The development of shrimp aquaculture in the Mekong Delta of Viet Nam is implicated in several patterns of local and regional change. These change trajectories are the emergent properties of complex processes embedded in particular social and spatial contexts. While places have become more interconnected through the global shrimp trade, those interconnections have been highly uneven, distributing risks and rewards disproportionately and producing new forms of conflict and cooperation among participants in the production network.Land use and farming systems in the coastal delta have changed profoundly in recent years. While some areas have become effectively `locked in' to shrimp farming due to environmental changes initiated by salt-water aquaculture, others have remained more flexible, able to rotate rice and shrimp seasonally. Hydrologic conditions, water infrastructures, and farmer experience all contribute to the path-dependence of these change trajectories, but commodity prices exhibit the strongest influence on their direction. Price stabilization may contribute to making prices a sustaining, `slow' variable in system change, not a disruptive `fast' one, heightening overall resilience.The production network of Mekong Delta shrimp is articulated through a variety of socially embedded relationships. Most producers are linked with international markets through informal ties with input suppliers based on trust and shrimp buyers, a relationship marked by opportunism. Processors operate through long-term informal relations with importers based on quality and consistency. This variegated network of relationships means farmers bear the brunt of price shocks, but processors lack quality assurance and traceability. Efforts to link chain participants into closer affiliation must pay attention to these relationships' effects on commodity chain governance.The globalization of the shrimp industry brought about conflicts between producers in the Mekong and Mississippi Deltas. Feminist geographers have posited several responses to globalization, from `counter-topographies' to `diverse economies/resubjectivization.' Living in Viet Nam and working with shrimp producers, I attempted to use these approaches to articulate an internationalist and trans-regional politics. Interactions with people there primarily resubjectivized me and reinforced national-scaled spatial imaginaries, however. Nevertheless, being `Uncle America' offered an insightful perspective into how some Vietnamese understood themselves and Viet Nam's tortured relationship with the U.S.

O cultivo de camarão branco Litopennaeus vannamei tem provado ser um sector promissor para a economia do nordeste do Brasil. Contudo, a criação de camarão branco no Brasil tem sido afetada negativamente pela ocorrência de doenças virais, ameaçando a sua expansão e sustentabilidade. Por esta razão, depreende-se a importância da elaboração de um sistema de vigilância capaz de detectar e definir a ausência de doenças virais de elevado impacto econômico. O modelo estocástico AquaVigil é aqui implementado para avaliar prospectivamente diferentes estratégias de vigilância para determinar a ausência de doença e identificar a estratégia exigindo menor esforço de amostragem e simultaneamente, fazer o melhor uso dos recursos disponíveis através da implementação de vigilância baseada em risco. O estudo apresentado exemplifica a aplicação regional do sistema proposto para o estado do Ceará, podendo ser aplicado a outros estados do Brasil. O modelo AquaVigil pode analisar qualquer sistema de vigilância baseada em risco semelhante àquele aqui considerado. A criação de camarão no nordeste do Brasil tem sido alvo de vários desafios, desde a ocorrência de doenças virais a mudanças no acesso aos mercados internacionais. Tendo em consideração as dificuldades encontradas pela aquicultura de camarão no nordeste do Brasil, facilmente se compreende a importância de caracterizar e melhor compreender este setor e assim assegurar o seu desenvolvimento sustentável. Para este fim, foram aplicados métodos de análise de correspondência multipla e clustering particional a dados recolhidos durante um levantamento nacional de fazendas de carcinicultura de forma a obter informação necessária para caracterizar tendências e identificar falhas e necessidades existentes. Esta informação será útil no momento de melhorar o manejo das fazendas e elaborar legislação a favor do desenvolvimento do setor / The farming of Pacific white shrimp Litopennaeus vannamei in northeast Brazil, has proven to be a promising sector. However, the farming of Pacific white shrimp in Brazil has been affected negatively by the occurrence of viral diseases, threatening this sector\'s expansion and sustainability. For this reason, the drafting of a surveillance system for early detection and definition of freedom from viral diseases, whose occurrence could result in high economic loses, is of the utmost importance. The stochastic model AquaVigil was implemented to prospectively evaluate different surveillance strategies to determine freedom from disease and identify the strategy with the