Research project Determination of the economical feasibility and marketing potential of farmed brown shrimp

General introduction

In an earlier research project on shrimp (SHRIMPBREED), ILVO was able to map the complete life cycle of the animal and almost completed the breeding techniques on land. The ECOCRAN project continues to build towards a possible step towards commercial farming. Two observations lay at the basis of this research project: The shrimp caught at sea are normally cooked immediately after being caught on board the fishing vessel, which means that the consumer only finds cooked shrimp on the market, somtimes with added preservatives. Secondly, the shrimp from wild catch are of a relatively small size (<2% are >70mm), while there is commercial demand for larger and/or raw shrimp in the context of product diversification.

Research approach

ILVO develops a conceptual (digital) shrimp farm to determine the influence of specific parameters (temperature, salinity, nutrition, etc.). In addition, a cost-benefit analysis is carried out to determine the internal yield and payback period. Furthermore, a market study is conducted to determine the users, target market, potential competitors, aspects in legislation and difficulties to penetrate the market.

Relevance/Valorization

The knowledge gained will be used to work with potential growers and investors during a trio of workshops and a matchmaking bootcamp. One idea could be to roll out a commercial nursery with (a group of) interested parties, with scientific guidance from ILVO (possibly in start-up in the Aquaculture HUB MARIFISH).

Financing

EFMZVA
FIVA