AQUAMIMMICRY: AN INNOVATIVE CONCEPT FOR SUSTAINABLE AND ECO-FRIENDLY SHRIMP PRODUCTION

Shrimp farming is a high profit business in the world. Intensification of shrimp culture is the most common method to increase the turnover of the shrimp production and thereby meeting the shrimp demand. On the other hand, intensification leads to various problems such as increased disease outbreaks, increased feed cost (60 to 80%) and low water quality due to overfeeding. Shrimp farming should be sustainable and eco-friendly which is exactly where the aquamimmicry concept is of great importance.

In aquamimmicry, the natural production of zooplankton is stimulated by adding fermented carbon source along with probiotics. The carbon sources can be soy bean, rice bran or wheat bran. It creates the bio-floc in the pond which helps to maintain the water quality and the zooplankton (copepods) production which act as a supplemented nutrition to the shrimps. The copepods contain astaxanthin, amino acids and omega 3 fatty acids which improves the quality of the shrimp meat.

Biofloc technology is thus the application of aquamimmicry concept. Adaptation of this technology can reduce feeding cost and improves the sustainability of shrimp farming. Researchers can also play an active role to further optimize this protocol