Integrated mangrove-shrimp aquaculture

Coastal regions of Southeast Asia have suffered considerable loss as their shrimp production grew to dominate the market over the past 50 years.

The government developed a system that required farmers to plant trees in exchange for using land, which in turn allowed for reforestation at low operational costs.

[1][2][4] Based on multiple studies on IMS cultivation in Vietnam, the optimal mangrove coverage to maximize net profit from shrimp production was found to be between 30%-50%.

The challenge in these cases are due to the regulations stipulating that mangrove coverage need to be above optimal percentages, between 60-80%, which has led to over logging and the reluctance to practice silvoaquaculture.

Unlike intensive farming, where shrimp yield correlates with high investment, this sustainable practice has a low operational cost.