Research Proposal: Techniques for Managing Shrimp Farm Effluent Draining Into Mangrove

My research proposal attempts to address the issue of nutrient
loading and the addition of toxins form shrimp farm effluent in
mangroves. Specifically, my research focuses on shrimp farming
and mangrove ecosystems in Thailand.

In the last twenty years, the number of shrimp farms in Thailand
has increased without bounds. This phenomenon has resulted in
the loss of a large percentage of mangrove land areas in southern
Thailand. two reasons: First, in some areas, mangroves are simply
cleared to make way for shrimp farms, which use the brackish, tidally
fluctuating water to simulate "normal" conditions. Secondly, in areas
where shrimp farms are on the fringe of mangroves forests, waste water
from shrimp farms gets dumped straight back into the mangroves, where
biological functions such as microbial breakdown of nutrients and healthy
living conditions for shellfish, crabs, snakes, and other organisms, are
altered.

I have so far spent most of my time reviewing literature on the more broad
topic of shrimp farming and the effect that it has on mangrove ecosystem health.
It is clear that shrimp farming is not going to disappear within the next five to ten
years, unless Thailand experienced drastic governmental policy reform. So, it
seems logical to find a more sustainable way for shrimp farms to operate such
that mangroves are not affected, or at least are affected to a lesser degree, than
they are currently. A few options have been proposed. One idea is that shrimp
farms could implement a closed system in which there is no waste water was
produced. However, this requires a huge amount of initial cost for the technology
necessary to treat waste. Alternatively, waste waster could potentially be treated
using more natural means, such as water hyacinth or bacteria.

Ultimately, we need to develop more sustainable aquaculture systems globally,
but the first step before attacking the root of the problem is diverting the harmful
effects on mangroves that are proliferating right now.