Shrimp - Ripped out at the Roots

The destruction of Mangrove forests

Shrimp farming has become a relentless destroyer of huge expanses of tropical coastlines, particularly mangroves forests. Mangrove forest roots are bulldozed into the mud to make way for the intruding shrimp farms. The coastal equivalent of terrestrial rain forests, mangroves are home to an incredibly diverse range of life. They are breeding grounds and nurseries for many fish, shellfish and myriad other wildlife.

Once the mangroves are ripped out, the coast is rendered unstable, triggering erosion, harming coral reefs and seagrass beds, and eliminating habitat for creatures from the humble mollusks up the chain of life to the meek manatee.

While there are currently no precise figures on how great the loss is of mangrove forests and other coastal wetlands due to shrimp farms, estimates are frighteningly high one-million hectares (2.5 million acres, nearly 4,000 square miles).

As the wetlands vanish, fish catches decline and ecosystems are knocked out of balance. Shrimp farms are often abandoned after only three to five years, leaving the once-fertile coastal ecosystem a wasteland. The proprietors then move on to destroy new territory. The ecological damage doesn't end with the mangrove loss. To grow as many shrimp as possible and maintain overcrowded populations, profuse amounts of artificial feed and chemical additives, including chlorine, are poured in. Malathion, parathion, paraquat and other virulent pesticides are sprayed on the pools

.

Along with the chemicals come several kinds of antibiotics, used heavily to prevent shrimp disease. This resulting virulent soup is commonly dumped onto the surrounding land or into local waterways, where it harms people and other life.

Farming those little shrimp causes gigantic problems, even beyond the environmental harm.

Read more:
Human Impacts - The effects of this lucrative export trade on local communities
Don't Be 'Shellfish' - What Greenpeace is doing and what you can do
Shrimp facts and figures
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