lowest sampling efforts, making the best use of available resources through risk-based surveillance. The worked example presented was designed for regional application for the state of Ceará and can easily be applied to other Brazilian states. The AquaVigil model can analyze any risk-based surveillance system that considers a similar outline to the strategy here presented. In recent years, shrimp aquaculture has faced many challenges, ranging from the occurrence of viral diseases to changes in market access. Considering the past and present challenges faced by the shrimp farmers in Northeast Brazil it is easily understood that the comprehensive characterization of the shrimp farming is of the utmost importance when striving for sustainable development. To this aim, the exploratory data analysis methods of multiple correspondence analysis and partitional clustering were applied to the data collected through a national census to extract the greatest amount of information and profile shrimp farms, identifying gaps and needs. The results of the analysis will contribute to improve management practices and policy-making for sustainable shrimp farming in Northeast Brazil

O cultivo de camarão branco Litopennaeus vannamei tem provado ser um sector promissor para a economia do nordeste do Brasil. Contudo, a criação de camarão branco no Brasil tem sido afetada negativamente pela ocorrência de doenças virais, ameaçando a sua expansão e sustentabilidade. Por esta razão, depreende-se a importância da elaboração de um sistema de vigilância capaz de detectar e definir a ausência de doenças virais de elevado impacto econômico. O modelo estocástico AquaVigil é aqui implementado para avaliar prospectivamente diferentes estratégias de vigilância para determinar a ausência de doença e identificar a estratégia exigindo menor esforço de amostragem e simultaneamente, fazer o melhor uso dos recursos disponíveis através da implementação de vigilância baseada em risco. O estudo apresentado exemplifica a aplicação regional do sistema proposto para o estado do Ceará, podendo ser aplicado a outros estados do Brasil. O modelo AquaVigil pode analisar qualquer sistema de vigilância baseada em risco semelhante àquele aqui considerado. A criação de camarão no nordeste do Brasil tem sido alvo de vários desafios, desde a ocorrência de doenças virais a mudanças no acesso aos mercados internacionais. Tendo em consideração as dificuldades encontradas pela aquicultura de camarão no nordeste do Brasil, facilmente se compreende a importância de caracterizar e melhor compreender este setor e assim assegurar o seu desenvolvimento sustentável. Para este fim, foram aplicados métodos de análise de correspondência multipla e clustering particional a dados recolhidos durante um levantamento nacional de fazendas de carcinicultura de forma a obter informação necessária para caracterizar tendências e identificar falhas e necessidades existentes. Esta informação será útil no momento de melhorar o manejo das fazendas e elaborar legislação a favor do desenvolvimento do setor / The farming of Pacific white shrimp Litopennaeus vannamei in northeast Brazil, has proven to be a promising sector. However, the farming of Pacific white shrimp in Brazil has been affected negatively by the occurrence of viral diseases, threatening this sector\'s expansion and sustainability. For this reason, the drafting of a surveillance system for early detection and definition of freedom from viral diseases, whose occurrence could result in high economic loses, is of the utmost importance. The stochastic model AquaVigil was implemented to prospectively evaluate different surveillance strategies to determine freedom from disease and identify the strategy with the lowest sampling efforts, making the best use of available resources through risk-based surveillance. The worked example presented was designed for regional application for the state of Ceará and can easily be applied to other Brazilian states. The AquaVigil model can analyze any risk-based surveillance system that considers a similar outline to the strategy here presented. In recent years, shrimp aquaculture has faced many challenges, ranging from the occurrence of viral diseases to changes in market access. Considering the past and present challenges faced by the shrimp farmers in Northeast Brazil it is easily understood that the comprehensive characterization of the shrimp farming is of the utmost importance when striving for sustainable development. To this aim, the exploratory data analysis methods of multiple correspondence analysis and partitional clustering were applied to the data collected through a national census to extract the greatest amount of information and profile shrimp farms, identifying gaps and needs. The results of the analysis will contribute to improve management practices and policy-making for sustainable shrimp farming in Northeast Brazil

