Farming shrimp is becoming a big business, so significant it is causing an environmental crisis. The farms are situated in Coastal areas and are destroying mangroves. This is more detrimental to the climate than clearing rainforest for animal pasture. A Kilo of shrimp produces 3-4 times the greenhouse gases than the equivalent of beef.

Of all the farmed shrimp 85% comes from Asia (3 million tonnes), and worldwide consumption is growing by 5% per year. Removing mangroves is not just bad for the environment; it also leads to coastal lands flooding. The average shrimp farm lasts five to ten years before the water gets so polluted that are abandoned (85% since 2009).

As it gets harder to catch wild shrimp, farms grows ever faster; but the future does not need to look so dim. Lab-grown prawn meat is simpler to grow than beef and is cheaper to produced. Still, cheaper does not mean not expensive. It currently costs $500 a kilo, but prices should drop as new techniques are innovated.

source:http://www.fao.org/in-action/globefish/market-reports/resource-detail/en/c/1199292/

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