World Aquaculture 53 6). Since then, farming has increased gradually and in the new millennium the increase is conspicuous. Today, farm production is three times higher than the wild catch of the large shrimps. Total production from farming increased during the past decade from close to 0.9 million t to 2.6 million t. Late in the 1990s and, above all, at the beginning of the this century, the South American species Litopenaues vannamei, was introduced into Asia and has partly replaced indigenous P. monodon in the ponds. This has meant a revolution in Asian aquaculture. The output per unit area seems to have increased. Species Farmed Many species around the world have been tested as candidates for farming. As a result of this activities, research has been performed in conjunctions with many species. Many species have been in focus for some time in various countries but only a few species are cultivated in large quantities. According to FAO statistics, nearly 20 species are cultivated. The most important ones are indicated by bold letters in Table 4. At one time, the giant tiger shrimp was the most farmed Fig. 7. The value of shrimp aquaculture in the world has increased from less than one billion US$ in 1984 to ten billion US$ in 2004. (Figures from FAO.) Fig. 8. The export of shrimp increased seven times from 1976 to 2004. Table 6. The 20 most prominent exporting countries of shrimps in 2004 Country Tons of product Country Tons of product Thailand 240 852 Malaysia 63 978 China 220 729 Brazil 54 479 India 163 114 Belgium 41 509 Denmark 151 017 Bangladesh 36 213 Viet Nam 142 207 Mexico 36 744 Indonesia 122 862 Iceland 30 363 Greenland 107 631 Norway 29 037 Canada 93 757 Argentina 27 518 Ecuador 67 195 United Kingdom 25 150 Netherlands 67 469 Venezuela 21 588 Table 7. The 20 most prominent exporting countries of shrimps in 2004. Country Million US$ Country Million US$ Thailand 1 673 Ecuador 326 Viet Nam 1 272 Malaysia 322 China 1 039 Belgium 297 India 813 Greenland 262 Indonesia 799 Brazil 219 Denmark 563 Argentina 214 Netherlands 402 Spain 183 Bangladesh 349 Iceland 167 Mexico 347 France 165 Canada 345 United Kingdom 154 shrimp species in Asia. It was named for its large size and banded tail. It is also called the jumbo tiger prawn and blue tiger prawn among many other names. It is the biggest species used in commercial culture and can reach a size of 363 mm. It is native to the Indian Ocean and the southwestern Pacific Ocean from Japan to Australia. The giant tiger shrimp tolerates a wide range of salinities. It cannot be propagated in captivity. It is necessary to catch Fig. 6. The catches of the large tropical shrimp species compared to the amounts of shrimps that were cultivated in various farming activities. From the 1980s the yield from farming was larger than the one from catches. (Information from FAO).
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