Assessing economic and biological challenges in semi-intensive cultivation of Litopenaeus vannamei: identifying opportunities for enhancement in an earth-ponded shrimp farm in Sinaloa, Mexico

Abstract

Shrimp aquaculture is a rapidly growing system globally, driven by accessible markets and burgeoning demand. In the Mexican context, whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) is the main aquaculture organism. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and profitability of both a short-term harvest lasting nine weeks within a semi-intensive farm and a 26-week harvest conducted on the same farm during the same operational year. This study meticulously tracked biological and economic variables for both production schemes. The results revealed an average final shrimp weight of 8.09 g with a growth rate of 0.79 ± 0.56 g/week for the 9-week harvest and 26.7 g. with a growth rate of 1.03± 0.44 g/week for the 26-week harvest. The net revenue for the 9-week harvest reached 145,213.46 USD, with a benefit-cost ratio of 2.07, whereas the net revenue for the 26-week harvest reached 1,361,415.86 USD, with a benefit-cost ratio of 2.62. As a negative forecast, the 9-week harvest risk analysis indicated a high certainty of exceeding limit reference points (LRP) for growth, survival, and biomass. In contrast, target reference points (TRP) showed a certainty of 0% to be exceeded. While the economic analysis showcased a favorable benefit-cost ratio, the study underscores the vulnerability of semi-intensive systems to physicochemical impacts, necessitating dynamic economic tools for profitability assessments. An analysis of state-of-the-art was carried out to search for simple, low-cost strategies and proposals to improve the efficiency of crops in low-tech, semi-intensive systems. The findings emphasize research avenues for improvement, particularly in optimizing larval quality validation, water quality, and feed strategies, and exploring innovative approaches like natural immunostimulants to enhance survival rates and overall net revenue in semi-intensive shrimp farming in northwestern Mexico.