The main spatial impact of shrimp farming is that what was once agricultural land, changes into shrimp ponds. And this is a quiet irreversible spatial effect as the saline water of the ponds affects the soil. The land becomes unfit for agriculture and local flora.
The shrimp cultivation makes the living standard of the locals slightly better, but the big profits go to people outside of Khulna[1]. Viruses start to spread easily when there are lots of ponds together, so the slightly better living standard of the people is quiet uncertain.
Moreover the employment rate for the same amount of land is lower than with agriculture.
As the saline water makes growing rice impossible, conflicts occur between shrimp and rice farmers of the same village. The government tries to mix in these conflicts and has the policy to support the rice farmers as rice becomes more scarce and more expensive.[2]
Interesting to know is that shrimp ponds don’t mind to be flood once and a while. They need the saline water of the river and the water flushes the diseases away. [3]
______________
main source: RAHMAN, Matiur, “Geo-political economy of shrimp culture and livelihood shift in southwestern Bangladesh” in: RAHMAN, Matiur (ed.), Globalisation, environmental crisis and social change in Bangladesh, The University Press Limited, Dhaka, 2003, pp. 247-293.
[1] Professor Sarma
[2] Bangladesh Agricultural Development Cooperation
[3] locals
[1] Professor Sarma
[2] Bangladesh Agricultural Development Cooperation
[3] locals
3 comments:
MANY FACES OF SHRIMP-CULTURE IN BANGLADESH
(PROSPECTS AND PROBLEMS OF SHRIMP CULTURE
IN KHULNA REGION)
INTRODUCTION :
Since time immemorial SHRIMPs have been inhabiting in the numerous water bodies in Bangladesh. The two major types of Shrimps of this country are :
(01) Fresh water prawn or Galda (Macrobrachium rosenbergil, M. malcolmsonii, Mrude etc.) and
(02). Tiger prawn or Bagda (Penaeus monodon, P semisulcatus, P. indicus, P. japonicas, P. merguiensis, P. penicillatus, P. orientalis, Metapenaeus monoceros).
Golda live in fresh water and Bagda, in brackish water. In view of the demand of shrimp, specially of Bagda, Bangladesh started exporting frozen shrimp in considerable quantity first time in 1985-86. The increase in its quantity after every five years and the amount of foreign currency earned in 2005-06 has been shown below.
QUANTITY OF EXPORTED VALUE IN
YEAR FROZEN SHRIMP IN MT %OF INCREASE Million US $
1985-86 13,631 Base
1990-91 17985 32%
1995-96 25,225 85%
2000-01 29,713 117%
2005-06 41,900 207% 403.58
The above table indicates how rapidly the demand for export of shrimp increased in the country. With increased demand, the people felt the need for its cultivation. Since then they have devised many methods. These methods been further developed by the experts of this subject. As an academic subject “Fisheries” is now taught in renowned universities of the country. In the sector of export, shrimp export is playing extremely important role. Frozen shrimp on one hand earns considerable amount of foreign currency for the country. On the other it has created job opportunities for huge people. However, with all these positive aspects shrimp cultivation is often criticized for a number of negative affects. In this article we shall discuss among others :
(i) Various processes of Bagda shrimp cultivation in Khulna-Satkhira region.
(ii) Contribution of shrimp export towards nation’s economy,
(iii) Criticism against shrimp cultivation and
(iv) Suggestions to eradicate the problems.
CULTIVATION OF GALDA AND BAGDA (IN KHULNA REGION) :
Before the initiation of export, Golda and Bagda grew in the natural sweet and brackish water respectively. In order to ensure more production the people started its cultivation in the following methods : (01) Traditional, (02) Improved traditional (Bagda), (03) Semi-intensive (Bagda) and (04) Intensive. We shall present brief descriptions of these processes.
(01) Traditional method : (Golda) : The people cultivate Golda shrimp in their ponds with other species of fish with minimum care. They do not give any food or chemical. The density is less than 0.25 piece per cubic meter (CM) of water. The yield is naturally low.
(02) Improved traditional method: In the improved traditional method people cultivate only shrimp with no nursing or food. In this case the density remains less than 0.5 – 1.0 pieces per CM. At this density fish can get food which are naturally grown in water. When they cultivate Bagda shrimp in this method, they add salt to water to meke it brackish.
(03) Semi-intensive method or Gher : In this system Bagda shrimp is cultivated in shallow (1 meter deep) brackish water entered from the rivers adjacent to the sea. They cal it “Gher”. The density of shrimp varies from 5-15 pieces per CM. At this density the cultivator needs to ensure food of the shrimp, purity and oxygen-content of water etc. In the dry season they apply fertilizer in the soil that helps to grow grass and this grass is used as food. Also artificial food, insecticides etc. need to be applied. Aeration is done by using electro-mechanical devise.
(04) Intensive method : In the intensive type shrimp in larger density is gown in artificial environment. This is not done in Bangladesh.
