Thailand's Shrimps Are Dying En-Masse, And No One Can Figure Out Why

[hellodolly]

Not good but Thai prawns taste awful anyway. Can't stand em compared to Australian prawns.

You are the second poster to mention that.

My question is it farm prawns in Australia you are comparing the farm prawns in Thailand to.

Makes no difference to me what country I will take the ones from the sea any day over farm grown. In fact I don't even bother with the farm grown. Tasteless unless you like them a little mushy. The first time I had them was at a real good Thai restaurant and they tasted like they had been boiled and any taste they had was gone. I then went to a buffet where they had piles of them on the Barbeque. I thought I had died and gone to heaven until I ate one.

[T_Dog]

There is a gangster that is at fault. Al Caprawn

But....

“Only 30% of all farmers have started stalking,” which I think is a good thing????

[ginjag]

God forbid that they freeze them and send them for sale, It's been done before.

Had a good laugh on the beach--a seller asked if I wanted to buy some prawns -I said no as the doctor said they were bad for me, The seller said Prawns good--doctor no good.

[I Like Thai]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20847009

Microbiology. 2011 Jan;157(Pt 1):179-88. doi: 10.1099/mic.0.041475-0. Epub 2010 Sep 16.

Identification of Vibrio campbellii isolated from diseased farm-shrimps from south India and establishment of its pathogenic potential in an Artemia model.

Haldar S, Chatterjee S, Sugimoto N, Das S, Chowdhury N, Hinenoya A, Asakura M, Yamasaki S.

Source

Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka, Japan. [email protected]

Abstract

Shrimp diseases are frequently reported to be caused by closely related vibrios, and in many cases they are tentatively but inaccurately identified as Vibrio harveyi and related vibrios. In the present study, 28 biochemically identified V. harveyi-related strains isolated from diseased shrimps were randomly selected for further characterization by molecular tools. Twenty-six strains were identified as Vibrio campbellii and two as V. harveyi by sequence analysis of 16S rRNA and uridylate kinase genes. Haemolysin-gene-based species-specific multiplex PCR also confirmed these results. Experimental challenge studies using Artemia as a model showed that eight isolates were highly pathogenic, three were moderately pathogenic and the remaining 17 were non-pathogenic. Ribotyping with BglI clearly distinguished V. campbellii from V. harveyi, but it failed to separate pathogenic and non-pathogenic clusters. Artemia nauplii challenged with a fluorescently labelled highly pathogenic strain (IPEY54) showed patches in the digestive tract. However, no patches were observed for a non-pathogenic strain (IPEY41). Direct bacterial counts also supported colonization potential for the highly pathogenic strain. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the isolation and accurate identification of large numbers of V. campbellii associated with shrimp disease in aquacultural farms. V. campbellii has long been considered to be non-pathogenic and classified with V. harveyi-related bacteria. However, we show that this species may be an emerging aquaculture pathogen. This study will help to formulate suitable strategies to combat this newly identified pathogen.

[FarangRed]

Forget all you know about breeding seafood. we are in Thailand and the one word to remember "Corruption" from the top down

[Markaew]

all Farms my area have this problem sometimes.

usually it is when baby prawn is 1 month old, then have problem up to 2 month old

after 2 month, prawn not have problem.

it not pollution

we know when prawn have problem because they come to surface of pond and have many birds above and want to eat the prawn.

usually after 2 weeks problem finish

sometimes more then 50% of the baby prawn die and if have fish also in pond the prawn become food for fish

You sound like my wife talking.

[Markaew]

Consult with the USDA website they will monitor this and come up with solutions. You know Americans are not all that bad sometimes.

That was a brave statement saying something positive about Americans. You will get flamed for that!

[Markaew]

Consult with the USDA website they will monitor this and come up with solutions. You know Americans are not all that bad sometimes.

We don't need no stinking USDA. We are Thailand.

Seriously though this would be the best route to get to the bottom if the issue.

