Unseasonable rains in the Mekong Delta during the first week of March 2009 washed ferric sulphate from the soil into 8,000 hectares of shrimp ponds, killing all the shrimp that had just been stocked, and farmers have had to delay stocking 50,000 hectares of other ponds.

Source: ThanhnienNews.com.  Unseasonal rains destroy crops in Mekong Delta province.  March 6, 2009.

Vietnam

Penaeus Vannamei and P. Monodon

As the result of the worldwide recession, consumers are buying fewer large shrimp and more less expensive small shrimp.  Consequently, Vietnam’s shrimp farmers are switching to Penaeus vannamei from P. monodon, Vietnam’s traditional export, because vannamei has a shorter growout period and can be grown at higher densities than monodon, allowing farmers to turn a profit more quickly.

In 2009, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development estimates that the Mekong Delta will produce 100,000 metric tons of vannamei and 300,000 tons of monodon.

Le Vu Phuong, a farmer in Long Huu commune in Duyen Hai district in Tra Vinh Province, said he stocked 500,000 vannamei at 80 shrimp per square meter and harvested them after 2.5 months.  He got 8.6 tons per hectare and sold them for $2.57 to $2.86 a kilo.  “The profit was satisfactory, but it was difficult to unload the shrimp,” he said.

Arranging capital for shrimp farming has become increasingly difficult in Vietnam, and suppliers no longer provide credit for feed, broodstock and seedstock.  The capital needed for vannamei proves to be relatively high because of the high stocking densities and the cost of postlarvae.  Vannamei farmers stock 80-100 shrimp per square meter, 7 to 10 times more than they stocked for monodon.

Source: Vietnam Net Bridge.  White leg or black tiger shrimp?  March 5, 2009.

Vietnam

Tan Tien Technology Science Company

At the Tan Tien Science and Technology Company based in Soc Trang Province (Mekong Delta), shrimp output has reached seven to ten tons a hectare.

Source: Vietnam News Agency.  Science key to Delta development.  March 3, 2009.

Vietnam

Some Shrimp Farms Plan to Go Organic

Nguyen Thong Nhan, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Ca Mau Province (Mekong Delta), says: “With food hygiene and safety standards becoming more stringent in global markets, Ca Mau’s aquaculture farms [began to] adopt organic farming several years ago.”

Pham Hoc Duyet, deputy director of Nam Can Seafood Import Export Company, says his company has spent a large amount of money to hire experts from the German-based Association for Organic Agriculture and the Swiss-based Institute for Market Ecology (IMO) to consult on organic farming.  Duyet says his company hopes to obtain an organic certificate by June 2009.

Lu Minh Thao, a farmer in Nam Can District, says: “My family began organic shrimp farming in 2002 and is very satisfied with the results.  I earn an annual income of $4,500 to $6,000 from my five-hectare shrimp farm compared to $1,716 from traditional farming.”

Because of higher production costs for organic shrimp, not many farmers have gone organic, leading to a shortage of organic shrimp for export.

Source: Vietnam News Agency.  Shrimp Farmers Go Organic.  March 7, 2009.

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