CULTIVATION IN GHER :
In cultivating Bagda in Gher, the first thing the cultivator needs is to arrange is the Gher. The rich entrepreneurs manage (on rent or contract) land in the areas near the rivers carrying brackish water, raise embankments, apply fertilizer at the bottom and make mechanism for controlled entry of brackish water. Fries are available from February and that initiates their sowing season.
Collection of fry :
Fries are collected from the following three sources : (01) Natural water, (02) Hatchery, (03) Neighboring country.
(01) The shrimp release fry in the rivers and creeks of the Sundarbans, people catch those and sell to the Gher owners. The cultivators prefer these fry because these are more resistant to adverse situation.
(02) The hatchery owners collect mother shrimp from the natural water and raise fries. They give one type of cyst, called Artemia as food. The problem with such prawn is, they are extremely sensitive to adverse condition. Nowadays, there is a system of pre-nursing, where the fresh fries from the hatchery are nursed for a few days.
(03) Fries also enter in the country from the neighboring country, India. Quite often such prawns have been found to carry infectious diseases.
Cultivation :
Food : The shrimps eat Phyto-plankton (plant origin) and Zoo-plankton (animal origin) that grow in the ‘gher’. So, the cultivators need to apply things that would enhance their growth. In addition they give nutrients.
Insecticide : For nursing and to keep the water free from disease-creating elements they apply insecticides and chemicals.
Aeration : They use motor-driven rotating wheels for aeration.
Harvesting period : After one crop is sowed, it needs about 2 months for being ripe for catching. So, if the Gher owners start cultivation in Mid-February, they can have first harvest in Mid-April and can continue up to October. There cannot be any “shrimp cultivation related activity” in the Gher during November to February because of dry season and non-availability of water. Shrimp gets further large after two month period, but the cost for raising those at this stage becomes uneconomic in comparison to their enhanced price. The harvesting may easily continue up to July, and then the field may be used for rice cultivation. However, some owners prefer to continue up to August. This creates the following two problems :
(01) Amon (the principle species of rice) that needs to be sown in July cannot be cultivated in the land.
(02) If the gher remains under shrimp cultivation during the rainy season (July-September) then the chemicals applied in the gher cannot be washed away and it creates pollution of the soil.
HARVESTING :
The harvesting of shrimp is related with the release of fry by the shrimp. The shrimp releases prawn during five says around the full moon and new moon. On these days the large shrimps of the gher try to escape to the open water and are easily caught. Coincidentally, these are the days when we have high tides in the coastal region. Vast area of the Sundarban is inundated and shrimps enter in the forest for food. The fishermen utilize this scope and catch those.
SHRIMP PROCESSING :
Those related with the export of shrimp find busy days during the days of high-catch. They call these days “Gone”, meaning “days of optimum catch”. After purchasing the shrimp they clean those, remove the head and hard-skin, rank and preserve in cold storage. Ranking of shrimp is done by the number ships weighing one Pound. This may vary from 5 to 66, where 5 shrimps per Pound (known U-5) is quite large.
After they get foreign buyers, they process the shrimp as per their advice. Before export they need to bring sample to the Quality control officer of the Fisheries department for necessary certificate.
CONTRIBUTIONS OF SHRIMP CULTURE :
The statistics shown above indicates that the export of frozen shrimp has increased from 13,631 Metric Tons (1985-6) to 41,900 Metric Ton (2005-06) in 20 years. Also the country earned 403.58 Million US $ in 2005-06, which is quite lucrative. Some of the contributions of shrimp culture for Bangladesh are :
(01) Earning considerable amount of foreign currency
(02) Creating job opportunities for numerous people in the fields of (i) catching shrimp fry, (ii) Hatchery business, (iii) Gher business, (iv) Shrimp catching, (v) Shrimp trading, (vi) Shrimp cleaning, (v) Shrimp export business etc.
(03) Ensuring a much more profitable return from the agricultural fields. The local price of the shrimp produced in unit area of agricultural land is over 25 times of the price of its potential agro-produce.
Naturally endeavors should be made to bring more land under shrimp culture and improvement of its cultivation for the benefit of the country and her people.
NEGATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS :
Ever since its initiation, Shrimp cultivation has invited numerous criticisms from various corners. Some of these are related with : (i) Environmental hazard, (ii) Constraints in rice cultivation, (iii) Land pollution, (iv) Social injustice, (v) Hazardous profession and hindrance to education, (vi) Shrimp-traders’ trend for non-invest in this region etc.
ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD : The criticism is “When brackish water is fed inside for shrimp cultivation area, the plants, trees and grass of the area accustomed to sweet water perish”. The answer is, it is not environmental hazard, but the adjustment of the nature to changed environment, where brackish water plants are found to thrive. When we expect to get the huge income from shrimp in place of that from rice, and the nature adapts to the new change, by all means we should accept it.
CONSTRAINTS IN RICE CULTIVATION : The criticism is “Gher cultivation does not allow rice cultivation”. The answer is : Starting in February, a cultivator can easily fetch several crops before July, because it takes two months for the shrimp to grow. They can even get U-5 size (even though it is not economic) within this period. By finishing the Gher activity by July they can easily ensure rice cultivation. However, there is a problem that traditional Amon crop do not give good yield in saline water. In the recent years a new variety of rice has been introduced that gives good yield in such water.
