Pellegrino's Saipan Aquaculture shows promise for shrimp farming

By Marconi Calindas
Saipan Tribune Reporter

People who are thinking of setting up a business in the Commonwealth are being urged to consider the lucrative shrimp farming industry.
Saipan Aquaculture Co. Inc.'s success in culturing and harvesting over 70,000 pieces (2,500 lbs) of white Pacific shrimps just months after starting up the business is an encouraging sign of the business's potential, according to SACI president Tony Pellegrino.
Pellegrino and vice president for operations Michael Ogo spoke about this new business venture during the Tuesday Rotary Club of Saipan meeting at the Hyatt Regency Saipan.
Pellegrino shared that his farm is now growing 225,000 shrimps in his facility located in Chinatown, Middle Road. "We are hoping to reach at least half a million [shrimp harvests] next year," he added.
He said his shrimp farm started with only three small tanks containing at least 10,000 post-larvae shrimp bought from the University of Guam.
The company, owned and managed by Pellegrino Holdings, started in November last year and is the first in the CNMI to focus on raising and selling "specific pathogen-free shrimp."
Pellegrino said the great news about shrimp farming in the CNMI is that the islands do not need to acquire the shrimps from Guam anymore.
"We are now exporting [the shrimps] to Guam. We are also looking at the Asian market," he said, adding that his company has been receiving inquiries from China and Thailand.
Ogo, who offered tours of their shrimp farming facilities, said that shrimp farming takes only five to six months to harvest and sell to the market.He said the company and its shrimp farms would put the CNMI on the map in the aquaculture world as a renowned and trusted source of disease-free broodstock and post-larvae shrimps.
Ogo expressed hope that the imminent success of the company would serve as an example to local investors and farmers "of the good things that could happen in the CNMI. Our success simply means that there is hope for the CNMI."
Currently, the shrimp farm has more than 250,000 post-larvae shrimps or baby shrimps. These post-larvae shrimps are expected to grow and be sold to the market in five months' time.
Ogo said that establishing more shrimp farms has a huge advantage due to the proximity of the islands to Asia. "Currently, Hawaii is the main source of shrimp in the Pacific region," he added.
This new venture sets another milestone for Pellegrino, who introduced the bottled water business on island exactly 20 years ago. While aquaculture is not new, Pellegrino is actually the first CNMI businessman to build a shrimp farm, equipped with facilities for hatchery and shrimp growing.
Located in approximately two acres of land in the inner village of China Town, Saipan Aquaculture Co. Inc. houses culture tanks, broodstock maturation tanks, hatchery, aeration, filtration, and power supply, packaging and shipping building, water storage, and waste disposal system.
The company invested over $200,000 in capital for the infrastructure. Total investments would reach up to $500,000 once the business is fully operational.
The farm has three units of circular concrete culture tanks 15 feet diameter each and two units of 30' x 70', three-phase raceway tanks. The circular tanks have a combined volume of 16,000 gallons with a projected shrimp annual production capacity of 6,000 lbs. Each raceway can produce annually up to 12,000 lbs of shrimp with an average body weight of 18 grams.
Harvests can happen every four to five months when shrimps reach maturity. Meantime, the hatchery, which has two mating tanks, three larval tanks, and 10 spawning tanks, is projected to produce a minimum of 12 million post-larvae per year.
Pellegrino said he learned about the shrimp business from the NMC-CREES' Aquaculture Program.

Source:
Saipan Tribune