In its latest protocol developed to suit the specifics of shrimp farming in Ecuador, the company said its management of both feed quality and intake had halved the feed conversion ratio from 1.8, doubled growth to 2g per week and increased the survival rate from 50% to 85%.
Skretting explained that it is able to precisely calculate the protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamin and mineral content, not only for a given species but for its different life stages.
“The lifecycle of a shrimp may only be three-to-five months, but there are clear life stages with opportunities to ensure diets are optimised for each stage,” said general manager of Skretting Ecuador Carlos Miranda.
The Ecuadorian industry is not alone in benefitting from such protocols.
“We are introducing a protocol in Peru that has already delivered very positive results, but the pond management is very different from that in Ecuador,” said Miranda. “Nevertheless, I believe this provides further evidence that we are on the cusp of a new global era in shrimp production.”
Regional protocols needed
He contrasted aquaculture with wild capture fisheries, where uniform improvements can benefit multiple regions and stocks.
“With aquaculture, the environments, challenges and farming practices are very specific to each area,” said Miranda, contrasting Skretting’s activities in Ecuador and Vietnam as an example. “There are some very stark differences, including typical pond sizes and stocking densities. Ecuadorian shrimp ponds can be 10 hectares, while Vietnamese sites will be 1 hectare. Ecuadorian farms will be semi-intensive, compared to Vietnam’s intensive.”
For this reason, the company stated, it would expect to roll out locally-adapted protocols, along the lines of the Ecuadorian and Peruvian ones, to other major shrimp farming regions.
There are challenges. Shrimp tend to need to eat ‘little and often’ in order to meet both their digestive capacity and dietary requirements for optimised growth. But these needs may not be easily reconciled with standard feeding schedules.
The new protocols also offer advantages in reducing – or even eradicating – waste. “Skretting has found the best ways to control the performance of our feeds in the ponds, so that all pellets are consumed,” technical manager for Ecuador Angela Gutierrez del Alamo Oms said in a statement.
Water and pond bed quality are equally important, said the company, since some bacteria thrive on the organic matter – including uneaten pellet material – at the bottom of the pond.