Desert Sweet Shrimp
Email- Shrimp@desertsweetshrimp.com

To whom it may concern,

My name is Alyssa Cross and I am a current student at Eckerd College. Recently, I wrote a research paper regarding aquaculture and its harmful effects on the environment. To better understand sustainable aquaculture I have a few questions I would like to ask. I understand disease and parasites are common in shrimp farms, due to the high population density, and can pose a potential problem for farms. On your website I read that you do not use antibiotics, without the use of antibiotics what is your solution for disease and parasite control? I also realize fish farms produce waste, which can cause algae blooms in local waterways. Algae blooms decrease the levels of dissolved oxygen in the water, which can lead to the suffocation of local fish populations. What is done with the waste product, feces and pellets, produced by the farm? Shrimp farms are built normally on coastlines and take up a lot of room. When building Desert Sweet Shrimp how did prevent harmfully impacting the surrounding environment? By building farms humans are destructing habitats and harming ecosystems. How does Desert
Sweet Shrimp avoid harming local habitats? I am also aware that a lot of food is necessary to feed farmed shrimp. Where does the feed come from? Does the feed take away from local shrimp populations? I am concerned if humans continue to consume large amounts of
Seafood, we may permanently damage the oceans ecosystems. Do you believe the worlds fish supply can be produced by aquaculture? My main question is, how does Desert Sweet Shrimp practice sustainable aquaculture? Thank you for your time, I appreciate it greatly.
Sincerely,
Alyssa B. Cross

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NOAA Aquaculture Program
Email- NOAA.Aquaculture@noaa.gov

To whom it may concern,

My name is Alyssa Cross and I am currently a student at Eckerd College. I have recently been writing a research paper with regards to sustainable aquaculture. To help better my understanding of sustainable aquaculture, I had a few questions I would like to ask. Aquaculture fish are grown in high population densities enabling disease and parasites to spread with ease. What is a solution to diseases and parasites that will not cause pollution? Antibiotics
are poured into tanks or fed to the fish through tablets, causing waste which can pollute local waterways. Where will the waste from feces and tablets be disposed? Where does the food for the farmed fish come from? Does the fish feed take away from surrounding fish populations?
The process of fish farming is not a natural growing process for the fish. Does aquaculture harm the fish’s natural growing process? Does aquaculture produce unhealthy fish loaded with antibiotics?
Shrimp farms use shallow waters along coastlines to grow shrimp. Coastlines tend to be mangrove forests, which house nurseries for small fish. By destroying coastlines, shrimp farms destroy habitats and put smaller fish at risk of predators. Can sustainable aquaculture really be practiced? I have one main question I would like to leave you with, is aquaculture really the solution to over fishing? Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Alyssa Cross

WWF
U.S. Headquarters
World Wildlife Fund
1250 Twenty-Fourth Street, N.W.
P.O. Box 97180
Washington, DC 20090-7180

To whom it may concern,

My name is Alyssa Cross and I am currently a student at Eckerd College. I have recently been writing a research paper with regards to sustainable aquaculture and how aquaculture can prove to be harmful to the environment. I have a few questions regarding aquaculture I would like to ask to help increase my knowledge in the field of sustainable fish farming. I read through the WWF website and thoroughly agree that the emission of pollution from aquaculture farms should be carefully monitored. If the local waterways are polluted with nitrogen and phosphorus the water enrichment process leads to algae blooms. Algae absorbs high levels of dissolved oxygen, meaning waterways around fish farms, if enough pollution is emitted, will have lower levels of dissolved oxygen. Fish need dissolved oxygen to survive; if levels of dissolved oxygen get too low the local fish populations could die. What is WWFs solution to aquaculture pollution?
Shrimp farms are built in shallows coastlines to provide the best environment for the shrimp. Coastlines where shrimp are farmed normally house mangrove forests. Mangrove forests are nurseries for smaller fish, without mangroves smaller fish are less protected from predators. Shrimp farms destroy coastlines, what is the WWFs solution to the destruction of coastlines? Is there a method to build shrimp farms without destroying habitats?
My main questions I would like to leave you with are, is there such a thing as sustainable aquaculture? Is aquaculture the solution to the problem of over fishing? If not, what other solutions are there for the rising demand in the world for fish? Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,

Alyssa Cross