Aquaculture plays a critical role in alleviating demand pressures caused by increasing fish consumption and over-exploitation of fishery stocks. While aquatic foods are generally considered low-revenue generators in comparison to other protein-sources, aquaculture products help to support food security, income, and higher standards of living, particularly in developing countries. Decision makers, i.e. policy-makers and farmers, are challenged with the responsibility of planning and conducting aquaculture development in a sustainable way whereby social, environmental and economic goals are simultaneously satisfied. Existing studies that economically evaluate the industry for its current and historical performance, and future development scenarios are invaluable to sustainable planning, but have not been developed in Mexico. This dissertation is comprised of two essays applying Economics and Operations Research theory to regional economic planning for the sustainable development of shrimp farming in northwest Mexico. The analyses are carried out both at the micro (farm) and macro (industry planning and development) levels based on an unbalanced panel of shrimp semi-intensive farms containing primary-source information at pond level for the period 1994, 1996-1998. Using an input distance function approach, the first essay examines total factor productivity (TFP) and technical efficiency (TE) using both traditional (T) and environmentally-adjusted (EA) indicators. The reduction in TFP was determined to be due to a technological regression as reflected by increased input-intensive production technology resulting in an increase in undesirable outputs. The learning curve resulting from a shift from white shrimp to blue shrimp production species resulted in higher FCRs, water exchange and pollution emissions, despite increasing shrimp yields. In all years except 994, EA TE and EA TFP were lower than the traditional TE and TFP scores. TE and TFP had an opposite behavior than yields in this period of time. In order to improve the technological change (TC) component of TFP in light of stable TE scores, increased government assistance in disseminating technological know-how is necessary to improve TFP at a faster rate during the transition period. A sensitivity analysis also revealed the economic feasibility of the implementation of pollution abatement technology based on the calculated shadow price of N and P pollutants at USD $6.35/kg and $8.3/kg respectively. In the second essay, a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) model was developed to evaluate the sustainable development of shrimp farming in the northwest region of Mexico (States of Sonora, Sinaloa and Nayarit) based on government objectives for aquaculture development in Mexico. Three possible production systems among two species were investigated. The optimal combination of new shrimp farms within 22,500 ha over a five-year period is determined. The planning objectives assumed in the MCDM model are maximization of employment (E), foreign exchange earnings (XG), and economic rent (ER), and total pollution (TOTALPOLL) minimization, subject to land availability and local market demand constraints. Under a preliminary evaluation of single objective optimization, XG and ER maximization produce similar results: USD $888.6 and $322.5 million in foreign exchange earnings and economic rent respectively, and the creation of 6,150 jobs. The MCDM model was implemented using Feasible Goals, which allows for the simultaneous graphical evaluation of decision maps arising from trade-offs among efficient solutions. When fully allocating the available land (22,500 ha), the multiobjective development of the shrimp farming industry produces 7,490 new jobs, ER and XG of USD $204.5 and $497.6 million respectively, with a total pollutant discharge of 2,000 tons. The multiple-criteria optimization strongly favors semi-intensive systems (93% of the total 466 new farms), producing 57,119 tons of shrimp by 2005. The sustainable development of the industry based on the assumptions of this analysis does not suggest intensification of systems. Rather, the results of the MCDM analysis support the claim that semi-intensive farms, which are more common in Mexico, promote sustainability. Based on the findings of each of the essays, it is suggested that production performance indicators are needed on a periodic basis for the evaluation of the shrimp industry of Mexico. Production performance measurements may better assist farmers in the decision-making for industry sustainability and growth. Moreover, direct determination of N and P discharges by farms are recommended in future studies as well as incorporating risk and employing longer time series.