World Aquaculture - December 2014

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56 DECEMBER 2014 • WORLD AQUACULTURE •
Stimulating Nigeria’s economic growth (Millennium
Development Goals and Vision 20:2020) is a key component
of government efforts. One such effort centers on boosting
production of specific agricultural products with the greatest
potential for domestic consumption and increased foreign
exchange and employment. Furthermore, as a country with
great potential to lead the continent in fisheries and aquaculture
development, it is expedient that the government actualize,
without delay, the political commitment of African heads of state
contained in the Abuja Declaration on food security, as it relates
to fisheries and aquaculture.
Modern shrimp farming got started in the early 1970s and
production grew steeply, particularly to service the US, Japan and
Western Europe markets. Today, over fifty countries have shrimp
farms and broodstock are shipped worldwide. Shrimp has grown
into a major global seafood industry, producing nearly 4 million
t, worth about US$18 billion annually. Approximately half of
the global shrimp supply is traded internationally, with trade
flowing mainly from the tropical developing world to the OECD
(Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)
countries, especially North America, Europe and Japan. Imports
of shrimp by these wealthy markets was worth US$ 7.8 billion in
2001.
The demand for shrimp products continues to rise. Overall
demand in this complex, highly segmented market has been
increasing at 3 percent per year, with the US market growing at
5 percent (Table 1). This motivates the expansion of the industry
in some countries. In Asia, shrimp farming has been the most
important foreign exchange earner within the agriculture,
fisheries and forestry sectors (Jones 1988, FAO 1994). Shrimp
are a relished and high-priced delicacy on the world food menu.
Nigeria contributes to the market with largely wild-caught shrimp
but the country has yet to fully key into the lucrative culture
trade. There are no commercial shrimp farms in Nigeria nor any
A Case for Commercial Shrimp Farming
in the Niger Delta, Nigeria
Adejoke A. Adewumi, Razaq O. Agunbiade and Opeyemi E. Idowu
significant sustained development of the industry elsewhere in
West Africa.
Benefits of Commercializing Shrimp Farming
Nigeria’s domestic fish production hovers around 0.5 million
t. This is far less than what is required to support the annual fish
demand of a population that is growing at 3 percent per annum
(Table 2). To fill the demand-production gap, Nigeria spent over
US$ 200 million annually on imports of frozen fish to augment
the shortfall in production.
Shrimp farming can significantly reduce Nigeria’s
dependence on imported food grade aquatic products, currently
valued at US$ 270 million (FishNetwork 1998). According to
Chemonics International, employment from shrimp farming alone
could increase from 3,306 to 83,950 within a decade and that
Nigeria’s share of the world shrimp market could be increased
from US$ 56 million to over US$ 300 million in that same decade
(Table 3).
There are two major markets to target: the global shrimp
market worth US$ 18 billion, and the local prawn market.
The potential benefits of shrimp farming are accessible to all
stakeholders, including artisanal fishermen, trawler owners,
investors, oil companies, and international donors, who have the
wherewithal to capitalize on opportunities afforded by a growing
global market.
Research on shrimp farming has been conducted and
documented by Nigerian scientists (Ezenwa 1991, Ezenwa
et al. 1992, Marioghae and Deekae 1991, 1992, Tobor 1992,
Hart et al. 2003). The aim of research into the propagation of
shrimp stems from the need to complement production from
capture fisheries to meet ever-increasing demand and to prevent
over-exploitation or extinction of some wild species. However,
because of the experience of some Asian countries that went
into shrimp farming without taking environmental and health
TABLE 1. The main OECD markets for shrimp imports and their annual growth rate (percent), 1999-2000.
YEAR US EUROPE (EU) JAPAN TOTAL
1998 316,000 363,144 238,900 918,044
1999 331,700 348,034 247,300 927,034
2000 345,100 378,375 246,600 970,075
2001 400,300 363,184 245,000 1,008,484
GROWTH
5-y avg +6.4 +2.8 -1.7 +2.8
10 -y avg +5.0 +2.9 -1.5 +2.3