I can assure you that Thailand is not ignoring this matter. Thailand has several internationally respected experts on shrimp diseases, and they are trying to find the cause.

Ok. Now we have a comedian in the group.

[hookedondhamma]

Aquine bird flu?

Crust Asian Flu?

Lololol good one!

[pedro01]

Isn't prawn farming a major pollutant itself that kills of adjoining land?

Perhaps they are the cause of their own demise.

Cheers

Pete

[lungmi]

My next visa run to Burma with an icebox for prawns, crabs, langoustines is planned.

[arthurwait]

all Farms my area have this problem sometimes.

usually it is when baby prawn is 1 month old, then have problem up to 2 month old

after 2 month, prawn not have problem.

it not pollution

we know when prawn have problem because they come to surface of pond and have many birds above and want to eat the prawn.

usually after 2 weeks problem finish

sometimes more then 50% of the baby prawn die and if have fish also in pond the prawn become food for fish

Thanks for an honest and accurate reply.

Makes the article appear somewhat sensationalised in my opinion.

Thai press in sensationalised shocker.

[geriatrickid]

Consult with the USDA website they will monitor this and come up with solutions. You know Americans are not all that bad sometimes.

We don't need no stinking USDA. We are Thailand.

Seriously though this would be the best route to get to the bottom if the issue.

I can assure you that Thailand is not ignoring this matter. Thailand has several internationally respected experts on shrimp diseases, and they are trying to find the cause.

Really? If it is taken that seriously, how is that no consumer advisories or precautions have been circulated in the past year?

Think about it. An unknown pathogen or environmental factor is causing increased mortality and yet, the shrimps taken from the areas where there is an increased mortality are still being served to consumers in Thailand and around the world.

I have been a longtime critic of Thailand's aquaculture industry as many common sense disease precautions are not followed because the producers do not want to assume the costs and major purchasers of Thailand's fish products do not want to pay higher prices.

For reference sake, Thailand's shrimp industry has long been criticized for unsafe practices, but no one has paid attention.

Here's a damning article from 2 years ago from a reputable news source..

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/time-to-lead/the-big-challenge-in-making-farmed-shrimp-safe-to-eat/article1316183/

Do you think anything has changed since then?

Until there is an enforcement of the existing regulations and the introduction of effective procedures, any producer that wishes to be a responsible producer is prevented from doing so because the market favours those that do not comply with the safety regulations and that engage in inappropriate practices.

There are a large number of scholarly articles written about the problem, Thailand's industry and agriculture experts have a good idea what it is. The problem seems to be in getting Thailand's large commercial shrimp producers to pay attention. If Thailand does not get a handle on its problem(s), it could very well face a commercial restriction. We've seen it before with beef exports in the EU and North America, and fish from Vietnam. Just ask Vietnam what happened to its industry when chemical additives were identified in its exports to North America. It had to move fast to repair the damage.

[Payboy]

There is a gangster that is at fault. Al Caprawn

That notorious lobster.

[im fine and you]

unfortunately the asian breeders look for the easiest way to make money so they tend to not worry about any types of pathogens that might cause problems and end up with this sort of thing happening, if they started watching what they were doing and making sure that they did the right thing technically we might see prawn farming improve. In Australia they went through a learning curve as to what they needed to do, quick turn around doesnt mean really good health issues for them, lets hope they learn to do it right but it doesnt effect me as I do not eat prawns in Thailand as they are bland and totally tasteless, I wait till I go to Australia for a holiday and eat good ones.

something like 70% of seafood sold in oz is imported from sea. they are sposed to label them now?

[geriatrickid]

unfortunately the asian breeders look for the easiest way to make money so they tend to not worry about any types of pathogens that might cause problems and end up with this sort of thing happening, if they started watching what they were doing and making sure that they did the right thing technically we might see prawn farming improve. In Australia they went through a learning curve as to what they needed to do, quick turn around doesnt mean really good health issues for them, lets hope they learn to do it right but it doesnt effect me as I do not eat prawns in Thailand as they are bland and totally tasteless, I wait till I go to Australia for a holiday and eat good ones.

something like 70% of seafood sold in oz is imported from sea. they are sposed to label them now?

