More profit in tiger shrimp culture

By Roberto Garcia

THE culture of tiger shrimp (locally known as sugpo or bingalo) was at the height of its popularity during the 80’s and 90’s until deadly diseases caused mass mortality and eventually huge investment losses.

Though there are still some engaged in the farming of this jumbo shrimp in Pangasinan, the production is still far below compared years ago. Nevertheless, SEAFDEC (Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center) Aquaculture Department, a prominent international aquaculture research facility and where I worked for my first job, has provided some innovative techniques on how to increase shrimp production based on their studies.

One of the recommendations for disease management is to lower the stocking density to reduce the risk of diseases and increase feed conversion efficiency. Also the use of high quality formulated feeds complemented with probiotics will improve the water quality and health of the cultured shrimp. This makes them resistant to diseases which may cause mass mortality. Some feed manufacturers specialize in these kinds of products.

Another is the stocking only of laboratory-screened fry from certified hatcheries and this will ensure disease-free stocks that has a greater chance of growing to maturity. In Dagupan, shrimp hatcheries may provide this service. And finally, the practice of crop rotation in which the culture of another species such as fish is done after farming shrimp in the same pond. This allows time for wastes and other toxic substances to break down and reduce the incidence of diseases.

For water management, SEAFDEC promotes the use of reservoir and settling ponds to ensure the supply of clean and disease-free water. Another is the use of aeration devices such as paddle wheels that increase the amount of dissolved oxygen which makes the shrimp grow faster and at the same time improve the feed conversion efficiency.

Definitely, the above techniques may increase investment cost but the bottom line is there will be an increase in profits because there will be more harvests. Happy farming!

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