Environmental Pollution and its Mitigation Measures of the Shrimp Farming Industry

Rachitha silva

The current shrimp aquaculture industry in Sri Lanka is concentrated in the North Western coastal belt covering a farm area of more than 4,500 ha with 1,344 farm establishments. The major components of the shrimp industry include shrimp post larvae production (hatcheries), shrimp farming, Shrimp processing and Shrimp feed manufacturing. Many Environmental Impacts are occurring due to haphazard development of farms in Environmental sensitive areas, such as Mangroves and Salt marshes. The following Environmental impacts and their mitigation measures are discussed in this paper; Destruction of Wetlands for construction of ponds, Salt water intrusion, Effluents, chemicals & OM in waste water, Sedimentation of lagoons and other water bodies, “Biological pollution” of native shrimp stocks, Spreading of diseases.

Shrimp farming was practiced using an open system of operation in earthen ponds until white spot virus in 1996 and yellow head virus in 1998 caused serious economic losses in the industry. Following these outbreaks of diseases, the industry has developed closed and semi-closed production systems as well as fully recirculated systems.

The institutional support for the minimizing environmental impacts and implementation of mitigation measures are given by the Shrimp Farms Extension and Monitoring Unit (SFEMU) of the NAQDA, which was established to monitor and regulate the industry with the participation of both private and public sectors. The following activities have been undertaken by the NAQDA; Zoning, Formation of Shrimp Farm Associations, Authorization and licensing of hatcheries, Replanting mangroves, Conducting awareness programs on Good Aquaculture Practices (GAP), Implementation of crop calendar.