Walter O'Meally examines harvest. - Contributed IN ONE year, the shrimp on your plate will more likely be locally produced than imported, says Walter O'Meally, technical advisor to the island's only operating shrimp project.
Over the last seven years the Marine Shrimp Project operated jointly by the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Jamaica Agricultural Development Foundation (JADF) has reached the point where it supplies about one third of the island's shrimp consumption needs, Mr. O'Meally said. He told Wednesday Business in an interview that production is now set to soar.
"I expect production to double in a year," he said. The project now produces between 8000kg and 1000kg of shrimp per month.
Started with Inter-American Development Bank funding in 1995, operations shifted by 1998 toward a commercial mode with the University and the JADF, sharing equal partnership in the farm section of the operation.
Based on the common extensive production methods at the time, many in the industry thought Jamaica was inappropriate for shrimp production because it lacked the extensive acreage of readily available flat land close to the sea, Mr. O'Meally said. Production in Jamaica is based on intensive methods on smaller acreages which can be carried out further inland.
A joint venture company called Caribbean Mariculture Products (CAMP) was formed at that time to operate 20 acres of shrimp-farm ponds at Brompton in St. Catherine. A hatchery was developed at the UWI Port Royal Marine Laboratory, making use of the University's existing infrastructure at that location.
The project was expanded from 20 to 32 acres in 2000, all from internally generated cash flow. Most of the output goes to tourist resorts and restaurants, while smaller quantities go to distributors, and to supermarkets.
As part of a $10 million expansion, a new 5,000 square foot processing plant will be constructed, increasing the acreage under ponds from 70 to 130 at the Brompton Farm. The total operation will be expanded from 100 to 300 acres.
"We could easily triple our output," Mr. O'Meally said. "We can compete as well as anyone else." That is because shrimp can be produced in Jamaica at around US$4 per pound while the international spot market price is about US$5.50 per pound, he said. "That is a viable price for us."
Jamaica's cost of production is in the range of that of Hawaii, though countries such as China and Indonesia have substantially lower costs. But Mr. O'Meally said the extensive production methods used by but these low cost producers are being replaced by more intensive methods which are less subject to problems of disease.
With serious outbreaks of disease plaguing traditional shrimp producing countries, Jamaica is becoming increasingly attractive to investors, because it has no known shrimp diseases, and Jamaica is isolated from other shrimp producers. Both of these factors are highly favoured considerations in shrimp-investment circles.
One international shrimp producer is already setting up operations in central Jamaica, he said.
"You can make money in shrimp," Mr. O'Meally said. "It is a profitable business.
But for sustainable and profitable shrimp production to continue the country must take precautions against irresponsible practices that will expose shrimp farming to diseases or degrade the environment, Mr. O'Meally said. So a policy paper entitled: Proposed Guidelines For A Policy On Shrimp Farming In Jamaica, has been prepared and submitted to the Minister of Agriculture, and JAMPRO.
"It is hoped that this will contribute to an orderly development of marine shrimp farming in Jamaica," he said.
