Coastal Shrimp Aquaculture in Thailand: Key Issues for Research

nity expansion (NACA 1994a). Exact figures for the area cleared specifically forshrimp farming are not presented here as there are discrepancies between those publishedby different individuals, but common estimates suggest that shrimp farmingcontributed from 14–20% of the loss of mangrove forests in Thailand (P. Menasveta,pers. comm.). Recent government efforts and an increasing realisation amongfarmers that mangroves are poor sites for intensive shrimp farming have led to a significantreduction in the use of mangroves for shrimp culture.A government resolution aimed at protecting the mangrove forests was passed inDecember 1983 (Katesombun 1992). It divided the mangroves into three areas:1. Economic Area A. Only charcoal concessions are allowed; factories, shrimpfarms and village communities are prohibited from using the area.2. Economic Area B. These are areas with either no mangrove forest left, ordegraded mangrove forest. Villagers are entitled to use and live in the area andfactories and shrimp farms are allowed.3. Conservation Area. Villagers cannot live in the area. Charcoal concessions, factoriesand shrimp farms are prohibited.Effects on the genetics of wild shrimp populationsShrimp aquaculture in Thailand uses species found in the local waters so there isno risk of escape of exotic species into the natural environment. However, an alterationin the gene pool of naturally occurring shrimp may occur with interbreeding ofescaped cultured stock and wild populations. The artificial rearing conditions of anaquaculture pond may select for the survival of very different traits than thoseselected for in wild animals. In addition, the wild species provide a potential sourceof genetic material for the future domestication and genetic selection program beingplanned in Thailand. There is a need to study the gene pools of wild stocks in order toascertain their variability, distribution and abundance.Research Organisations, Education and Training, and Export ofShrimp Farming KnowledgeEducation and training in shrimp aquaculture in ThailandEducation and training of shrimp farmers are factors which greatly affect theirperformance as farm managers. Research has shown that the formal education ofmany farmers is quite brief. The Office of Agricultural Economics (1991) discoveredthat 85.2% of all shrimp farmers had been formally educated to a level of less thanGrade 5 and around 80% of these people operated intensive farms. This generallylow standard of formal education was identified by NACA (1994a) as a potentialimpediment to a sustainable shrimp farming industry. The techniques, technologyand management strategies necessary to reduce environmental pollution whilst maintaininghigh production are often complex and people with this level of educationmay have problems understanding them. According to T. Jitsanguan (pers. comm.),the greater a farmer’s education, the greater his or her ability to keep a farm operatingover time. Jitsanguan observed that it is usually the less educated farmers who fail#)