A New Farm-Raised Shrimp May Well Take Over The Industry

NPR reports on a new kind of boutique shrimp operation in New York, called Eco Shrimp Garden.

Shrimp is America’s number one choice for seafood - $5 billion a year worth. But push aside the horseradish and cocktail sauce and what you’ll uncover is a lot of controversy. 

The Associated Press uncovered shrimp stories in past year about slave labor in Southeast Asia, and environmental degradation from destruction of mangroves. Lots of downside and concern. 

NPR reports on a new kind of boutique shrimp operation in New York, called Eco Shrimp Garden. They are producing a variety known as whiteleg shrimp, or Pacific white shrimp, which is grown in indoor in circulating tanks. Yes, it is farm raised, but with a difference.

Jean Claude Frajmund, the owner of Eco Shrimp Garden has created his own, indoor mini-ocean of 84,000 gallons of water. 

His shrimp, which he says are fed 8 times a day (vs the typical one to two times a day) and are fed a diet of US sourced fish meal and bits of poultry protein. Harvest time is 6 months. Typically farm raised shrimp harvests, depending on the variety from one to 6 months. 

The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program gives this shrimp its "Best Choice" ranking.    

All this does come at a cost however; Jean Claude sells at the Union Square Greenmarket in Manhattan for about $25 a pound. 

Craig Browdy of Zeigler Bros. told NPR that this is a growing national trend, Zeigler Bros. produces the feed for shrimp operations, including Eco Shrimp. And reports about 50 marine shrimp farming operations in the U.S., which is confirmed by statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Perhaps grown in USA will finally move the shrimp market out of a commodity status.