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:52:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 OrildoSOS.pdf: 487861 bytes, checksum: 000c581381b10a9543619587412d4f6e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-05-19 / O objetivo desse trabalho foi investigar a contribui??o social da atividade econ?mica denominada de carcinicultura, para o munic?pio de Canguaretama no Rio Grande do Norte, a partir da vis?o dos moradores do citado munic?pio, sendo enfocados aspectos ambientais, aspectos de produ??o, consumo de energia, gera??o de empregos e renda, e investimentos na ?rea social, para a melhoria de vida da popula??o local. Foi realizada uma pesquisa amostral do tipo Survey com 234 pessoas daquele munic?pio de um universo de 27.011 habitantes. Foi escolhido esse munic?pio porque o mesmo ? um dos principais produtores de camar?es no Estado, al?m de contar com as principais fazendas de cria??o e laborat?rios de melhoramento gen?tico dessa cultura. O instrumento de pesquisa utilizado, foi o question?rio com perguntas abertas e fechadas. Resultados mostram que grande maioria declarou pouco conhecimento com rela??o ao processo produtivo da atividade da carcinicultura e reconheceram como principal benef?cio da mesma, a gera??o de empregos. Em termos de associa??o entre vari?veis, n?o se verificou relacionamento entre as vari?veis investigadas do grupo perfil e a vari?vel dependente que expressa a opini?o do entrevistado quanto aos benef?cios sociais gerados pela atividade. Ou seja, em termos de g?nero, n?o h? diferen?a de percep??o entre homens e mulheres sobre os benef?cios sociais advindos da carcinicultura. De forma an?loga, n?o se observa diferen?a de percep??o sobre os benef?cios sociais da atividade entre as diferentes faixas de escolaridade, idade e renda familiar da popula??o entrevistada

O discurso da mÃdia impressa do Cearà sobre a carcinicultura, entre 2002 e 2005, à o tema principal da pesquisa, que se detÃm na anÃlise dos tÃtulos de 43 reportagens sobre carcinicultura, publicadas nos jornais âDiÃrio do Nordesteâ e âO Povoâ. Para isso, à feito, inicialmente, um levantamento da atividade da carcinicultura no Estado do Cearà atà 2005, a partir dos estudos mais relevantes jà publicados. Nesta reconstituiÃÃo, sÃo considerados os conceitos de sustentabilidade; Economia, Ecologia e Lei da Entropia e suas implicaÃÃes nas questÃes socioambientais; a importÃncia do manguezal; o desenvolvimento da carcinicultura no Estado do CearÃ; e, tambÃm, alguns dos principais impactos relacionados à atividade, como a destruiÃÃo e / ou interferÃncia no equilÃbrio do ecossistema manguezal. TambÃm à abordada a construÃÃo da notÃcia sobre meio ambiente, destacando a atividade midiÃtica, nÃo apenas como mediaÃÃo entre o acontecimento e o leitor. Para isso, sÃo destacados trabalhos referenciais, no campo das teorias jornalÃsticas, incluindo o Newsmaking, que trata dos critÃrios de relevÃncia e noticiabilidade, os valores-notÃcia de seleÃÃo e de construÃÃo, e o contrato de leitura. TambÃm sÃo focadas a questÃo Ãtica e a cobertura jornalÃstica especÃfica do meio ambiente; considerando o desafio ser jornalista incorporando as virtudes do pensamento complexo no trabalho de reconstruÃÃo da realidade. Para a compreensÃo do discurso da mÃdia impressa, sÃo utilizadas ferramentas teÃrico-metodolÃgicas da AnÃlise do Discurso, a partir da necessidade de aliar linguagem [texto] e ideologia [contexto], na compreensÃo da construÃÃo do sentido, com suas estratÃgias enunciativas. O objetivo à verificar, atravÃs dos tÃtulos, como, nas mais diversas editorias dos dois jornais, o tema foi tratado no perÃodo destacado para a anÃlise â considerando o texto e o contexto de produÃÃo das matÃrias â para mostrar como se constrÃi o discurso sobre a carcinicultura no Cearà para os leitores. / The CearÃâs press media discourse about shrimp aquaculture, between 2002 and 2005, is the principal theme of this research, which approach is the 43 newspaper reports titles about shrimp aquaculture, published on âDiÃrio do Nordesteâ and âO Povoâ newspapers. To do it, at first, a research on shrimp aquaculture activity at Cearà State was made, utilizing the most important studies published about it. On this reconstruction, are considered sustainability; Economy, Ecology and Entropy Law concepts and its implications on socio-environmental questions; the mangrove importance; the shrimp aquaculture development on Cearà State; and, also, some of the principals impacts related to the activity, as the destruction and / or interference on the mangrove ecosystem balance. Itâs also treated the environmental news construction, emphasizing not only the mediation activity between the occurrence and the reader. For this, reference researches from the journalism theories are emphasized, including the Newsmaking, which concerns to de relevance and noticiability criteria, the news-value of selection and construction, and the reading contract. The ethic and the journalism on environmental questions are also focused; considering the challenge of being journalist incorporating the complex thinking virtues on the reality construction work. To the comprehension of the press media discourse, is utilized the Discourse Analysisâ theory methodological tools, beginning from the necessity to join language [text] and ideology [context], to the comprehension of sense construction, with itâs enunciatively strategies. The objective is verify how, through the titles, on the various parts of the two newspapers, the theme was treated on the emphasized period of the analysis â considering the text and the context of the newspaper reports production â to show how the CearÃâs shrimp aquaculture discourse is constructed to the readers.

