Shrimp Farming in Ceará- a controversy

In Ceará, the state in which I live in Brazil, there is a rapidly growing shrimp-farming industry, and a just as rapidly growing controversy over the environmental and health impact of this practice. The market is principally an export-driven one, with the bulk of exported shrimp destined for Europe, the USA and Japan. It is an economically important industry in this area, and shrimp are the 14th highest value export product from Ceará.

Having lived for a long time in British Columbia, Canada where salmon farming practices have contributed to the decline of natural stocks and wreaked environmental damage wherever they have started, I have been very wary of farmed shrimp here in Ceara. It hasn't been proved to me that shrimp farming is harmful to the ecology of Ceará, but at the same time, it hasn't been proven to me that it isn't harmful. Fortunately, Ceará also has an artisanal shrimp fishery, and at the portside fish market near my house, I can buy caught-at-sea shrimp, at a decent price, and with excellent quality and freshness. I think I'll stick to these shrimps when I'm cooking at home for the foreseeable future.

For a simple, quick and delicious shrimp main course from Brazil, see the recipe in this post.