Optimizing multi-stage shrimp production systems

Multi-stage penaeid shrimp grow-out systems have considerable advantage ove r conventional single-stage grow-out systems. A multi-stage shrimp grow-out system has more than one production stage where in the shrimp stocking den sity changes as the shrimp grow in size and are moved from one production s tage to the next. The shrimp stocking density (shrimp/m(2)) is at its highe st when the shrimp post larvae enter the first production stage and is redu ced each lime the shrimp are transferred to subsequent stages. The use of m ulti-stage instead of single-stage production systems has been considered b y numerous authors. This paper presents a methodology by which to select th e optimum number of stages for a production system and, using available dat a, demonstrates that optimum efficiency can be achieved, in most cases, by using a two-stage production system consisting of a prolonged nursery stage followed by a grow-out stage. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights re served.