Preliminary study of the pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus paulensis in pen enclosures in Patos Lagoon Estuary

Abstract

The Patos Lagoon estuary (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) includes about 1,000 km² of shallow waters, with high primary and secondary productivity and sandy sediments rich in benthic organisms, which serve as a natural food source for the pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus paulensis. Several studies have been accomplished to develop the shrimp culture in pen enclosures as an alternative for artisanal fishermen. Therefore, the present study analyzes survival and growth of the pink shrimp F. paulensis reared in two pens in the Patos Lagoon estuary. Nursery pens with bottom area of 120 and 40 m² were built internally on the circular grow out pens 1 and 2 (bottom area of 3,100 m²), respectively. Nursery pens were stocked with 23,250 (120 m²) and 18,083 (40 m²) juveniles, obtained from the hatchery, with initial average weight of 0.18 and 0.16 g. Juveniles were maintained in the nurseries until they reach the adequate weight to be cultivated in the grow out pens (0.35 g). Shrimps were fed with fishing rejects in a proportion of 70% fish and 30% blue crab. After 100 days of culture, survival was 82.6 and 90.3%, and final weight was 9.05 and 7.35 g in the pens 1 and 2, respectively. The final biomass in the pens 1 and 2 reached 173.76 and 119.99 kg, respectively. The present results indicated that culture of the pink shrimp in pens could be an effective alternative for fishermen community in the estuarine area.