The Inside Story: CP Foods Move to Total Shrimp RAS

The benefits of RAS aquaculture in terms of efficiency and\r\nsustainability have prompted the Thai food giant’s decision to move all of its\r\nshrimp production indoors – and it’s doing so quicker than expected.

Nine months after announcing that it was going to move all\r\nits shrimp farms indoors, Charoen\r\nPokphand Foods (CP Foods) says it has already achieved this for\r\n30 percent of its operations. In a September 2018 statement, the Bangkok-based\r\ncompany’s executive vice president for aquaculture business, Premsak\r\nWanuchsoontorn, said that all of the company’s farms would be indoors within\r\nfive years. The move followed the successful building of prototype farms, which\r\nshowed better yield, colour, size, disease control and quality.

Nine months on, and progress is already underway, with 30\r\npercent of total production in Thailand – up from 15-20 percent at the time\r\nWanuchsoontorn made the pledge – already moved indoors. And work is now\r\nunderway to build further RAS operations to complete the roll-out.

According to Wanuchsoontorn, the difference in production\r\ncapacity is a significant factor in the decision. In a well-managed outdoor\r\nsystem, the yield is between 20 and 30 tonnes per hectare, per crop. This\r\nfigure is more than doubled in a high-production RAS facility, where every\r\naspect of production is controlled, leading to typical yields of between 60 and\r\n70 tonnes per hectare, per crop.

“In Thailand we produce shrimp in a variety of sizes, up to\r\n50g per piece depending on customer requirements. We find that they feed better\r\nand achieve higher growth rates in an RAS system than outside in ponds, which\r\ncan be affected by seasonal weather conditions and temperature,” he said.

“Optimum conditions can be provided 24 hours per day in RAS\r\nsystems, with temperature, dissolved oxygen, water quality and feed tightly\r\ncontrolled, and this is reflected in the ability of the shrimp to maintain a\r\nsteady growth all year round, with no seasonal variability,” Wanuchsoontorn\r\ntold The Fish Site.

His words were echoed by CP Foods’ executive vice president,\r\nRobins McIntosh, at the World Aquaculture Society conference in New Orleans\r\nearlier this year, who also spoke about the thorny issue of disease.

“Indoor shrimp are the long-term solution for an industry\r\nthat continually struggles with disease outbreaks such as vibrio, and indoor\r\nshrimp farming will become more successful as we get more farms built,” he\r\nsaid.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus causes early mortality syndrome\r\n(EMS) in shrimp, also known as acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease. It was\r\nfirst identified ten years ago in China, before spreading to Vietnam, Malaysia\r\nand Northern Borneo, then turning up in Thailand in 2012. The following year,\r\nEMS was identified in Mexico, brought in by infected live shrimp.

Disease-free broodstock and strict biosecurity measures are\r\ntwo essential factors in helping to prevent outbreaks, and the latter is more\r\neasily achieved in indoor RAS operations.

“The health status of our shrimp is carefully monitored and\r\nwe have, so far, experienced no disease outbreaks in our RAS systems and use no\r\nantibiotics. Should problems be encountered, the affected animals can quickly\r\nbe isolated and the outbreak contained,” said Wanuchsoontorn.

RAS systems also offer major environmental advantages in\r\nterms of lower water consumption during production and zero discharge of waste.

“We can achieve a reduction of 60-75 percent in water\r\nconsumption in an RAS system,” said Wanuchsoontorn.

“For example, to produce 1kg of harvested shrimp takes takes 1 m³ to 1.5 m³ of\r\nwater in a RAS system, whereas the outdoor farms use more than 5 m³.\r\nThis is a major saving in terms of cost and it’s better for the environment,”\r\nhe added.

Looking at the main challenges of converting all the\r\ncompany’s production facilities to indoor systems, Wanuchsoontorn identified\r\ncost, construction time, logistics and staff retraining as the big issues.

“The company is confident that the large investment budget\r\nthe project needs will have a positive impact on production. We are also\r\ninvesting heavily in upskilling staff to work with the new technology, and the\r\noverall project will improve local habitats, making the project a very positive\r\nmove,” he said.

CP Foods is also entering the shrimp farming arena in Sri\r\nLanka, through the acquisition of a 75 percent share in Lotus Aquaculture.

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Meanwhile, in Brazil, CP Group recently bought a 40 percent\r\nshare in shrimp producer Camanor\r\nProdutos Marinhos.

Source : The Fish Site