Lithuanians grow shrimp: they plan to flood Europe with them

Algirdas Krupskis, Director of Local Ocean, introducing the shrimp farm, emphasizes that this idea originated not only in gourmet incentives, but also ecological ones, according to the report.

“When we asked about how shrimp is farmed in the Asian and South American continents, we were surprised by the damage to the environment and society caused by the massive shrimp farms there. Therefore, when we decide to establish a shrimp farm in Lithuania, we pay special attention to sustainability, ecology and processing. We have built a 1,500 square meter farm since the foundation, which has no negative impact on the environment, and the farmed shrimp are organic, no antibiotics, growth hormones and chemicals are used, ”says A. Krupskis.

Lithuanians, who started building a shrimp farm in 2017, have been involved in experiments, research and investigations for many months. Finally, with the successful cultivation of marketable crustaceans, Local Ocean entered the market early last year: fresh Lithuanian shrimp were sold on the company’s website, as well as in organic stores, and now in the chain’s large stores. Maxima retailer. .

Shrimp are snatched

Lithuanian shrimp farmers are happy that December 2020 was a record: monthly sales increased up to 10 times.

“The demand for seafood in Lithuania is growing and its sales are increasing by more than one-tenth every year, and for some products even a few or several times. We note that the buyer wants to try the innovation and especially values ​​the products fresh and quality. All of this is combined with ‘Local Ocean’ products, and the fact that these organic shrimp are grown in Lithuania only further increases the confidence of buyers, “says E. Dapkienė.

Shrimp are sensitive and pampered creatures

A. Krupskis, Director of Local Ocean, points out that due to increased pollution, shrimp stocks in the oceans are declining, so relocating shrimp farms to closed systems is a natural process. This makes it easier to meet consumer needs and avoids transportation costs and environmental pollution when farms are closer to the consumer.

It is true that shrimp farming in Europe is still a novelty, although the market on this continent is huge. A. Krupskis says that the closest shrimp farm he knows is in Germany. This is heavily influenced by sophisticated technology and demand for shrimp.

“In the first year, when we created and improved the ecosystem, we lost many batches of shrimp. Shrimp are very sensitive and pampered creatures that respond to the slightest change. For example, without oxygen in the water they can survive only 15 minutes, so that the oxygen supply to swimming pools can never be interrupted ”, explains A. Krupskis.

Tropical humidity and 30 degree heat are maintained 24 hours a day in the local ocean, and the water temperature does not drop below 27 degrees. The shrimp are farmed in 25 separate water tanks, from the smallest, 3 cubic meters in volume, where the animals acclimatize and mature, to 54 cubic meters of pools for adult shrimp.

The water here is also special: its structure is the same as in tropical oceans, so the shrimp feel “at home”. The company’s employees monitor and control the microbiological and chemical composition of the pools, the temperature and the water circulation regimes throughout the day. So there are only two differences from natural conditions: there are no predators that pose a risk to the shrimp in the pools and there is no need to search for food.

Lithuania’s ambitions are to cover all of Europe

As A. Krupskis explains, shrimp farming and shrimp farming are two different activities that require different technologies. So far, crustaceans are only farmed in Lithuania.

Litopenaus Vannamei shrimp fry arrive in Lithuania by plane from the US During the first few days, the animals acclimatize and adapt, and after quarantine, they travel to the primary rearing tanks. After a month, the shrimp that have grown are transferred to medium-sized containers and a month later they are injected into the main farming system. Fried shrimp reach a commercial weight of 17-25 grams in approximately three months.

To ensure a constant supply to customers, the farm’s reservoirs grow a quarter of a million shrimp simultaneously at various stages of maturity, and about a ton of fresh shrimp are prepared for trade per month.
The director of Local Ocean mentions that it is much more ambitious: farm development plans have already been drawn up and shrimp farming is planned in Lithuania. The capacity of the new farm will be five times greater than the current one, and it is planned to integrate production management software to reduce the need for scientific personnel.

The great goal of the Lithuanians is to create a fully automated production process and expand shrimp farming throughout Europe. “Every year some 400,000 tonnes of shrimp from Asia and South America are imported into Europe, but there are only a few shrimp farms in Europe that together produce less than 50 tonnes of shrimp per year. “Local Ocean wants to change this and help entrepreneurs establish more shrimp farms in Europe using the technology we are developing,” said A. Krupskis.