Environmental impacts of shrimp farming in the Brazilian Northeast

Abstract

With fisheries catches stable at the global level, aquaculture has become the most important alternative. Among all farmed marine organisms, penaied shrimp are the most promising group for Brazilian mariculture. After the beginning of shrimp farming in the 1970's in the country, the Brazilian industry has gone through a series of crises until becoming the 7th largest world producer of farm-reared shrimp in 2002. In that year, the country harvested 60,128 Mt of marine shrimp. The Northeastern region accounted for 96.5% of Brazil's total production. Shrimp farming has led to controversial debates between environmentalist and farmers. The major impacts of this activity are the destruction of mangrove forest, the salinization of aquifers, the polluition of nearby areas by farm effluents, the rediction in biodiversity during the catch of wild post-larvae and the escape of exotic species into the natural environment. All these impacts can be mitigated though good farminf, as some of them are not relevant to shrimp culture. The construction of ponds in mangrove-covered lands and the collection of wild post-larvae are pratices that are no longer part of this activity. Is is clear that the survival of the farming business relies on the protection of the environment to which it is intimately linked.