Shrimps
Shrimps are caught all around the world and live in fresh water and salt water. Small varieties such as the crangon (or brown shrimp) live in cooler waters and the larger varieties such as the Black Tiger live in tropical waters of countries such as India. Shrimps are farmed in over 50 countries with 99 percent of production coming from developing countries. In a few countries, such as Malaysia and China, up to 50 percent of farmed shrimp are consumed domestically, but for most of the leading producers, shrimp are farmed for export, mainly to Europe, the USA and Japan.Did you know…
- There are different varieties of shrimps which live in fresh water as well as salt water
- Shrimp can swim backwards very rapidly
Most important export countries
- Thailand
- China
- India
- Vietnam
- Denmark
Most important production countries
- China
- Thailand
- Indonesia
- India
- Vietnam
Production chain
Most shrimp are grown in aquaculture ponds. It takes about 5 weeks from egg to adult shrimp. It is estimated that there are 110.000 shrimp farms globally developed over 1.3 million hectares. There are three different forms of shrimp cultivation: extensive (59 percent of the farms), semi-extensive (29,5 percent of the farms) and intensive farming (11,5 percent of the farms). The yield in the intensive shrimp breeding can be up to 20,000 shrimps per hectare. The shrimps are washed and frozen in before going on transport. More processing steps can sometimes take place, such as beheading and peeling of the shrimps.
Problems
Child labour in shrimp industry has been reported in a lot of different countries. Children either collect the shrimp, spending long hours in water, or work in the processing plants. Because of the high profit potential of shrimp in comparison to agricultural crops, large areas of land that was previously used for agriculture has been transformed into shrimp farms for export. This development often has a significant impact on local food security. Uncontrolled shrimp farming is considered a major threat to mangroves forests since these lands are converted into ponds. In Thailand about 253,000ha of the country’s 380,000ha of mangrove forests has already been destroyed by shrimp farms. In the region of Penang in Malaysia, 34 species of fish have become extinct and another 50 or more are becoming rare due to the destruction of coastal mangroves. The wider environment is threatened by the release of effluent from shrimp farms into surrounding waters. Depletion, salinisation and chemical pollution of drinking water have been frequent results of the incursion of irresponsibly-sited and poorly- managed shrimp farms.
Major Chain Issues
In the shrimp sector, Fairfood International has identified the following major chain issues:
| Major chain | Production stage |
 Harmful Agricultural or Aquafarming Practices |
Production |
 Degradation of Natural Ecosystems |
Production |
 Restricted Access to Natural Resources |
Production |
 Violation of Land Rights |
Outside the chain |
 Child Labour |
Production & Processing |
Solutions
The guide below shows certification schemes whose standards indicate a match with some or all of Fairfood’s researched major issues for this commodity. To learn more about the schemes, click on their logo.
 Naturland |
 Friend of the Sea (FOS) |
 Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) |
 Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) |
 AquaGAP |
| Production |
Production |
Production (Fishery) |
Production (Aquaculture) Processing |
Production |
In addition to making use of standards and certification schemes, major issues in this commodity could also be addressed in a customised manner. The box below outlines a few examples of initiatives that deal with sustainability issues in this particular sector. Companies could join some of the platforms or roundtables mentioned below. These could serve as a stepping stone to increased sustainability. Other initiatives, in the form of corporate programmes and chain partnerships, could serve as inspiration for replication by other companies within the sector. To learn more about any of the initiatives, click on their logo.
Corporate program |
Butler’s Choice Ltd. is a Danish fish and shellfish distributor, which promotes corporate responsibility by building long term and trusting partnerships with their suppliers from Vietnam and India. The company helped one of their Vietnamese suppliers acquire permission to build a wastewater treatment plant. Butler’s Choice now purchases approximately twenty percent of this factory’s supply and the farmers have seen increases in yield while cutting production time and energy consumption. Butler’s Choice is also a member of the UN Global Compact for human rights, labour, the environment, and anti-corruption. |
