Publication Code: N67
by Anantha K. Duraiappah and Adis Israngkura
Shrimp production in Thailand is characterized by boom and busts cycles. The busts are caused by production crashes. Many reasons have been cited for the cause of these production crashes with disease outbreaks been a prime suspect. A primary factor linked with disease outbreaks is poor water quality caused by farm management strategies. The major focus of existing studies has been at the farm level. We postulate that although farm management is a critical variable in determining sustainability for the sector, farm density plays an equally important role. In this paper, we address both factors. We begin by identifying the optimal combination of farm strategies. Once the farm management options have been identified, the optimal farm densities for three principal shrimp farming regions is computed. Spatial variation in the form of soil differentiation is taken into account in the analysis. Preliminary results suggest that water management and farm density are the two most critical variables determining sector sustainability.
September 1999