Shrimp producers and academics from the Indonesian Aquaculture Community (MAI) protested Wednesday the government's policy of importing shrimp.

At a press conference held at the Hotel Sheraton Mustika in Yogyakarta, the more than 250 participants from regions across Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Java denounced the impact the imports were having on the local shrimping industry.

MAI secretary-general Agung Sudaryono said the import policy would "devastate" the local industry and render futile the myriad research and development into shrimp. "Imports will only kill the producers and incapacitate the researchers," Agung said.

He added Indonesia was rich in natural resources, possessed the right technology and skilled human resources in the shrimp business, and was currently one of the biggest shrimp producers in the world.

As a major legal battle gets underway, shareholders in Indonesia's largest shrimp producer PT Central Proteinaprima (CP Prima) will seek to prove that their opposing camp - a group of big international bondholders - are in breach of contract, a spokesman claims.

"We simply look for their compliance with the terms of signed agreement, including with procedures," Edward Lontoh, the spokesman for Red Dragon Pte. Ltd, one of the four shareholders suing the bondholders represented by Bank of New York Mellon and Bank Danamon, acting as trustee and security agent respectively, said in a statement dated Wednesday.

The other shareholders are Regent Central International Limited, Charm Easy International and PT Surya Hidup Satwa. The bondholders meanwhile are a group of global companies including Morgan Stanley, Marathon Global Equity Master Fund and Highbridge Asia Opportunities Master Fund.

The shareholders have filed a lawsuit against Bank Danamon and Bank of New York Mellon for executing a transfer of pledged shares to the bondholders, with the first hearing in a Jakarta court having taken place on Aug. 20, when a judge temporarily delayed the proceedings to give more time to the opposing camps to prepare their cases.

Like eggs, shrimp has gotten a bad wrap due to its cholesterol content. Contrary to past beliefs, eating shrimp does not significantly increase your LDL cholesterol levels but has been shown to increase your HDL (good) cholesterol levels.

It is a very low fat food containing only 1g per 3oz. serving which is mostly polyunsaturated, containing moderate amounts of omega-3 fatty acids - which we all should know by now is a very good thing!

Shrimp is a very convenient food that can be eating just about any way and tossed into just about any dish. It is extremely high in protein and other nutrients giving this relatively inexpensive food a lot of bang for its buck.

For starters, eating shrimp and other seafood products regularly (3 times per week) can:

Chinese researchers say shrimp shells hold promise as environmentally-friendly catalyst for biodiesel production. Prawn shells could help make the production of biodiesel faster, cheaper and more environmentally-friendly, according to research by scientists in China.

The shells have been tested for use as a catalyst in the production of biofuel, taking the place of strong bases or acids that are normally used to convert soybean, rapeseed and other plant oils into diesel fuel.

Under conventional biofuel refinery processes, neutralizing the catalyst used to accelerate the breakdown of organic material requires a large volume of water, which results in polluted wastewater that then has to be treated and disposed of. Moreover, the catalyst cannot be reused, increasing the costs associated with the enzymes and acids that are typically used.

Howeverm, researchers at Huazhong Agriculture University in Wuhan claim to have developed an alternative approach based on a mixture of prawn shells that have been heated until they become porous and potassium fluoride.

Many shrimp breeders in the Mekong Delta Province of Bac Lieu, Vietnam recently made losses due to breeding giant freshwater prawns imported from China. These shrimp died quickly or grew too slowly.

A breeder in Phuoc Long District said that he bought 10,000 Chinese breed shrimps. After 20 days he found that all of them had died.

Some households bred such prawns for five to six months but ended up harvesting small prawns and had to sell them at a low price.

Hepatopancreatic Parvovirus (HPV) is a small icosahedral, non-enveloped virus containing a single-stranded linear DNA genome that is placed as a member of Parvorividae. There is no specific gross sign for HPV-infected shrimp, but histology revels the presence of intra-nuclear inclusion bodies in hepatopancreatic tubule epithelial cells.

Discovered in cultured Penaeus merguiensis in Singapore in 1982, the virus has been associated with poor growth and mortalities up to 100% in larval and postlarval penaeids. It has since been detected in P. chinensis, P. semisulcatus, P. monodon, P. stylirostris and P. vannamei. HPV has been found in both cultured and wild stocks in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the Americas, Oceania and Africa.

HPV Variation

The authors' laboratory at the University of Arizona maintains an archive of samples of shrimp infected with HPV received from around the world. This has afforded the opportunity to study genetic variation among isolates collected over a wide geographic area.

Vietnam exported 72,288 tons of shrimp in the first six months this year, up 1.8 percent year-on- year in volume, said a report of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

However, the export turnover recorded a year-on-year decrease of 4.7 percent to 589.2 million U.S. dollars, said the association.

In June, Vietnam exported 18,982 tons of shrimp, bringing in over 148 million U.S. dollars, up 13.5 percent in volume and 3.9 percent in value over the same period last year.

The association attributed the increase in Vietnam's shrimp export volume in this period to increased demand from the country' s key markets of the United States and European countries

Fate of large number of Indian shrimp farmers and seafood exporters hangs in balance due to slipshod attitude of the Indian Fisheries Department, alleged Gorachand Mohanty, president of Orissa chapter of Sea Food Exporters’ Association of India, while talking to reporters here recently.

At least 50 percent shrimp farmers of the India stopped farming this year due to fall in shrimp prices in the international market last year. The global economic crisis has also affected the sea food industry in the state, said Mohanty.

Many seafood-importing countries have decided to purchase shrimps from only registered shrimp farms.

Bangladeshi fish exporters, already hit by the global economic crisis, said yesterday they had temporarily stopped shipping fresh water shrimps after a harmful drug was found in some shipments. The voluntary six-month suspension was imposed after European Union nations returned 50 container loads over the past eight months because tests showed traces of the banned antibiotic nitrofuran, a top exporter said.

"It's a blow to our industry but we had to take the drastic measure and find out how nitrofuran is entering the shrimps, their farms and hatcheries," said Kazi Shahnewaz, who heads the Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters Association.

A proposal from southern shrimpers to pledge 10,000 tonnes of Vannamai shrimp has been turned down by the government on fears of a financial loss.

Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai, who chaired a working panel on farmers assistance, said the government would rather consider other forms of assistance such as soft loans for contract farming and subsidies for production costs.

The government already holds a shrimp stockpile of about 2,508 tonnes and an additional purchase would trigger an immediate loss of about 400 million baht, said Mrs Porntiva.

Under its price-pledging scheme, the government bought 10,000 tonnes of shrimp last year at 105-160 baht per kilogramme. Of these, only 7,492 tonnes have been sold and the government anticipates a loss of 494 million baht if it fails to clear its remaining stocks.

Shrimp farmers in eight southern provinces asked the government to buy their products -- at 160 baht per kilogramme of 40 shrimp, 140 baht per kg of 50 shrimp, 130 baht per kg of 60 shrimp, 115 baht per kg of 70 shrimp and 105 per kg of 80 shrimp -- as prices have fallen steadily over the last four months.

For instance, one kilogramme of 60 shrimp is now priced at about 110 baht, down from 120 baht in April, 128 baht in March, 131 baht in February and 124 baht in January. The farmers proposed pledging prices of about 105-160 baht to enable them to stay afloat.