Resumo

RIBEIRO, Luísa Ferreira; SOUZA, Manuel C. M. B. N. de; BARROS, Francisco  e  HATJE, Vanessa. Challenges of shrimp farming: legal aspects, environmental impacts and mitigating alternatives. RGCI [online]. 2014, vol.14, n.3, pp.365-383. ISSN 1646-8872.  https://doi.org/10.5894/rgci453.

Among the various activities that are included in the aquaculture, shrimp farming stands out for its wide dissemination in various parts of the world. It is clear that, for decades, the global production and financial performance by shrimp farming achieved excellent results. However, it is also well accepted that the rapid and often uncontrolled growth of this activity frequently results in several environmental, economic and social problems. Thus, critical reviews on this activity are needed. This paper aims to contextualize the Brazilian shrimp in the world market, make a brief review on the functioning of shrimp farms, compare and discuss some important legal aspects and report and discuss the main environmental impacts and mitigation actions. The favorable environmental conditions and new technologies motivated the shrimp production and led Brazil to be one of the largest shrimp producers in the word. The rapid development and the globally increasing number of shrimp farm initiatives demanded regulation of the aquaculture activities. In many countries, including Brazil, this regulation did not occur specifically for the shrimp farming. As a result, the shrimp farming is currently regulated by numerous codes and laws adapted from others related activities. Moreover, states, municipalities and districts can each develop and apply specific regulations to control the aquaculture. As a result, there is an overlap of the governmental actions and policies that makes shrimp farming regulation a very complex and confusing, and consequently, very difficult to be applied. Despite the frequent positive economic indicators obtained by the producers, shrimp farming activity still is frequently associated with serious negative social and environmental impacts. The magnitude, frequency and duration of these impacts can be related to many factors, mostly farm and pound location, nurseries type and management, production size and types, technology employed and hydrodynamics of adjacent water bodies. Negative impacts, including ecological instability, environmental contamination, disease outbreaks, among others, are often due to lack of adequate development planning worldwide, and Brazil is no exception. Furthermore, the environmental and social impacts are associated not only with the installation but also with the operation of shrimp farms. Several studies suggested that the negative social impacts associated with aquaculture deserve higher attention. For instance, some studies suggested that shrimp farming promote marginalization and migration of traditional communities and unemployment. Moreover, it can also encourage the rupture of the traditional ways of shellfish harvesting (gathering) and fisheries practices, causing social conflicts. Among the reported environmental problems, loss of mangrove ecological services and other coastal areas, during the construction and operation of farms, and the abandonment of these farmed areas are suggested among the most important impacts, affecting the environment and the economy of traditional communities. Effluent releases by farms can also have a significant impact in the nearby natural systems (e.g. estuaries). These effluents are generally rich in nutrients, causing eutrophication of water bodies and sporadic toxic algae blooms. The liquid residues of shrimp farming can be loaded with inorganic elements, such as toxic metals, including mercury. Antibiotics and antimicrobial agents might also be presented in effluents once they are widely used to promote biomass grow, better assimilation of food and treatment of diseases. However, the effects of antibiotics and antimicrobial agents in the receiving ecosystems are still poorly studied. There is a demand for high profitability and rapid growth of shrimp farming activities in Brazil. The negative impacts of this activity together with the inefficiency of the regulating agencies may cause several socio-economic and environmental problems. Nevertheless, there are several mitigating alternatives for the negative impacts associated with shrimp farming. Most of them are associated with high costs procedures, frequently hampering their adoption. Bioremediation, for instance, has been pointed out as the best alternative to the treatment of waters subject to high loads of organic contaminants. The recirculating water system (RAS) can remove most of the contaminants in the water. For the manure and feeding it has been suggested the use of specific arrangement of the feeders along the tanks, as a strategy to limit the amount of fertilizer to be applied. To address the problems related to the use of antibiotics and antimicrobials the recommendation is the use of medicated feed. However, none of these aforementioned techniques is efficient without the adoption of the best management practices. The shrimp farming can be profitable while sustainable through the implementation of mitigating alternatives and following good practices that preserves environment and respect traditional communities.

Palavras-chave : shrimp farming; legislation, impacts; mitigating alternatives.

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