RESOURCE USE AND EFFICIENCY IN BLACK TIGER SHRIMP Penaeus monodon PRODUCTION IN INDIA
Many of the impacts of aquaculture are related to resources embedded in feed and in the production process at the farm. Conservation gains stand to be made through improved efficiency, however current resource use is not well understood on shrimp farms. Here, resource metric use surveys were administered at 10 Penaeus monodon farms in India. Data collected included farm characteristics, resource use, and amendment usage. The average feed conversion ratio for P. monodon production in India was 1.36. Wild fish use averaged 1478.05 kg/mt of shrimp. Mean total land use was 0.83 ha/mt, mean total energy was 60.24 GJ/mt, and embedded freshwater use was 2008.84 m3/mt of shrimp. Production intensity averaged 3.90 mt/ha/year in India. Embedded resource use generally increased with greater production intensity, however total energy use decreased. These results are compared with previous results of similar surveys conducted in Vietnam and Thailand.