As the demand for farmed shrimp continues to grow worldwide, the use of probiotics to address the sustainability of aquaculture fisheries has gained much attention. Emerging diseases in shrimp aquaculture, such as acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND), have devastating economic impacts in countries that largely depend on this activity. The relevance of this research lies on the fact that it explores the potential of using probiotics to mitigate the negative effects of AHPND in shrimp aquaculture. The scope of these studies includes survival of probiotic microbes in typical aquaculture water conditions, the effectiveness of probiotics in vitro and in vivo against the pathogenic strain of Vibrio parahaemolyticus that causes AHPND, and the effects of probiotics on the bacterial community composition in aquaculture water and gastrointestinal tract of shrimp after an induced AHPND infection. The microorganisms chosen as probiotics for this research include a lactic acid bacterium, a yeast and a photosynthetic bacterium. Informal feedback from shrimp farmers in Thailand and Vietnam revealed positive results against AHPND when using a commercially available probiotic containing multiple species of microorganisms from these probiotic groups. This research was divided into four studies. The first study (Chapter 2) evaluated the growth of the three different probiotic microbes in two different salinity conditions commonly found in intensive shrimp production systems to determine whether they could be further considered as potential candidates. The hypothesis was that the NaCl concentrations of the media may not have an effect on acid production, growth and cell morphology of the microorganisms being evaluated due to their metabolic mechanisms of adaptation to differences in osmotic pressure. The probiotic microbes were cultured in nutrient media enriched with 1 and 2% NaCl. Microbial survival, acidity and cell morphology between treatments were compared using enumeration by serial dilutions and plating, pH measurements and scanning electron microscopy imaging, respectively. The results showed that salinity levels up to 2% NaCl did not affect the growth of lactic acid bacteria and yeast. Photosynthetic bacteria grown in media with 1% NaCl showed a 24-hour delay in comparison to the control and a prolonged lag phase that lasted 48 hours when the media contained 2% NaCl. Therefore, the hypothesis was partially supported. Based on these results, all three probiotic microbes demonstrated to be suitable for application in aquaculture ponds with up to 2% salinity. The second study (chapter 3) aimed at determining the inhibitory effects of eight different formulations of probiotic solutions against the pathogenic strain of V. parahaemolyticus in vitro. The hypothesis of this study was that probiotic solutions containing whole microbial cultures of multiple microbial types including lactic acid bacteria may have a greater inactivation of the pathogen. The probiotic formulations consisted of individual cultures, combinations of the three probiotic microbes, and a commercially available probiotic formulation. The inhibitory effects were evaluated following a disk diffusion test on solid media by comparing diameters of zones of inhibition, and a challenge test in liquid media by comparing pathogen survival after exposure to probiotic solutions. Findings revealed inhibition zones with greater diameters in disks treated with whole microbial cultures (min: 7.83 mm, max: 11.33 mm) versus disks treated with only supernatants (min: 7.00 mm, max: 8.50 mm). Results from the challenge in liquid media tests showed greater inactivation of the pathogen after 48 h (6.56±0.07 to 5.43±0.03 log10 reduction) when treated with lactic acid bacteria alone and in combination with other microbial types. From these results, the hypothesis was supported and it was concluded that probiotic solutions including a lactic acid bacterium, the combination of lactic acid bacterium and photosynthetic bacterium and the combination of lactic acid bacterium, yeast and photosynthetic bacterium may be used to effectively inhibit AHPND in shrimp aquaculture. The third study (chapter 4) explored the effects of probiotic solutions on live shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) pretreated with probiotics for 7 days prior to challenging them with the pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus strain causing AHPND. The hypothesis of this study was that higher shrimp survival and weight gains would be observed when shrimps are exposed to probiotics solutions with multiple microbial types in the water and feed. Water quality parameters (dissolved oxygen, temperature, acidity, salinity and total ammonia nitrogen), difference in shrimp weight increase and shrimp survival were compared between probiotic treatments and controls. Treatments included: (1) a lactic acid bacterium alone (Pro.Sol1), (2) a lactic acid bacterium and a photosynthetic bacterium (Pro.Sol2), (3) the