A Business Case for Improved Environmental Performance in Southeast Asian Shrimp Aquaculture

The report analyzes the relationship between production intensity and resource use in shrimp farming across Thailand and Vietnam. It argues that intensification—increasing output per unit area—reduces the land, water, and energy footprint per ton of shrimp, thereby offering both economic benefits to farmers and environmental protection for coastal habitats. The study highlights the Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) as a critical indicator of both economic cost and environmental impact, particularly regarding the use of wild fish in feed. It concludes that responsible intensification is the most viable path to meeting growing consumer demand without further converting biodiverse coastal ecosystems into farms.

• There is a direct positive correlation between environmental and economic performance in shrimp farming, where reducing negative environmental impacts offers a direct economic benefit to farmers.
• Increasing production intensity generally reduces the amount of land, water, and energy required to produce one ton of shrimp. For whiteleg shrimp, extensive culture requires approximately 2 hectares of land and 100,000 cubic meters of water per ton, whereas an intensity of 30 t/ha per year reduces this to 0.444 hectares and 200 cubic meters.
• The Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) is a primary driver of both farm costs and environmental burdens. A global decrease in FCR by 0.1 would save between $85 million and $110 million for farmers in Thailand and Vietnam and reduce the use of 468,000 tons of wild fish.
• Improper farm siting leads to significant avoidable costs. For example, constructing ponds in mangrove forests is typically 30% more expensive than on former agricultural land, and avoiding potential acid sulfate soils can save farmers between $2,258 and $11,290 per hectare in liming materials.
• Intensive farming models offer better economic returns and lower breakeven points compared to low-intensity operations due to economies of scale.
• Organic shrimp farming, while avoiding certain chemicals, has a significantly higher resource footprint per unit of shrimp than intensive operations, using more than twice the land and energy and over four times the water.

APA

Dickerson, S. (n.d.). A Business Case for Improved Environmental Performance in Southeast Asian Shrimp Aquaculture. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/370/9kusr0ib46_Vietnam_Shrimp_Business_Case_v5.pdf

Chicago

Dickerson, Scott. A Business Case for Improved Environmental Performance in Southeast Asian Shrimp Aquaculture. WWF International, n.d. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/370/9kusr0ib46_Vietnam_Shrimp_Business_Case_v5.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dickerson |first1=Scott |title=A Business Case for Improved Environmental Performance in Southeast Asian Shrimp Aquaculture |publisher=WWF International |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/370/9kusr0ib46_Vietnam_Shrimp_Business_Case_v5.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dickersonndbusiness, author = {Dickerson, Scott}, title = {{A Business Case for Improved Environmental Performance in Southeast Asian Shrimp Aquaculture}}, institution = {WWF International}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/370/9kusr0ib46_Vietnam_Shrimp_Business_Case_v5.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }