Growing the Giant Malaysian Prawn in Youngstown

[Youngstownshrimp]

Freshwater is vital in aquaculture, thank God it rained today, I was beginning to worry.  Ohio is truly blessed with abundant water and yet we let this vital resource just flow all the way down the Mississippi into the gulf to dilute the oceans as it disrupts the conveyor currents.

[Rick Rowlands]

Amazing!  We are truly on the cutting edge.

[Youngstownshrimp]

When OSU discovered that Ohio is a sweet spot (temperature) for growing the giant Malaysian prawn, I thought that this can be what Youngstown can do with all the vacant and abandoned land in the City.  Everyone knows that we are blessed with abundant water, and land in Ytown has no value.  Because of the summer temperature of the water in Ohio, the prawns do not reproduce but rather eat constantly so they grow large in a four month window.  There are now 30 ponds in Ohio and Ohio has one of eight hatchery's which ships juvenile prawns to southern states, imagine that, a northern state sending prawns down to coastal states.  Even with only six operational ponds, Youngstown is now the largest shrimp grower in Ohio.

The juveniles are stocked in June and are harvested in September which makes them a fast growing crop.  The problem with growing fish is the amount of time (3 years) before one can harvest.  The prawns are the freshwater specie and are a delicacy in most countries.  Daily operation of a shrimp farm is of course to feed them (Purina has just rushed to market ,they know potential, a shrimp chow in fifty lb. sacks), and examining the water for correct PH, alkalinity and temperature.  Not much is known about the best way to grow the animals in Ohio but I am learning by doing it and studying how Asian countries farm the shrimp.  Aeration is required only if one chooses the "high density" method, I prefer low density because I wish to be more natural so I do not use aeration.