combination of a lactic acid bacterium, a yeast, and a photosynthetic bacterium (Pro.Sol3), and (4) a commercial probiotic (Com.Pro) and the results showed shrimp survival of 11.7, 26.7, 36.7 and 73.3%, respectively. Also, treatments Pro.Sol3 and Com.Pro resulted in higher weight gains (19.7 and 31.2%, respectively) versus the negative control (11.2%). Moreover, onset of the disease was delayed in all treatments as follows: 12 h with Pro.Sol1, 20 h with Pro.Sol2, 22 h with Pro.Sol3, and 26 h with Com.Pro. From these results, the hypothesis was supported and it was concluded that probiotics have the potential to effectively mitigate the effects of AHPND in the shrimp aquaculture. Finally, the fourth study (chapter 5) evaluated the effects of probiotics on the bacterial diversity of the gastrointestinal tract of shrimp as well as variation of bacterial and fungal diversity in the water before and after challenging shrimp with the pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus strain causing AHPND. The hypothesis of this study was that probiotic solutions with multiple microbial types may be able to maintain the microbial composition of the shrimp GI tract and aquaculture water preventing an increase in relative abundance of the family Vibrionaceae. Next generation sequencing was conducted using an Illumina MiSeq™ and primers specific for bacterial V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene. The results obtained from the GI tract of shrimp revealed that the relative abundance of the family Vibrionaceae significantly increased in treatments with high mortalities, whereas treatments with higher survivals showed no significant difference in relative abundance of Vibrionaceae family members (P>0.05) in comparison to the negative control. The Shannon diversity index values (abundance and evenness) of the bacterial communities revealed that the treatment with the highest survival had the highest Shannon index value (4.69±0.133) whereas the treatment with lowest survival had the lowest Shannon index value (0.17±0.004). The results obtained from water samples did not show a higher abundance of the family Vibrionaceae, and diversity was maintained after infection (Shannon index 4.64±0.58). Regarding fungal diversity in water samples, Shannon index values revealed no significant changes before (3.627±0.37) and after infection (3.664±0.18) except for Pro.Sol3 (2.859±0.56) and Com.Pro (1.795±0.50), which included yeast in their formulation. Thus, the hypothesis of this study was partially supported since the results revealed that while all probiotics maintained the diversity of microbial composition in the water, only those probiotic solutions with various microbial types in the formulation maintained the diversity of the microbial composition in the GI tract of shrimp providing protection against AHPND.

Mangroves represent an important source of livelihood for many poor people acrossthe world. However, insufficient policy responses relating to mangrove conservation,combined with the lack of clearly defined property rights contribute extensively to theconversion of mangroves to alternative uses, in particular shrimp aquaculture. On thebasis of relevant theoretical perspectives on property rights, this Master’s thesisanalyses various formal and informal institutions and existing governancemechanisms that determine natural resources management in the Mahakam delta, EastKalimantan, Indonesia. By employing a qualitative participatory research approachthe case study explores how different institutions in Indonesia shape the local propertyrights regime in mangroves. The results show that the interplay between formal andinformal institutions involved in defining property rights, along with the lack ofcoordination among responsible government agencies, has resulted in the clearing ofone of the largest Nypah forests in the world for shrimp pond construction withinthree decades. Moreover, the study suggests that the current problem of mangrovedestruction will not be solved merely by declaring the Mahakam delta as a protectedarea or by assigning full ownership rights to the local people. On the contrary, thestudy suggests that the coordination and enforcement mechanisms should be enhancedin such ways that they simultaneously address both local peoples’ needs as well asecosystem integrity.

Throughout this thesis I have laid out several factors that have contributed to the sustainability of shrimp farming in Thailand, and if sustainability whilst maintaining production can ever be achieved. To find out the current situation of shrimp farming in Thailand, the history of global and Thai shrimp farming is described. The social and environmental problems of the unsustainable history of shrimp farming in Thailand is then considered. Solutions to these effects conclude that it is up to the consumer to demand for better regulations from the government and the shrimp companies to ensure a sustainable future for shrimp farming both globally and in Thailand.

