The third crop of shrimp has been grown in Klaipeda. Exotic crustaceans swarming in the four basins of the experimental base reached a length of 15 centimeters and a weight of 23-25 grams in four months. The planned yield is 80-100 kilograms. The experiment is implemented by KSTP and KU as part of AquaVIP.
Shrimps, which had been closely monitored and supervised, grew under strict biosecurity conditions to protect them from disease and the need for therapeutic chemicals: one of the aims of the tests was to keep the final product as clean as possible, in line with global organic food trends. .Shrimps are extremely sensitive to stress. Any changes in water temperature or insufficient food can also be a stress factor. The effect of stress on shrimp and their mortality was also examined.
Upon spending four months in the pools of the KU Business Incubator, the shrimp will soon be harvested, and the pools filled with other larvae, initially barely visible to the naked eye, brought from suppliers abroad. The fourth cycle of growing shrimps will also be used for testing the new technological equipment developed by KU specialists, in the tower which takes up less space but can accommodate more crustaceans. The efficiency of pool and tower technologies will be compared.
The aim of all these scientific experiments is to develop an efficient technology for growing a seafood product popular in the market. Since shrimp grow in natural conditions in the salty Pacific Ocean, they also need such water in closed systems, yet Klaipėda researchers try to grow them in a lower salinity milieu; Klaipėda geothermal water resources are to be used for aquaculture. In the case of marine recirculating aquaculture, substantial costs arise due to the preparation of artificial seawater using salt. “If we could find ways to make efficient use of the available natural resources, we could offer businesses technologies that reduce the cost of the final product. And this would promote the development of aquaculture itself,” says Nerijus Nika, Head of the KU Fisheries and Aquaculture Laboratory.
Source, text & photo credit: https://www.kmtp.lt/en/news