Shrimp; Farmed

Shrimp

Shrimps belong to the order Decapoda, a crustacean order which also includes the lobsters, true crabs, and hermit crabs. All decapods possess a full carapace or “head shield”, and, eponomously, five pairs of walking legs. Their first three pairs of thoracic appendages are modified into “maxillipeds”, or feeding legs.
Shrimps are distinguished from the other decapods by having the front-most section of the abdomen about the same size as the rest of the sections, and by having five pairs of abdominal appendages, or pleopods, adapted for swimming.
There are more than 3,000 living species of shrimp worldwide. Many are tiny, or inhabit niches unsuited to mass harvest. Those harvested on a commercial basis share two characteristics: they are relatively large, ranging roughly from 2-10 cm. carapace length, and they school, shoal, migrate toward baited traps, or otherwise aggregate so that they are amenable to capture. Worldwide, about 40 species of shrimp meet these criteria and are harvested commercially. About ten species have been raised in captivity; for some species, such as the Pacific white shrimp Penaeus vannamei, selective breeding is developing truly “domesticated” breeds of shrimp.

U.S. shrimp farmers do not use wild seed stock and rely on commercially-formulated shrimp feeds. While fishmeal is often a component of shrimp feed rations the impact on wild fisheries remains unquantified. In general, stocks of reduction fishes are considered fully fished and at sustainable levels of abundance. Overall the use of marine resources for U.S. shrimp farming is of ‘moderate’ conservation concern.

In some areas, stocks of non-native shrimp have become established. For example, as a result of escapes from shrimp farms Pacific white shrimp are now found in the Gulf of Mexico. This is a ‘moderate’ conservation concern.

Shrimp farming has spread viral shrimp diseases around the globe. So far, researchers have noted no effect of these viruses upon the overall health of the wild populations. It is not known with certainty that these viruses escaped from captive shrimp but some consider it likely as the viruses seem to have originated in Asia. In the U.S. this is of ‘low’ conservation concern.

In the United States, habitat modification for shrimp farming has been very minor. There is little concern with effluent discharge or nutrient pollution from shrimp farms in Hawaii. Problems with effluent discharge along the Texas coast, the U.S.’s largest shrimp-producing area, have been largely solved by the introduction of recirculating techniques. This criterion is ranked of ‘low’ conservation concern.

In the United States, shrimp farms are subject to EPA water-quality regulations which are enforced by state fisheries agencies and/or state pollution control agencies. Overall, regulations are more sophisticated and compliance is better in the United States than in many other nations.

Is this shrimp farmed or wild-caught? Where is it farmed or wild-caught? How is is farmed or wild-caught?