Eighty-seven percent originated in Asia. Constraints on the further development of shrimp farming Despite the rapid growth of the industry, there have been setbacks due to diseases and due to the growing awareness of the environmental and social impacts of shrimp farming. Much of the debate has focused on the sustainability of shrimp farming. It has been recognized that shrimp farming can be made more sustainable. Impacts can be reduced in a number of ways including through better regulatory and planning processes at State level.
Key considerations are the siting of shrimp farms and monitoring their development.
Shrimp farming began in Sri Lanka in the early 1980s. Although the main cause for these outbreaks was thought to be the introduction of an exotic viral pathogen, uncontrolled proliferation of farm operations and related aquatic environmental implications appear to have made a direct contribution. Currently, the shrimp culture sector in Sri Lanka is facing many of the problems previously encountered in other countries. The technical knowledge base of the majority of the shrimp farmers is very low and becoming increasingly so, as more small-scale farms are developed. These farms can be broken down by surface area as shown in Table 1.