Water pollution lowers returns to shrimp farms : evidence from Sri Lanka
2008
Rohitha, W. R. | Bellamy, Rufus
This policy brief is based on SANDEE working paper no. 29-08, "Evaluating gains from de-eutrophication of the Dutch canal in Sri Lanka : a cost benefit analysis"
Show more [+] Less [-]Sri Lanka’s shrimp industry is an important foreign exchange earner for the country and accounts for half of all of Sri Lankan fisheries exports. Private sector initiative has driven the rapid growth of the industry, which is concentrated in Sri Lanka’s North Western Province. As a large employment generator and as an industry with a direct impact on wetlands, shrimp farming in Sri Lanka is unfortunately an example of unmanaged development. In the Dutch canal lagoon, where shrimp farming is booming, pollutants from the farms are now hurting the very wetlands the industry depends on, and this in turn is affecting shrimp harvests. SANDEE researcher, W.R Rohitha, examines how a vibrant industry is being tripped up by its own growth and makes the case for the shrimp industry to clean up its house if it is to continue to grow and profit responsibly. Rohitha’s work predicts that shrimp yields per hectare would rise by 6-7 per cent if the Dutch canal wetlands were cleaned up and water pollution was reduced to a ‘safe’ level.
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