Japan is one of the world's top consumer of tiger prawn. About 94% of the prawns we eat every day depend on imports from overseas, especially shrimp cultivated in Southeast Asia.

On the other hand, aquaculture sites face many problems. For example, the number of shrimp farming ponds that are no longer used and discarded is increasing year by year. There are various causes for this, and one of them is the increase in the price of fish meal, which is the main raw material as a protein source of artificial feed. Moreover, many shrimp feed manufacturing companies are switching to plant based materials such as soybeans instead of fish meal. Although the feed price has stabilized, it has caused a decline in shrimp growth and profits due to malnutrition etc. If the shrimps get diseases and/or low growth, then farmers could not continue production. JIRCAS wants to break this vicious cycle by developing and promoting a simple, inexpensive and sustainable aquaculture method that can be continued even by small-scale shrimp farmers in Southeast Asia.

Shrimps are omnivorous in nature and feed on a variety of mangrove creatures. By using “unexploited algae” and microsnails that live in the shrimp habitat as supplementary food, we can provide cheap, delicious, safe and secure shrimp to consumers in Japan and around the world. In addition, we are continuing research in cooperation with overseas researchers so that we can provide environment-friendly aquaculture technology so that shrimp cultivation can be continued for a long time.

For more details, please watch the video.
 

Reference
JIRCAS Online Open House 2021 https://www.jircas.go.jp/en/event/2021/openhouse

Contributor: TSUTSUI Isao (Fisheries Division)