Introduction

Shrimp farming is an important socio-economic enterprise in a number of coastal regions of India. According to the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), India's nodal agency for the promotion of seafood exports, shrimp accounts for about two-thirds of marine product exports by value, and in 2004–2005 the sector earned foreign exchange worth INR 8,348 crore (US $1.61 billion). Shrimp is cultivated in an area of almost 200,000 hectares largely in the states of Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala, Orissa, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu (MPEDA, 2005) and exported in diversified forms to Japan, USA, Europe and elsewhere. Shrimp production grew steadily between 1990–1991 to 2001–2002 (Kumar et al., 2004) with scientifically managed shrimp farming expanding in acreage by 8.7 per cent per year and in production by 8.4 per cent per year.

The short-term financial returns from shrimp farming are high but the intensive approach of shrimp farming does have an environmental impact which extends beyond the immediate farming zone. The use of sea water along with freshwater for shrimp culture can cause salinization of land and groundwater and affect the productivity of agricultural crops and quality of groundwater. For coastal communities, which depend on a mix of agricultural activities, intensive and semi-intensive shrimp farms carry with them a high risk of crop failure. Legislation whose objective is to reduce the adverse impact of shrimp farming exists in India but only rarely has it been enforced.