Farmed Shrimp: A Devastating Delicacy
At The Environment’s Expense
Mangroves – tropical coastal forests – are clear cut to make room for shrimp farms. Mangroves serve as spawning and nursery grounds for thousands of marine organisms and protect the coastline. Shrimp farms depend on staggering amounts of antibiotics, fungicides, algaecides and pesticides that pollute the water and marine life, including other fish.
Consumers’ Health Pays
Antibiotics are often misused in shrimp farms to prevent the spread of viruses. Shrimp farmers in parts of Asia dose their shrimp with antibiotics not only to prevent and treat Vibrio, a bacterial infection, but also with the belief that the antibiotics will prevent and treat viral infections such as white spot syndrome.* White Spot Syndrome decimated farms throughout Asia and Central America in the 1990’s. Even when the virus doesn’t obliterate the farm, it survives freezing and may still exist when the shrimp finds its way to the consumer’s plate. To prevent outbreaks, companies pump thousands of tons of antibiotics into the farms.
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Cost to Local Communities
Traditionally, local communities depend on the mangroves for their survival. Women gather shellfish, mussels, crabs and other seafood to feed their families and to sell in local markets. Fishermen gain access to the sea through the mangroves, which they can no longer do when the shrimp farms are constructed. Due to cheap farm raised shrimp, American shrimpers are forced to sell their boats and coastal communities in the Global South are left without their livelihood, food and culture.