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Aquaponics
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Pacific white shrimp (Paneais
Vannamei) in freshwater
March through October is the shrimp season on the
Wood Brothers Farm in Gila Bend Arizona. In the beginning, the
shrimp start out about the size of a gnat or fingernail clipping.
By the time, they are ready to be harvested, the shrimp are in
the 15 to 30-gram range. "We really have two purposes,"
Wood said. "we want to raise commercial shrimp but also
brood stock shrimp." The brood stock, male and female shrimp
used for mating, sell for \$40 to $50 each. The Woods' brood stock
is particularly valuable considering the precautions taken and
absence of contamination. "Isolation helps us stay so
clean," Wood said. "The shrimp industry in most parts
of the world is wracked with diseases. That's one of the reasons
you are always seeing little shrimp. They find out about disease
and then they harvest the right then."
The shrimp grown on the Gila Bend farm are Paneais Vannamei,
a Pacific white shrimp prized for its meaty tail. Air temperature
and water quality have been cited as reasons for the shrimp's
phenomenal growth. Gila Bend's temperatures are, after all,
somewhat notorious, especially the summer. Well water is used in
the farm's tanks and ponds with salt added only in the initial
stages of acclimation.
"Shrimp can tolerate low salinity. We saw that in
Ecuador," Wood said.
That is where he and other farm personnel learned so much of what
they know about shrimp. For some 40 years, the Wood family has
farmed in Arizona, most recently serving as the management team
on the Paloma Ranch near Gila Bend. When the ranch changed hands,
Wood and some other ranch personnel were sent to Ecuador to learn
about shrimp farming. "In Ecuador, the shrimp was so high in
quality that we were shipping to Europe," Wood said.
Returning from South America, Wood installed the shrimp operation
on the farm four years ago. the venture has yet to turn a profit,
but Wood thinks it's just a matter of time - and taste.
"We haven't had any publicity until this year," Wood
said, breaking into a smile. "The reason is we wanted to
make sure we would succeed."
Wood Brothers Shrimp
Farm
P.O. Box A1, Gila Bend AZ, 85337
Tel. (623) 393-0136
FAX - (623) 393-0158