A carcinicultura potiguar está sob forte pressão das organizações governamentais e principalmente não governamentais, que associam a destruição de ambientes naturais à expansão das áreas de produção de camarão. Este trabalho visa caracterizar e avaliar o setor de carcinicultura no Rio Grande do Norte, identificando a dinâmica econômica, social e ambiental do setor, a partir da análise da conduta econômica, social e ambiental, frente às pressões da estrutura de mercado em que operam. Para isso, utiliza o modelo ECP-Triplo de estrutura, conduta e performance, onde as empresas submetidas a pressões econômicas, sociais e ambientais em sua estrutura industrial adotam uma conduta econômica, social e ambiental para obter resultados também tríplices na performance econômica, ambiental e social. Foi realizada uma pesquisa quali-quantitativa, por meio da aplicação de um questionário estruturado e entrevistas. O questionário foi aplicado em 21 empresas nas zonas homogêneas das regiões Agreste, Mossoroense, Litoral Norte e Litoral Oriental do estado do Rio Grande do Norte. A pesquisa coletou dados junto a proprietários, diretores, gerentes e responsáveis por unidades de laboratório de pós-larva, fazendas de engorda e processamento / beneficiamento que compõem os principais elos da cadeia produtiva do camarão cultivado. A análise dos resultados demonstra que a indústria de cultivo de camarões no Rio Grande do Norte apresenta a maior produção no Brasil, porém, ainda falta a aplicação de condutas econômicas, sociais e ambientais adequadas para suportar as pressões da estrutura da indústria. Conclui-se que a descapitalização do setor, a demora na concessão das licenças necessárias para a implantação e ampliação das fazendas, a falta de incentivos governamentais, a pressão por parte das organizações não governamentais, a falta de ambiente cooperativo entre as empresas, a ausência de políticas públicas de incentivo à produção, os juros altos e a elevada carga tributária são alguns dos fatores que vêm prejudicando o desenvolvimento da carcinicultura no estado do Rio Grande do Norte. As instituições de pesquisa, juntamente com a Associação Brasileira de Criadores de Camarão (ABCC) e os governos federal, estadual e municipal precisam definir uma forma de exploração sustentável do ecossistema manguezal e elaborar políticas ambientais específicas para a carcinicultura. Enfim, é necessária, a implantação e utilização de uma conduta ambiental e socialmente responsável como estratégia para que a carcinicultura potiguar alcance níveis de excelência e prosperidade, mantendo uma vantagem competitiva permanente. / The shrimp aquaculture produced from Rio Grande do Norte have been under pressure by governmental and non-governmental organizations, which associate the natural environment destruction to the expansion of shrimps’productive areas. This work aims to characterizer and evaluate the aquaculture shrimp sector in Rio Grande do Norte, identifying the economic, social and environmental dynamic of this sector, based on the analysis of the economic, social and environmental conduct, front to the pressures of the market’s structure in which it operates. To do this analysis, this work used the Triple-SCP model of structure, conduct and performance, in which companies under economic, environmental and social pressure in its industrial structure follow an economic, environmental and social conducts to obtain triple results in the economic, environmental and social performance. In this research a qualitative and quantitative methodologies have been done and it applied structural questionnaires and did some interviews. The questionnaire was applied to 21 companies in homogeneous zones from the region of Agreste, Mossoroense, Litoral Norte and Litoral Oriental from Rio Grande do Norte State. The corpus was collected and the participants were owners, directors and managers responsible for the worm laboratory, fattening farming and processing which set the link of the preserved shrimp productive chain. The analysis shows that the shrimp aquaculture industry in Rio Grande do Norte has the major production in Brazil, however, it’s missing the adequated application of economic, social and environmental conducts to support the structure of the industry’s pressure. To conclude, we suggest that the sector’s descapitalization, the licenses’delay necessary to the farming implementation and expansion, the missing of governmental incentive and the pressure of non-governmental organizations, the missing of cooperative environment among companies, and the absence of public politics to motivate the production, the high interest and raised tributive are some of the reasons that have damaged the development of shrimp aquaculture in the Rio Grande do Norte State. Researches Institutions as well as Brazilian Shrimp Farmers Association (ABCC) and the Federal, State and Municipal Governments should define a way for a sustainable exploration of the mangrove systems and elaborate a specific environmental politic to shrimp aquaculture. It´s necessary to implement the environmental utilization and social conducts as strategies to the shrimp aquaculture in the Rio Grande do Norte to reach levels of excellence and prosperity, as well as to sustain a permanent competitive advantage.