The consumer protection laws in Australia are explicit;

All packaged foods and most unpackaged foods sold in Australia are required to carry statements about the origin of the food.

Statements about where food has been made or grown are found on product labels, packaging or in advertising. Common claims include ‘product of’, ‘grown in’ and ‘made in’. 'Product of' and 'Grown in' means that each significant ingredient or part of the product originated in the country claimed and almost all of the production processes occurred in that country.

‘Product of’ is often used for processed food and ‘Grown in’ is mostly used for fresh food.

For example

• If ‘Product of Australia’ appears on a packet of smoked salmon, this means the salmon was both caught and smoked in Australia.
• If ‘Grown in Australia’ appears on an apple, it was grown in Australia.

The packaging laws are similar in the EU and North America. That is why packaged shrimp sold at Walmart in the USA says product of Thailand. Pick up a can of Tuna it will clearly state product of Thailand. The market that sells fish from Thailand in Australia is supposed to state where the fish originated. Some sellers do not do this, often because they do not verify the origin, but purchase on the basis of lowest cost from the wholeseller and do not want to know. There is a trend to the packaging of fish products now to both a clear statement of origin and the manner in which the fish was produced, with labeling such as "from certified sustainable practices". Consumers in Thailand's largest fish export markets are paying attention and are asking for more explicit labels. However, as the largest foreign consumers of Thailand's shrimp are industrial users such as processors and the food service industry, consumers never know where the shrimp originated or how it was processed.

The current issue with an unknown cause of mortality combined with Thailand's poor reputation for shrimp processing labour practices, does not bode well for the industry. Unless the shrimp producers and their trade group and government manage the issue(s) it is possible we could see a collapse of the industry, just like the beef industry collapsed in North America and just as the poultry industry went into crisis during the avian flu outbreak.

[Thai at Heart]

all Farms my area have this problem sometimes.

usually it is when baby prawn is 1 month old, then have problem up to 2 month old

after 2 month, prawn not have problem.

it not pollution

we know when prawn have problem because they come to surface of pond and have many birds above and want to eat the prawn.

usually after 2 weeks problem finish

sometimes more then 50% of the baby prawn die and if have fish also in pond the prawn become food for fish

Thanks for an honest and accurate reply.

Makes the article appear somewhat sensationalised in my opinion.

Thai press in sensationalised shocker.

Oh, of course, the Thai media is famous for spreading unnecessary rumor over it's agriculture exports.

[David48]

I know that it is easy to be critical of Thailand and many of the perceived food practices here .. but a reality check if I could.

Thailand produces only a small fraction of the World's farmed Shrimp/Prawn catch ... China is the #1 by a long shot.

The global annual production of freshwater prawns in 2010 was about 670,000 tons, of which China produced 615,000 tons (92%).

Here

If you are interested how the Ma and Pa Thai Farmers catch their Farmed Shrimp/Prawn then watch this ...

If you want to learn more, first hand, not what you read on the media generated hype from the internet, then maybe this thread might interest you ... fish-and-shrimp-farm

It's a Ma and Pa Farm ... the type of which grows the Farmed Prawns that you eat in your local restaurant ... enjoy ...

[xen]

unfortunately the asian breeders look for the easiest way to make money so they tend to not worry about any types of pathogens that might cause problems and end up with this sort of thing happening, if they started watching what they were doing and making sure that they did the right thing technically we might see prawn farming improve. In Australia they went through a learning curve as to what they needed to do, quick turn around doesnt mean really good health issues for them, lets hope they learn to do it right but it doesnt effect me as I do not eat prawns in Thailand as they are bland and totally tasteless, I wait till I go to Australia for a holiday and eat good ones.

something like 70% of seafood sold in oz is imported from sea. they are sposed to label them now?

