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USM considering
shrimp branding
By MICHAEL NEWSOM
OCEAN SPRINGS - University of Southern
Mississippi researchers on Tuesday harvested
the first batch of shrimp they grew after
Hurricane Katrina, and they're considering
their own brand that would bear the university's
logo.
USM Gulf Coast Research Lab workers
at the Cedar Point site packed about 1,000
pounds
of shrimp on ice early Tuesday, as they harvested
the large tanks at the school's 18,800-square-foot
indoor growing facility. The tanks make up
the largest growing center of its kind in
the country, USM officials said.
Administrators
said the harvest is proof that private
companies could grow shrimp
the same way.
"
What the team has been able to show
is really a leap forward in demonstrating
the technology that could lead to industry
development. It demonstrates industry feasibility," said
Bill Hawkins, executive director of the Gulf
Coast Research Lab.
Jeff Lotz, director of
the marine aquaculture program, said the
shrimp could wind up in
the university's cafeterias, but could also
find its way into local grocery stores as
a brand that would bear the university's
name.
He said the annual U.S. trade deficit
for shrimp is about $4 billion and this proves
that more could be produced in the United
States. Only 20 percent of shrimp bought
in the United States are domestically grown.
But a good portion of it is grown through
aquaculture, Lotz said.
What sets those grown
at Gulf Coast Research Lab apart is their
low environmental impact,
he said. Those harvested Tuesday were grown
at a higher density than normal, and one
pound of shrimp was produced for every 20
gallons of water.
They reached maturity in
about 18 weeks, and the process produces
ammonia and other
contaminates in the water.
"There's nobody producing shrimp with
any less water anywhere in the world," Lotz
said. "The lower amount of water you
use, the more environmentally friendly."
Source:
The Sun Herald
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