32 SEPTEMBER 2017 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG salinity allows. Some operations have also started to use one or two-phase nursery systems where water temperature can be raised in a greenhouse. For nursery systems, farmers normally use existing 50-60 m3 tanks and/or raceway systems of 500 m3 or more. The aim is to produce 0.25-g juveniles within 30 days for pond stocking. Some innovative farms have converted semi-intensive ponds to covered intensive ponds of 1,000-4,000 m2. These lined ponds are 1.8-2.5 m deep, equipped with central drains, intensive aeration, and operate with water reuse and high stocking densities (>150 shrimp/m2). Despite the success of these closed intensive systems, most farmers in Brazil are still unfamiliar and/or fearful of the economic risks involved. Shrimp production through these new technologies is anticipated to consolidate in the coming years, allowing greater biosecurity and production efficiency in shrimp farming. Brazil is expected to reach 85,000 t by 2017 (Global Aquaculture Advocate 2016). All farmed-raised shrimp in Brazil is sold domestically. Attempts to resume shrimp exports were made by large operations but the recent collapse in production has made shrimp prices in the country extremely attractive. In addition, shrimp is marketed fresh locally at all sizes, starting at 4 g body weight, at farm-gate prices over US$10/kg for head-on shrimp at 80-100/kg. The entry of imported frozen or fresh shrimp to Brazil, either farm-raised or wild-caught, is banned and controlled by Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply. This regulation is intended to avoid the introduction of new diseases that threaten production, including AHPND (acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease), which has not yet been reported in the country. However, there has been continuous lobbying by major buyers and traders in the country to allow imports. Mollusc Farming Although mollusc production has been present to a greater or lesser extent in many coastal states of Brazil for more than 20 years, national production has not yet realized its full potential and all production comes only from small producers with a low technological level and organizational capacity. Except for a few companies in Santa Catarina state, mollusc farming is still considered a subsistence activity. The main species are mussels (Perna perna), oysters (Crassostrea gigas, C. rhizophorae and C. gasar) and scallops (Nodipecten nodosus). Mollusc farming has been introduced as an alternative to supplementing income for artisanal fishermen through various extension projects run by universities and state extension agencies, often with the financial support of federal research and aquaculture institutions. The development of mollusc farming is not uniform along the Brazilian coast and is highly dependent on the institutional capacity of universities and state agencies to actively promote and support this activity. With strong research and extended efforts, Santa Catarina state leads national production with 95 percent of farmed bivalve molluscs. Production in 2015 in this state reached 20,438 t, including 17,370 t of mussels, 3,030 t of Pacific oysters (C. gigas) TOP and BOTTOM: Broodfish of pompano Trachinotus marginatus at a marine hatchery on the coast of São Paulo state. Photo: Pål Myhre. Broodfish of cobia Rachycentron canadum at a marine hatchery on the coast of São Paulo state. Photo: Pål Myhre. Broodfish of grouper Epinephelus marginatus at a marine hatchery on the coast São Paulo state. Photo: Pål Myhre.
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