Global trade in tiger shrimp threatens environment

Shrimp cultivator in Sri Lanka. Click here for more information.

The cultivation of shrimp and fish in tropical coastal areas is often described as an environmentally friendly way to alleviate poverty, but in fact this cultivation has negative consequences for both the local population and the environment. Daniel A. Bergquist of Uppsala University, Sweden, has studied how policies for sustainable development can go so wrong.

The cultivating of fish and shellfish in artificial ponds has increased dramatically in the last few decades, apace with the ever greater depletion of fish stocks in the oceans. International aid organizations, working with local governments, have made major commitments to expanding aquaculture in the hope that such activities would alleviate poverty and spur economic growth in these areas. But the Swedish human geographer Daniel A. Bergquist has shown, using Sri Lanka and the Philippines as examples, that a major portion of the local population is excluded from these activities and continue to be just as poor as ever.

“The winners are the local elites,” he says.