Bushehr on the Verge of a Shrimp Production Boom: Overcoming the Crisis Through Preventive Measures

Bushehr – As shrimp harvesting begins at the province's aquaculture farms and preventive measures to control diseases are strengthened, hopes for increased production of this strategic aquaculture product are rising.

Ambassador Arjan of the Provinces Group: The shrimp farming industry in Bushehr province, as one of the most important sectors of the sea-based economy, in addition to playing a role in ensuring food security, provides direct and indirect employment for thousands of people and has a significant contribution to the province's economic activities and non-oil exports.

The wideness of the beaches, the suitable capacity of the coastal areas and the experience of several decades in the field of aquaculture have made Bushehr one of the main hubs of farmed shrimp production in the country.

However, the province's shrimp industry has faced many challenges in the past years, the most important of which are the spread of diseases, increased investment risk, changes in environmental conditions, and the need to improve farm management.

The experience of reduced production following the disease crisis showed that the continuation of this industry's activity depends more than in the past on scientific management, continuous monitoring and adoption of preventive solutions.

Now, with the beginning of the shrimp harvesting season in Bushehr province, signs of improvement in production conditions are observed. Strengthening health care, increasing specialized supervision, training operators, and moving from reactive measures to disease prevention are among the measures that can lead to reducing casualties, increasing farm productivity, and improving crop yields.

In the same situation, the fisheries officials of the province also announce the beginning of shrimp harvest from the end of September; A process that requires careful planning and close cooperation of producers with specialized experts due to weather conditions and the necessity of managing the final stages of breeding.

Changing the approach from disease treatment to prevention

The director general of veterinary medicine of Bushehr province, in a conversation with Mehr reporter, emphasized the importance of preventive measures in the aquaculture industry and stated: In recent years, we have tried to move towards prevention instead of relying on reactive measures after the occurrence of diseases, and we have followed this approach seriously in the field of shrimp farming.

Mohammad Hassan Rahnama added: Prevention and control of diseases can play a very important role in increasing the production and harvesting of shrimp farms, and the experience of recent years has also shown that by strengthening health measures and scientific management of farms, favorable results can be obtained.

Referring to the prospects of farmed shrimp production in the province this year, he said: Considering the measures taken in the field of disease prevention and control and the experience gained in the past years, we expect to see a jump in the production of farmed shrimp in the ponds of Bushehr province this year.

The General Director of Veterinary Medicine of Bushehr Province stated that the mission of veterinary medicine is not limited to the treatment of diseases. Missions that in many cases must be pursued continuously.

According to him, in the field of aquaculture, timely detection of disease-causing agents, continuous care of farms, raising the awareness of users and observing biosecurity principles are very important; Because the late detection of the disease can cause heavy damages to producers and even affect the economic activity of a breeding period.

The return of shrimp production from 17 thousand tons to about 30 thousand tons

Referring to the experience of managing the disease crisis in Bushehr province's shrimp industry, Rahnama said: The production of farmed shrimp in the province decreased from about 40 thousand tons to 17 thousand tons in the past years following the disease crisis. A drop that showed the extensive impact of the disease on the production capacity and the necessity to review the farm management practices.

He continued: After this crisis, a series of actions were put on the agenda with the participation of veterinary medicine, producers and other related sectors, among which we can mention strengthening monitoring and diagnosis, increasing the field presence of experts, training users, providing scientific and practical solutions, improving biosecurity and moving towards preventive management of diseases.

Referring to the results of these measures, Director General of Veterinary Medicine of Bushehr Province added: Following these efforts, the amount of farmed shrimp production in the province returned to about 30,000 tons, which represents an increase of about 76% compared to the production floor during the crisis period.

This production rebound highlights the importance of health management and disease prevention in the aquaculture industry. In shrimp farms, the occurrence of disease can lead to extensive losses, reduced growth, decreased product quality, and increased production costs. Therefore, prevention of the occurrence of the disease and early detection of its symptoms are more effective in many cases than the measures taken after the spread of the disease.

However, Rahnama emphasized that the increase in production cannot be considered as the result of the performance of a single device only, and the effort and experience of producers, improvement of farm management, environmental conditions and actions of other related groups have also been effective in this process.

He pointed out that the experience of recent years has shown that when specialized knowledge, continuous monitoring, field presence and the participation of producers are combined, serious crises can be managed and the industry can be returned to the path of growth.

Harvesting shrimp from 746 hectares of farms

Along with health and preventive measures, the harvest process is also followed as one of the important indicators of the province's shrimp industry.

Director General of Fisheries of Bushehr province, in a conversation with Mehr reporter, pointed to the beginning of shrimp harvesting from breeding farms and stated: Shrimp harvesting in Bushehr province started at the end of September and so far, 3,558 tons of shrimp have been harvested from about 746 hectares of breeding farms.

Agil Amini added: This year, 12 shrimp breeding sites are active in the province, and the useful area under cultivation of these farms reaches 4,251 hectares. A capacity that shows the position of Bushehr province in the country's shrimp farming industry.

This statistic shows that shrimp harvesting in the province has entered the implementation stage and a significant part of the production activities is now focused on managing the harvesting time, maintaining product quality and reducing possible risks.

Of course, the amount of harvest recorded from farms up to this stage should not be equated with the final annual production of the province; Because harvesting from different farms is done at different times and the final estimate of production depends on the completion of the harvesting period and aggregation of statistics of active farms.

On the other hand, the amount of final production is not only dependent on the cultivated area and factors such as survival and growth rate of shrimps, water quality, nutrition management, health status of farms, environmental conditions and harvesting timing also affect the final result.

For this reason, the realization of the forecast increase in production this year, in addition to the continuation of preventive measures, depends on the correct management of the final stages of cultivation and the reduction of possible damages until the time of full harvest.

Referring to the meteorological warnings about the possibility of rain and relative decrease in temperature, Amini emphasized the need for operators to pay serious attention to the weather conditions and said: Considering the forecasted conditions, it is recommended that the breeders harvest ripe shrimps with marketable weight faster in order to avoid the loss of product quality and damage to farms while managing possible risks.

Changes in weather conditions in the final stages of the breeding period can affect producers' planning. In such a situation, the decision about the right harvest time should be made based on the actual condition of the fields, the growth rate of shrimps, water conditions and expert advice.

Premature harvesting of shrimps that have not yet reached the appropriate economic weight may affect the producer's economic efficiency; On the other hand, unnecessary delay in harvesting the finished product can also increase the risks related to environmental conditions and product quality. Therefore, creating a balance between maintaining the market weight and managing possible risks is one of the most important considerations of the harvesting period.

The Director General of Fisheries of Bushehr Province also emphasized the need for detailed planning to manage the final stages of the rearing period and added: the operators can make more appropriate decisions about the harvest time by continuously monitoring the condition of the fields, checking the growth conditions of shrimps and coordinating with fisheries experts.

He found compliance with technical recommendations and paying attention to weather conditions to be effective in maintaining product quality, reducing production risks and protecting growers' investment.

In the current season of shrimp harvesting, Bushehr province, in addition to using the large capacity of breeding farms, has a new experience of managing diseases and strengthening preventive measures.

The continuation of this approach, along with the scientific management of farms, compliance with technical recommendations and timely harvesting of the product, can provide the basis for increasing production, reducing economic losses and strengthening Bushehr's position in the country's shrimp industry; A path whose success depends on the continuous cooperation of specialized devices and manufacturers.