Sorry but clarification is needed. By Sea do you mean " the ocean" or South East Asia. ? I would presume you mean South East Asia by the use of the word imported. Pedantic prick i am !!!

[thedivezone]

hey lets blame global warming - err sorry climate change - err sorry - GMP genetically modified prawns - er the floods - ever mind

It's probably the farang's fault with their excrements polluting Thai soil.

[pumpuiman]

Just a thought, I wonder if this problem could be connected to the mass pollution caused by the burning of rice fields at this time of the year? The time line seems to line up, and the smoke/burnt fertilizer spreads for thousands of miles. I know that the local hospital here has hundreds of respiratory infection cases reported in children and the elderly at this time of year.....

[noitom]

Dead , diseased , and polluted shrimp shouldn't have any effect on the Thai shrimp industry. They will harvest, pack, distribute, ship dead or alive. Thais can take no responsibility for bad shrimp. It's the fault of the shippers and consumers.

[Judo Chop]

We want fresh, wild caught prawns but we're only prepared to pay for farmed shrimp.

I'd say we are the ones with the problem.

[FWIW]

Consult with the USDA website they will monitor this and come up with solutions. You know Americans are not all that bad sometimes.

We don't need no stinking USDA. We are Thailand.

Seriously though this would be the best route to get to the bottom if the issue.

I can assure you that Thailand is not ignoring this matter. Thailand has several internationally respected experts on shrimp diseases, and they are trying to find the cause.

Really? If it is taken that seriously, how is that no consumer advisories or precautions have been circulated in the past year?

Just because you have not heard of it, does not mean that it is not happening.

http://www.enaca.org/modules/news/article.php?article_id=1952&title=emergency-consultation-acute-hepatopancreatic-necrosis-syndrome

[FWIW]

I know that it is easy to be critical of Thailand and many of the perceived food practices here .. but a reality check if I could.

Thailand produces only a small fraction of the World's farmed Shrimp/Prawn catch ... China is the #1 by a long shot.

The global annual production of freshwater prawns in 2010 was about 670,000 tons, of which China produced 615,000 tons (92%).

Here

It's a Ma and Pa Farm ... the type of which grows the Farmed Prawns that you eat in your local restaurant ... enjoy ...

I have said before, that is only FRESHWATER shrimp. Thaialnd is the worlds largest exporter of MARINE shrimp.

[David48]

I have said before, that is only FRESHWATER shrimp. Thaialnd is the worlds largest exporter of MARINE shrimp.

Humm ... the article, the OP, is talking about Farm Prawns/Shrimp.

That's also what I'm referring to.

What do you refer to as 'Freshwater' and what is 'Marine' in your thinking.

Is 'Marine' catch non-farmed or Ocean prawns?

[FWIW]

I have said before, that is only FRESHWATER shrimp. Thaialnd is the worlds largest exporter of MARINE shrimp.

Humm ... the article, the OP, is talking about Farm Prawns/Shrimp.

That's also what I'm referring to.

What do you refer to as 'Freshwater' and what is 'Marine' in your thinking.

Is 'Marine' catch non-farmed or Ocean prawns?

Most of the farming of shrimp is Thailand is for "marine" (salt water/brackish water) shrimp.

[Payboy]

Thailand’s shrimps are dying en-masse, and no one can figure out why

They need to sort this out, pronto.

[Thai at Heart]

The "otherpaper" has a super front page story about the Thai fishing industry.

The temperature rises.

[Route21]

The "otherpaper" has a super front page story about the Thai fishing industry.....

Yes.

The story is based on an article written for a UK paper and advocates that the UK stops eating Thailand's "warm-water prawns".

It uses emotive language such as: "... panicked marine creatures ....scurrying across the deck...".

Catching cold water fish for "fish & chips" is, of course, done much more humanely?

Thinks ....

Their proposal would reduce (by a huge factor of 2/3rds) the total volume available, by excluding the competition. The price, and hence profitability, of the local "cold water prawns" would rise significantly.

But they surely wouldn't do it for those reasons now would they? They're British! ;)

R21