Production of Freshwater Shrimp Culture in Ohio

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Production of Freshwater Shrimp Culture in Ohio

• Laura G. Tiu, Aquaculture Specialist
• OSU South Centers

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What are they?

• Malaysian Prawns
• When is a prawn a shrimp?
• Life Cycle
• Hatchery (Feb-Mar)
• Nursery (Apr-May)
• Growout (June-Sept)
• Nursed juveniles (60 days old)
• What is a morphotype???
• Sex determination

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History

• 1960s Research in Hawaii
• 1970s Research in Florida
• 1980s Research at Mississippi State University
• 1990s Research at Kentucky State University
• 2001 Approved for culture in Ohio
• 2002 First research in Ohio
• 2003 Latitude Study
• 2004 Feed Study
• 2005 ?

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Where is this happening?

• Mississippi
• Commodity work
• Global seafood
• Arkansas, Georgia
• Tennessee, Kentucky
• Illinois, Indiana
• Ohio
• Nebraska
• tanks
• Iowa
• heated effluent

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What do you need to know

• Business planning
• Permit (ODNR)
• Publication 61(QA)
• 50.00/year
• Pond Construction
• Production
• Marketing

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What to expect (Short Version)

• Build pond/get permit/arrange seed/feed
• Lime/fertilize
• Stock Shrimp (1st week of June)
• Feed daily/test water weekly
• Aerate 24/7
• Worry daily, because you cant see them
• Develop marketing plan
• Harvest in September

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Pre-Season (January-February)

• Determine Stocking Density
• 16,000 20,000/acre
• 20,000-30,000/acre w/substrate
• Order Shrimp
• 8 cents You pick up/10 cents Delivered
• Are they graded?
• Nurseries
• Ohio (Calalas Water Haven)
• Kentucky, Mississippi, Texas
• Order/Arrange Feed
• Plan Aeration
• Get Permit
• Ohio Department of Natural Resources
• 50.00/year

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Liming (April-May)

• Prawns are very sensitive to low and high pH
• Test water and soil
• You want water alkalinity gt 40 mg/L
• You want soil pH gt 6.5 at sunrise
• Use Agricultural Limestone
• Add to soil before filling pond
• 1,000 10,000 lbs/surface acre
• Determined by soil quality

100.00
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Fertilization
200.00

• Pros
• Stimulates natural foods
• Faster growth of juveniles
• Cons
• May increase predators
• Creates oxygen demand
• Can speed growth of filamentous algea
• May contain antibiotics (manure)
• May raise pH

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Fertilization (Middle of May)

• Organic fertilization plant or animal products
• Animal manure
• 200 pounds/acre in order to kick start things
• 100-200 pounds of horse (or other) manure per
  week for the first two weeks.
• Alfalfa meal. (Soybean meal, Distillers Grains)
• 200 pounds/acre/week
• Apply in the shallow areas to insure good mixing.
• Inorganic fertilization
• 28-0-0 liquid fertilizer (ammonium nitrate)
  available at most farm supply stores
• spray it evenly on the pond with a backpack
  sprayer
• 1-1.5 gallons per acre/per week.
• 0-49-0 phosphoric acid
• 10 oz./acre/week. 
• Take extra precautions as these chemicals can
  cause burns on eyes and skin.

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Stocking Shrimp (June 1-15)

• Fill pond
• Monitor pH
• No more that 0.5 pH units difference
• Acclimate shrimp to temperature, pH
• Count shrimp
• shrimp numbers often underestimated
• Count three samples and extrapolate
• Graded shrimp will be uniform
• Ungraded shrimp will not be uniform

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Pond Maintenance (June-Sept)

• Aerate 24/7
• Control predators (screen water)
• Insects
• Bullfrogs
• Turtles
• Birds
• Monitor water quality
• Feed
• Keep records
• Develop a marketing plan

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Feeding (June-Sept)

• Feed once or twice a day
• If once, before sunset
• Distribute feed all around pond
• Especially edges
• Store feed in cool dry place
• Do not feed moldy feed
• Hold back feed if its building up in pond

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Feeding (June-Sept)

• 16,000 shrimp/acre
• June 25 lbs/day
• July 1-15 30 lbs/day
• July 16-31 40 lbs/day
• Aug 1-15 50 lbs/day
• Aug 16-31 60 lbs/day
• Sept 1-15 60 lbs/day
• Sept 16-30 50 lbs/day
• Total 5000 lbs feed/acre

• 25,000 shrimp/acre (with substrate)
• June 25 lbs/day
• July 1-15 40 lbs/day
• July 16-31 50 lbs/day
• Aug 1-15 65 lbs/day
• Aug 16-31 75 lbs/day
• Sept 1-15 75 lbs/day
• Sept 16-30 65 lbs/day
• Total 6300 lbs feed/acre

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Sampling (June-Sept)

• Can sample with a cast net
• Can see red eyes at night with flashlight
• Sometimes you will find molts

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Harvesting

• Time how long it takes pond to drain
• Write this down!
• Shrimp will follow water
• Have baskets and clean aerated water
• Have ice
• Have scale
• Keep notes (pounds, times, etc.)
• Get help

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Business Planning

• Please put numbers on paper
• 5,000.00/acre inputs
• 0-10,000/acre profit
• Marketing is the key
• At least one acre production
• Use the shrimp enterprise budgets from Woods et
  al. University of Kentucky or KSU Shrimp manual

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Investment Items
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Variable Costs
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Labor Management
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Non-Cash Costs
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Total Costs
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Evaluating Breakeven Price
Determining Profit over Breakeven Price 900
lbs/acre
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Paying off Investment
Is there really a difference or is someone being
more honest about their numbers?
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What are you selling?

• Live, Fresh
• Locally grown
• Entertainment
• Contaminant Free
• Niche Market
• Niches can be filled
• Constantly look for new markets
• Marketing Co-op
• KY Shrimp Growers Coop Processing Plant in
  Kentucky

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On-farm demonstration 2002

• Marketing
• All farmers successfully marketed product
• On farm sales-7.50/lb
• Place ads in paper, took pre-orders
• Farmers Market-8.00/lb
• Sold out in one hour, long lines
• Bait-5.00/dozen
• Small shrimp bagged by dozen
• Shrimp Festival - 5.00/lb
• Sold to another farmer having a festival
• Friends - 7.00/lb
• Sold to local contacts

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On farm demonstration 2003

• Pre-orders 12.00/lb
• Pond Sales 10.00/lb
• Shrimp Festival 5.00/person
• Farmers Market 8.00/lb
• Nebraska (sold to bar and street dance)
• Large (12/lb) 11.00
• Medium (20/lb) 9.00
• Small (30/lb) 7.00

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Caution!!!
Chris Kohler at Southern Illinois University
predicts market saturation quickly if even one
big producer gets in the market. Currently all
the shrimp go to boils local town celebrations or
jamborees and not to retail outlets. It's a
novelty and Chris doesn't think it will compete
in the retail market in Illinois. Macrobrachium
failed 20 years ago and there isn't much world
production for a number of reasons. Rearing it in
the Midwest doesn't seem like a particularly
lucrative idea, but maybe someone will figure it
out.
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We are here to help!