Shrimp 'as big as Texas' cited as niche market opportunity

By MINDY POEHL | Central Texas Edition

Craig Upstrom, president of the shrimp hatchery, Aquaculture of Texas, Inc. in Weatherford, presents a large shrimp that he has grown from a minuscule larvae. Upstrom feels shrimp production would be feasible for many Texans. -- Staff photo by Poehl

April 7, 2005 - Large, meaty prawns that have the sweet flavor of a lobster are easy to farm, according to a Texas producer. Craig Upstrom of Aquaculture of Texas, Inc., wants to inform Texas farmers and ranchers about how easy freshwater shrimp farming is.

"People can easily grow them, and have fun and make money," Upstrom said.

He is president of Aquaculture of Texas, Inc., which is the largest shrimp hatchery in the United States. Located in Weatherford, the hatchery has been open for 19 years.

Macrobrachium rosenbergii is the scientific name for shrimp, also known as prawns. No other freshwater shrimp hatcheries exist in Texas and Upstrom believes the reason is because "people don't know about it." He said freshwater shrimp have great benefits and can help farmers diversify their crops.

On the production side of the business, freshwater shrimp have no disease problems and they are environmentally sustainable. For the consumer, they have half the cholesterol and lower iodine levels than marine shrimp. Prawns contain one gram of fat per serving and have no carbohydrates, as well as no "mud vein" to be removed before eating.

Upstrom's job is running the hatchery and helping the shrimp larvae continue to grow until he sells them to other shrimp farmers. Tanks of all sizes sit within the walls of the hatchery. One room has small, sink-like tanks that contain thousands, if not millions, of larvae.

A one-ounce female shrimp can produce up to 30,000 larvae every month. Once the female molts (or sheds her skin), making her soft-shelled, a male mates and guards her. She carries the eggs for three weeks in her brood chamber before the eggs are freed, Upstrom explained.

Other rooms at the hatchery contain larger, round tanks that hold different sizes of shrimp, from post larvae, juvenile, and larger growing shrimp.

"It takes 45,000 post larvae to make a full pound," Upstrom said, proving how minuscule the babies are at first. "It takes 30 days from hatching to become a post larvae shrimp.

"Most farmers prefer to take juveniles and stock their ponds when the prawns are 60-days-old," Upstrom continuied. "It takes only 900 juveniles to make a pound."

At Upstrom's Aquaculture of Texas operation, the juvenile prawns are then sent to be grown in controlled, chemical free man-made ponds. Upstrom said producers' ponds can be small, from 1/4 of an acre to one acre.

It takes 16,000 "babies" to stock an acre, according to Upstrom. "Most farmers stock their ponds in June. The shrimp are extremely easy to grow and are a summertime crop. All you need is water, a little bit of air and a little bit of food, and you'll grow shrimp."

Shrimp farmers can grow eight to 10 shrimp per pound in a short growing season from June to September. And, the number of shrimp produced per acre is from 800 to 1,200 pounds, with a 75 to 80 percent survival rate.

"Catfish take 18 months to grow and they have (to have) huge ponds," Upstrom said. "Shrimp are environmentally friendly; there's not a lot of feed causing lots of pollution in the pond."

The shrimp need a 2-to-1 food conversion, and they need a 76-88 degree pond that is three- to four-feet deep.

Upstrom suggested that shrimp farmers need to find a niche market to sell their shrimp to, such as neighbors and festivals. And, he added that the shrimp sell for $6 per pound at their cheapest.

Upstrom attended Texas Christian University and majored in biology and environmental science. He worked at aquarium trades, where he became interested in food fish production. At 43-years-old, he has worked with shrimp and fish for 27 years and has produced over 40 million shrimp.

Upstrom has worked with and supplied universities and research centers with shrimp, including Mississippi State University, Kentucky State University, Georgia State University and University of Tennessee. In fact, if a loan is approved to KSU, the shrimp researchers might name a strain of shrimp after Upstrom.

"I think it's a feather in my cap, but they have to get the research money to prove that it's a unique strain," he said.

That strain would be named after Upstrom because he is the one who provided all of the freshwater shrimp to the university.

The United States imports $4 billion dollars of shrimp each year, which is equal to 800 million pounds. Eighty percent of the imports are farm raised and 30 percent are freshwater shrimp from India, Vietnam, Bangladesh and China. Foreign shrimp is not always raised and processed in a hygienic, chemical free way, Upstrom added.

Since just one shrimp can produce 30,000 larvae every month and freshwater shrimp are healthful and easy to grow, Upstrom believes more people in Texas and the United States should become involved with shrimp farming.

"Texans have the ingenuity and resources to be just as successful as other places," Upstrom said. "These shrimp farmers can produce a wholesome, marketable product."