美國(guó)推廣槽式海水養(yǎng)蝦

     波士頓南方、遠(yuǎn)離熙來攘往的波士頓港，半導(dǎo)體設(shè)計(jì)師川恩在麻州斯托頓小鎮(zhèn)的倉庫里孵育一種難以想像的產(chǎn)品：蝦。

　　

　　川恩兩年前開設(shè)Sky8養(yǎng)蝦場(chǎng)，是美國(guó)越來越多的小型高科技養(yǎng)蝦場(chǎng)場(chǎng)主之一，他們正忙著滿足全美對(duì)於蝦這種有殼水產(chǎn)似乎永難饜足的胃納，而且不破壞環(huán)境，不用有害化學(xué)物，也不仰賴被控侵害勞工權(quán)益的國(guó)外供應(yīng)商。

　　

　　川恩說：“想要繼續(xù)以現(xiàn)行方式取得蝦子，是不切實(shí)際的。”他在越南的親人至今還以傳統(tǒng)方式在濱海地區(qū)養(yǎng)蝦，那種方式多半造成環(huán)境、食物安全及勞工問題。但在麻州斯托頓，蝦子在裝了循環(huán)、過濾及溫控系統(tǒng)的玻璃纖維槽中長(zhǎng)大。

　　

　　美國(guó)人愛吃蝦，2002年蝦超越罐頭鮪魚，成為全美人均攝食量最高的海鮮。

　　

　　目前美國(guó)多數(shù)的蝦都由拉丁美洲及東南亞養(yǎng)蝦場(chǎng)進(jìn)口，環(huán)境及人權(quán)專家已指出，那些養(yǎng)蝦場(chǎng)的勞工權(quán)益受損、工作環(huán)境有危險(xiǎn)、養(yǎng)殖方法破壞生態(tài)系統(tǒng)，且使用荷爾蒙及抗生素。去年起，一種細(xì)菌性疾病襲擊亞洲及墨西哥養(yǎng)蝦場(chǎng)，重創(chuàng)蝦產(chǎn)量。最近有新聞報(bào)導(dǎo)指稱，泰國(guó)養(yǎng)蝦場(chǎng)在供應(yīng)養(yǎng)蝦魚飼料的船只上使用奴工。

　　

　　捕蝦也碰到問題。全球蝦數(shù)量拉警報(bào)。中國(guó)大陸曾是蝦只出口大國(guó)，現(xiàn)在為了因應(yīng)國(guó)內(nèi)日益擴(kuò)大的需求，已改而進(jìn)口蝦。在研究顯示過度捕撈及海洋暖化導(dǎo)致海蝦產(chǎn)量出現(xiàn)新低後，美國(guó)主管當(dāng)局取消了今年的緬因?yàn)巢段r季。

　　

　　這些日益沉重的問題造就了川恩這樣的新生代蝦農(nóng)。雖然尚無正式統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)，但提供養(yǎng)蝦業(yè)者設(shè)備及專門技術(shù)的RDM水產(chǎn)公司表示，美國(guó)小型室內(nèi)養(yǎng)蝦場(chǎng)的數(shù)量，過去五年間已從2家躍升為至少22家，另有數(shù)十家等著開張。

　　

　　美國(guó)加州蒙特利灣水族館極具影響力的海鮮觀察計(jì)畫，把這種槽式養(yǎng)蝦場(chǎng)養(yǎng)出的蝦，列為可永續(xù)養(yǎng)殖或捕撈的頂級(jí)海鮮。該館水產(chǎn)研究經(jīng)理布里狄森說：“我們看到一些較新的養(yǎng)蝦場(chǎng)出現(xiàn)，采行封閉式的密集養(yǎng)蝦方式，那肯定有市場(chǎng)。”

　　

　　美國(guó)政府及業(yè)者正力圖提高水產(chǎn)養(yǎng)殖業(yè)的地位，并扭轉(zhuǎn)人們對(duì)養(yǎng)殖海鮮的惡劣印象，養(yǎng)蝦業(yè)這股新潮流遂應(yīng)運(yùn)而生，民眾之所以印象惡劣，與養(yǎng)殖海產(chǎn)引發(fā)過一些爭(zhēng)議不無關(guān)系。

　　

　　聯(lián)合國(guó)糧農(nóng)組織統(tǒng)計(jì)，全美2011年養(yǎng)殖水產(chǎn)產(chǎn)量，占全球總產(chǎn)量的0.8%。漁業(yè)官員估計(jì)，如果把美國(guó)養(yǎng)殖水產(chǎn)量加倍，可創(chuàng)造5萬個(gè)工作機(jī)會(huì)，且為養(yǎng)殖業(yè)者帶來10億美元以上的營(yíng)收。

　　

　　Sky8養(yǎng)蝦場(chǎng)有四名工作人員，該公司以魚、海藻及海草為飼料，約費(fèi)時(shí)三個(gè)月才能把四萬尾蝦苗培育到零售業(yè)者及餐館喜歡的成蝦大小。該公司以水槽養(yǎng)蝦，使用大西洋的海水，加以過濾并循環(huán)使用。蝦只安全的主管機(jī)關(guān)美國(guó)食品藥物管理局去年所做的檢測(cè)顯示，Sky8養(yǎng)蝦場(chǎng)不用抗生素、荷爾蒙、殺蟲劑，這些養(yǎng)殖蝦從Sky8外流且危害野生蝦的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)微乎其微。

　　

　　如此注重細(xì)節(jié)成本自然也高。川恩每個(gè)月供應(yīng)當(dāng)?shù)馗叨速I家最多600公斤的鮮蝦，每公斤售價(jià)34美元（約臺(tái)幣1000元），差不多是進(jìn)口冷凍蝦的兩倍價(jià)格。盡管如此，川恩說，Sky8現(xiàn)在供不應(yīng)求，他說：「我們極需擴(kuò)充產(chǎn)能�！�

　　

　　漁業(yè)貿(mào)易期刊《暗潮新聞》的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，今年第一季美國(guó)進(jìn)口蝦的平均價(jià)格比去年高了45%。

　　

　　在印第安納州，卡拉妮亞．布朗和她的先生從2009年起就一直在養(yǎng)蝦，藉此貼補(bǔ)種植玉米及大豆的收入。她還在一間大谷倉里開課，傳授有關(guān)蝦的養(yǎng)殖、財(cái)務(wù)安排及行銷的課程。

　　

　　他們的RDM水產(chǎn)公司迄今已經(jīng)協(xié)助14家養(yǎng)蝦場(chǎng)順利開業(yè)，場(chǎng)主有農(nóng)民、銀行家、電話技師及前殯儀館主任�？ɡ�妮亞說，在接下來的一年中，至少還有六家養(yǎng)蝦場(chǎng)會(huì)開張。

　　

　　卡拉妮亞說：“美國(guó)有能力自行養(yǎng)蝦時(shí)，就不應(yīng)該進(jìn)口。我們的蝦那麼新鮮，出貨時(shí)蝦腳都還在動(dòng)呢。”

 

       英文原版：

　　

　　Shrimp’s Path to Plate May Begin in a Tank

　　

　　STOUGHTON, Massachusetts — In a warehouse south of Boston, away from the city’s bustling harbor, James Tran, a semiconductor designer, is incubating an unlikely product: shrimp.

　　

　　Mr. Tran, who started Sky8 Shrimp Farm two years ago, is one of a growing number of small, high-tech shrimp farmers in America racing to feed the country’s seemingly insatiable appetite for the shellfish, without ravaging the environment, using harmful chemicals or depending on overseas suppliers accused of labor rights violations.

　　

　　“To go on getting shrimp the way we have is wishful thinking,” Mr. Tran said . His extended family in Vietnam engages in traditional coastal shrimp farming, the kind often linked to environmental, food safety and labor troubles. But here, shrimp mature in fiberglass tanks fitted with recirculation, filtration and temperature control systems.

　　

　　Americans love shrimp, which overtook canned tuna as the most-consumed seafood per capita in 2002.

　　

　　Most of the shrimp the United States imports comes from farms in Latin America and in Southeast Asia, where environmental and human rights experts have identified labor rights abuses, hazardous working conditions, damage to ecosystems and the use of hormones and antibiotics.

　　

　　Since last year, a bacterial disease has hit shrimp farms across Asia and Mexico, crippling shrimp production. Recent news reports have alleged the use of slave labor on boats that supply fish meal for shrimp farms in Thailand.

　　

　　Shrimp fishing, too, has run into problems. Stocks are under pressure across the globe. China, once a major shrimp exporter, now imports shrimp to meet growing demand. American regulators called off this year’s Gulf of Maine shrimping season after research suggested that overfishing and warming waters had driven shrimp stocks to new lows.

　　

　　Those mounting concerns are spurring a new generation of shrimp farmers, like Mr. Tran .

　　

　　Though official statistics are not yet available, the number of small indoor shrimp farms in the United States has grown from just two to at least 22 over the last five years, with dozens more in the pipeline, according to RDM Aquaculture, which provides equipment and expertise to shrimp farmers.

　　

　　The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s influential Seafood Watch program gives shrimp from these tank-based farms its highest rating for seafood that is farmed or fished sustainably. “We’re seeing newer farms come along that engage in closed, intensive shrimp farming, and there’s certainly a market for that,” said Pete Bridson, aquaculture research manager at the aquarium.

　　

　　The new wave in American shrimp farming is part of a push by government and industry officials to raise the stature of aquaculture and reverse a disdainful public perception of farmed seafood, in part because of past controversies over cultivated ocean products.

　　

　　Over all, American farmers made up 0.8 percent of global aquaculture production in 2011, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

　　

　　Fisheries officials estimate that doubling American aquaculture production could create 50,000 jobs and more than $1 billion in revenue for farmers.

　　

　　At Sky8 Shrimp, run by four workers, it takes about three months to grow batches of 40,000 shrimp larvae, which feed on fish meal, algae and seaweed, to a size favored by retailers and restaurants.

　　

　　The farm uses tanks of Atlantic Ocean water, filtered and reused . There are no antibiotics, no hormones and no pesticides, according to tests carried out last year by the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates shrimp. There is little risk that shrimp might escape and harm wild stocks.

　　

　　That attention to detail comes with a cost. Mr. Tran ships as much as 600 kilograms of fresh shrimp a month to local high-end buyers at $ 34 a kilogram, as much as twice the price to consumers of imported frozen shrimp . Still, he says Sky8 is struggling to meet demand . “We desperately need to expand capacity,” he said.

　　

　　The average price of shrimp imported into the United States during the first quarter of the year was 45 percent higher than last year, according to data carried by the trade journal Undercurrent News.

　　

　　In Indiana, Karlanea Brown and her husband, Darryl, have been farming shrimp since 2009 to supplement their income from corn and soybeans. Ms. Brown also run s classes on shrimp farming, financing and marketing in a big barn.

　　

　　So far, their company, RDM Aquaculture, has helped get 14 shrimp farms off the ground, started by farmers, bankers, a phone technician and a former funeral home director. At least six more shrimp farms are coming online in the next year, Ms. Brown said.

　　

　　“The U.S. shouldn’t be importing shrimp when we can make our own,” Ms. Brown said. “We ship our shrimp out so fresh, their legs are still kicking when they go out the door.”

　　

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