Pauktaw saltwater shrimp breeder tries out new Thai method

10 Feb 2023

DMG Newsroom
10 February 2023, Pauktaw

A local shrimp breeder in Arakan State’s Pauktaw Township is taking a cue from his Thai counterparts to breed saltwater shrimp.

In Thailand, grow-out ponds are dried in the sun for some four months. Ponds are then washed with saltwater and quicklime is spread over the pond. Then water is put into the pond along with shrimp fries.

“So far, I am the only one in Pauktaw who has farmed saltwater shrimp in the Thai way. It is partly because other breeders don’t want to prepare the ponds for months, during which they will have no income. But, I earn around 1.5 million kyats now from my shrimp farms. Nobody wants to take risks, especially in hot seasons,” said U Maung Than Tin.

U Maung Than Tin, who has engaged in saltwater shrimp farming for more than two decades, said he is trying out a new breeding technique because shrimp fry stocks have declined as a result of overfishing in Arakan State.

The catch at U Maung Than Tin’s shrimp farms, which cover more than 80 acres, has declined from previously 200 viss per day to about 40 viss per day now, prompting U Maung Than Tin to try out the new method.

“I heard that the yield is good when you dry out the pond every three years. So, I tried,” said U Maung Than Tin.

The chief of the Yaychanpyin shrimp hatchery in Sittwe Township, U Kyaw Tun Zan, supports the new technique.

“By drying out the ponds, the earth in the bed of the pond will be ventilated. There are microscopic organisms in the bed of the pond that are dangerous to shrimp. Drying out the ponds will control those organisms. So, it will boost the yield,” said U Kyaw Tun Zan.

Fish and prawn stocks have declined steeply in the waters off the coast of Arakan State compared with the past decade, according to fishermen.

According to a joint statement of 16 environmental conservation groups, 16 species of fish have gone extinct in Myanmar within one year, and migratory fish species have declined by 75 percent over the past 50 years.