LAND POLLUTION : The criticism is “The land under the Gher is polluted due to chemicals”. The answer is, it happens so if the owners continue activity after July. If it is left fallow or given for cultivation of rice, the chemical wastes are washed away by the rain water.
SOCIAL INJUSTICE : The criticism is “The land owners complain that the Gher owners do not pay them the rent or assured money”. The answer is, it is a question of fixing rule and abiding by those. So far we know, the government has fixed rules, but we know there are still deviations.
HAZARDOUS PROFESSION AND NON-EDUCATION : The criticism is “The children and women endanger their lives when they catch shrimp fry in the shark- and crocodile infested Sundarbans. Also men do the same while catching shrimp from Sundarbans”. In this case the NGO’s are the principle critic. The answer is, when the government or the society cannot provide safe jobs for men, they deserve the ethical right to do these for survival.
NON-INVESTING TENDENCY OF THE SHRIMP-PROCESSORS : The criticism is, “The rich owners of the shrimp processing industry do not invest their profit in this region”. This is true, and the trend may be reversed if the local people including the landowners join in this business.
CONCLUSION :
For Bangladesh frozen shrimp is an extremely profitable and potential exportable item. The government and the people should do everything for increasing its export abroad and for that reason, increase its cultivation. Some of our suggestions to this end are : (01) To bring more land under shrimp cultivation and (02) To provide bank loan to the land owners in the shrimp growing areas.
BRINGING MORE LAND UNDER SHRIMP CULTIVATION : It may be seen that huge land near the rivers carrying brackish water cannot be brought under for shrimp cultivation because of inaccessibility of brackish water. As a solution the government may encroach land and dig canals to take brackish water far away from the rivers. By this way it would be possible to bring huge land under cultivation.
PROVIDING BANK LOAN TO THE LAND OWNERS IN THE SHRIMP GROWING AREAS : Gher business is extremely profitable. At times it was an alien activity in this region. By now the local people have learnt all the associated technicalities. If the Bank gives loan to the land owners or their cooperate bodies for gher business, then there will be no case of deprivation. Also the added financial support for the land owners would enable them to take away their homesteads in alternate places, which will be essential for expanding the land under cultivation.
PROF. BIJON B. SARMA, ARCHITECTURE DISCIPLINE, KHULNA UNIVERSITY, KHULNA
SIZE, HABITATS AND BREEDING PERIOD OF SOME COMMERCIALLY IMPORTANT PRAWNS OF BANGLADESH.
Species Average size (cm) Habitat Breeding period
Macrobrachium rosenbergii Male :34.00 Female :26.70 Rivers, tributaries, canals and river mouths January-July
M. malcolmsonii Male :16.60 Female :12.80 Rivers, tributaries, canals, river mouths and floodplains Throughout the year
M. rude Male :12.00 Female :10.50 River mouths and tidal rivers July-November
Penaeus monodon
Male :29.80 Female :30.00
Bay of Bengal and estuaries
November-March
P semisulcatus Male :20.40 Female :23.00 Bay of Bengal and estuaries January-April
P. indicus Male :15.00 Female :23.00 Bay of Bengal and estuaries October-November May-June
P. japonicus 16.00 River mouths of Banshkhali and Satkhira January-April
P. merguiensis Male :15.50 Female :20.00 River mouths and estuaries of Khulna and Patuakhali October-January
P. penicillatus Male :14.50 Female :16.60 Bay of Bengal, the Sundarbans and back waters of Patuakhali January-March
P. orientalis Male :12.20 Female :19.00 Bay of Bengal and the Sundarbans November-March
Metapenaeus monoceros Male :12.50 Female :15.50 Bay of Bengal, the Sundarbans and river mouths Throughout the year peaks: July-August and November-December
I would like the students of Leuven and Wageningen to have a look at this article.
Prof. Bijon B. Sarma.
Hello Everybody,
My name is Ahmad Asnul Brunei, I contacted Mr Osman Loan Firm for a business loan amount of $250,000, Then i was told about the step of approving my requested loan amount, after taking the risk again because i was so much desperate of setting up a business to my greatest surprise, the loan amount was credited to my bank account within 24 banking hours without any stress of getting my loan. I was surprise because i was first fall a victim of scam! If you are interested of securing any loan amount & you are located in any country, I'll advise you can contact Mr Osman Loan Firm via email osmanloanserves@gmail.com
LOAN APPLICATION INFORMATION FORM
First name......
Middle name.....
2) Gender:.........
3) Loan Amount Needed:.........
4) Loan Duration:.........
5) Country:.........
6) Home Address:.........
7) Mobile Number:.........
8) Email address..........
9) Monthly Income:.....................
10) Occupation:...........................
11)Which site did you here about us.....................
Thanks and Best Regards.
Derek Email osmanloanserves@gmail.com
Post a Comment