Coastal Shrimp Aquaculture in Thailand: Key Issues for Research

!! !The four issues which ranked highest (i.e. mean score "7.5) were: studies in ponddynamics and pond ecology (issue 81); improved application of existing technologiesfrom other disciplines (issue 86); development of cost-effective closed water systems(issue 90); and identification and control of factors important in plankton blooms(issue 91). These issues had very high scores for impact on productivity. They weremainly achievable in the medium term, except for issue 86, which was short tomedium term, and issue 91, which was medium to long term. Ongoing research wasreasonable, except for issue 86 which had low efforts. The targets for the researchwere similar to the general trend except for issue 90 which was important for smallfarms.Two participants commented that issues 81, 82, 86, 87 and 91 were related andcould be combined in one research project, and that issues 94 and 95 (see Appendix5) could be investigated in another project.Remediation of farms and habitatsThe statistics for the 17 issues in the area of remediation of farms and habitats areshown in Appendix 6. Overall, 3 of the 17 issues (i.e. 43%) had a median score of "6out of 10 (Figure 9). The impact on productivity was scored very highly, with twoissues scoring average and the remainder above average. Most issues were rated asshort or medium term, with only mangrove rehabilitation being a long-term issue.The importance was either adaptive or strategic. The ongoing research was relativelylow, with one issue receiving average effort. The target of the research was mainlythe region, semi-intensive and intensive systems, and all scales of farms. The notableexceptions were issues where the community and/or fishing industry received benefits(i.e. issues 96, 99 and 102—see Appendix 6). Notwithstanding these scores, theoverall priority for this area of research was relatively low.RA)7X#7',1QGEG Q R S F T U V W GEJ7?*&'!:,0)7Figure 9.The frequency of median scores for issues in the area of remediationof farms and habitats.The three issues with highest priority (mean "6.1) were: mangrove rehabilitation(issue 102); assessment of technologies for pond rehabilitation (issue 101); and rehabilitationcase studies in abandoned ponds (issue 99). Although these issues werescored as having a relatively high impact in spite of the low ranking, the ongoingresearch effort score was relatively low, suggesting there was room for research.103