Video: Europe’s prawn obsession ‘devastating’ local communities in Bangladesh
By Tom Levitt
30 September 2011 The popularity of tropical shrimp – often marketed as scampi, giant shrimp, gambas or tiger prawns – is having a devastating impact on local communities in Bangladesh, reveals a new investigation produced in conjunction with the Ecologist’s film partner. Sales of frozen prawns have soared in recent years, eaten deep-fried, in stir-fries or as sushi. Global production now exceeds 1.3 million tonnes a year and on the face of it provides much-needed trade for the poor exporting countries, such as Bangladesh. But a new investigation reveals that far from being of economic benefit to Bangladesh, shrimp farming causes pollution, degradation of agricultural land and loss of mangrove ecosystems protecting coastal communities against storm floods. These costs far exceed the value of the prawns and scampi produced for western consumers. The prawn industry is already among the least sustainable fish produced with frozen prawns peeled and shipped around the world at great cost in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. In Bangladesh fertile crop land has been flooded with waste from expanding prawn farms, while biodiverse-rich Mangrove forests, home to river dolphins and local fish supplies, have been cut down. Prawn farmers were also found to be using a dangerous pesticide, banned in more than 150 countries around the world because of its toxicity to marine ecosystems and potentially consumers who eat products contaminated with it. More than half of Bangladesh’s prawns (55 per cent) are exported to the EU before being sold on to supermarkets, wholesalers and restaurants. […]
Europe’s prawn obsession ‘devastating’ local communities in Bangladesh 
We have investigated so called environmental friendly shrimp farming in Ecuador, and our recommendation is simply: don’t eat tropical shrimp, even if they they are labelled “organic”! The extent of the impact of conventional shrimp farming in Bangladesh is staggering, but the fact that not even standards for organic production can guarantee a “better product”, and that the so called environmentally friendly choice is actually contributing to environmental degradation and loss of livelihoods in some of Ecuador’s poorest and most marginalised communities, is deeply disturbing. We have investigated the production of shrimp in Ecuador which is certified by among others German organisation Naturland and EuroLeaf, and sold in supermarkets and stores across Europe. – Organic certification is an important tool which enables consumers to consume sustainably. But when it comes to tropical prawns, it appears consumers are currently being fooled, says Mikael Karlsson president of SSNC. The large-scale shrimp production in Ecuador that we have investigated is certified as organic, despite the fact that the shrimp farms are infringing both the standards for organic aquaculture as well as Ecuadorian law. Previously destroyed mangroves are not reforested as required by Naturland and the Ecuadorian state, one of the four producers operate without concessions approved by the Ecuadorian state and at least two violate the human rights of fishers and shell fish collectors on a daily basis. Members of the local communities are no longer allowed to travel the public waterways in the vicinities of the farm without special permits. Many waterways are closed with fences. One guard interviewed in the film explains how he chases local fishers away by shooting. – It is a common misconception that local communities are benefitting from export-oriented shrimp farming, particularly when certified. This is not the case. Many community members testify about the loss of natural resources and, as a consequence, loss of livelihoods. In addition, those who continue to fish raise concern about their safety, according to Kajsa Garpe, Policy Officer Tropical Marine Ecosystems and Fisheries. – Regarding tropical shrimp, the recommendation is simply: don’t eat them! There are no environmentally friendly or fair trade shrimp, says Mikael Karlsson
