Brackishwater shrimp farming: Possible impacts on estuarine ecosystem
Abstract
Aquaculture has been widely accepted as a practice that will supplement the capture fishery production, besides generating various types of job opportunities for the rural population. Coastal aquaculture has been given utmost priority in many developing and underdeveloped countries due to its potential for earning foreign exchange. However, aquatic systems have been under tremendous stress due to increased use to land and water resources, population growth and industrial development. Aquaculture as a user of water resources, may also be contributing to the stress and environmental imbalances if it is incorrectly conceived and/or operated. In India, shrimp aquaculture has developed as the largest aquaculture practice in within a decade. But, most the developments have been confined to the estuarine and brackishwater areas. Tropical estuaries being the most productive ecosystem and subjected to a variety of developmental activities, most of which bring in some environmental changes, it is important to look at the possible impacts the brackishwater shrimp aquaculture on the environment and the biota. In this paper, the improtant physical and biological processes influencing the estuarine ecosystem are briefly presented. The role of different types of flora and fauna (viz. phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthos, bacteria and fishes) in the estuarine productivity processes and their interdependence are highlighted. The importance of mangroves to the estuarine ecosystem in general and for the propagation of marine shrimps in particular is emphasisted. Status of brackishwater shrimp farming in India, possible impacts of coastal aquculture as a whole and shrimp aquaculture in particular on the ecosystem and dependant flora and fauna are described. Some areas which need special attention in making the brackishwater shrimp aquaculture into a sustainable and eco-friendly practice are listed.
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