38
3 Chitin
increase from 1998 to 2016. These high-value sea animals are valued between USD
3800 and USD 8800 per tonne. Reduction in shrimp production has been reported
in Thailand in recent years due to disease; however, many other countries reported
a rise in production of shrimp among other seafood by 2014. A steady catch of 3.5
million tonnes have been recorded for shrimp since 2012 (FAO 2016); this rose to a
record high in 2016 with capture of shrimp rising from just over 1 million tonnes in
1970 to 3.4 million tonnes in 2016. Vietnam, for example, exports an estimated USD
7.3 billion worth of aquatic products in 2016 most of which is catfish and shrimp.
The availability of these aquatic resources depends on a number of factors which
could be economic or ecological. For instance, increase in per capita income could
mean more demand for higher-value seafood, and ecological reasons could be reduction in particular population of sea animal or a particular aquatic disease causing
reduction in a particular population. The most abundant species of shrimp, the
Argentine red shrimp, has shown the record high in 2016 and an annual increase
of 22% since 2011. While a record high of Argentine red shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri) of 144,000 tonnes was recorded in 2015 and this species was classified as being
fished within biological limit presently, shrimp stock in the southern Indian Ocean is
being overexploited. China is presently the highest producer of crustaceans, marine
mollusks and aquaculture in general.
The availability status of shrimp varies from region to region; for instance in
the Gulf of Mexico, shrimp is maximally fished within sustainable limit while in
the Caribbean and Guianas and the Southwest Indian Ocean penaeid shrimps are
presently overfished. Deepwater shrimps are maximally sustainably fished, however
tending toward n = being overfished. Aquaculture has been on the rise in recent
years as a means to meet the demand for fish and make certain species of aquatic
food available in regions where they are otherwise scarce and to meet the high cost
of deep-sea fishing. The aquatic organisms commonly farmed using aquaculture are
salmon, shrimp and bivalves. Aquaculture contributes 7,862,000 tonnes to production
of crustaceans globally in 2018. In the same year, 17,139,000 tonnes of mollusks
were also produced through aquaculture. Although aquaculture has seen tremendous growth in the past few years, captured species still contribute significantly to
availability of crustacean and mollusks. Captured shrimp, crab, lobsters and gastropods recorded for 2016 were 3,400,000, 1,700,000, 315,000 and 170,000 tonnes,
respectively (FAO 2016).
Based on the available data, we can generally say that there is sufficient sustainable
supply of a variety of crustaceans and mollusks to produce chitin. For example if
an estimated two-thirds of the crustacean shells from aquaculture alone is water
and 40% of the dry mass comprises of chitin, then an estimate tonne of over 2
million tonnes of chitin annually from crustaceans sourced from aquaculture alone.
Other sources report a global production rate of chitin from natural source of up
to 100 billion tonnes annually (Elieh-Ali-Komi and Hamblin 2016). However, the
present production quantity of 10,000 tonnes reported in 2000 is quite far from
the potential production rate. Table 3.1 shows some yields of chitin obtained from
different studies.
3 Chitin
increase from 1998 to 2016. These high-value sea animals are valued between USD
3800 and USD 8800 per tonne. Reduction in shrimp production has been reported
in Thailand in recent years due to disease; however, many other countries reported
a rise in production of shrimp among other seafood by 2014. A steady catch of 3.5
million tonnes have been recorded for shrimp since 2012 (FAO 2016); this rose to a
record high in 2016 with capture of shrimp rising from just over 1 million tonnes in
1970 to 3.4 million tonnes in 2016. Vietnam, for example, exports an estimated USD
7.3 billion worth of aquatic products in 2016 most of which is catfish and shrimp.
The availability of these aquatic resources depends on a number of factors which
could be economic or ecological. For instance, increase in per capita income could
mean more demand for higher-value seafood, and ecological reasons could be reduction in particular population of sea animal or a particular aquatic disease causing
reduction in a particular population. The most abundant species of shrimp, the
Argentine red shrimp, has shown the record high in 2016 and an annual increase
of 22% since 2011. While a record high of Argentine red shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri) of 144,000 tonnes was recorded in 2015 and this species was classified as being
fished within biological limit presently, shrimp stock in the southern Indian Ocean is
being overexploited. China is presently the highest producer of crustaceans, marine
mollusks and aquaculture in general.
The availability status of shrimp varies from region to region; for instance in
the Gulf of Mexico, shrimp is maximally fished within sustainable limit while in
the Caribbean and Guianas and the Southwest Indian Ocean penaeid shrimps are
presently overfished. Deepwater shrimps are maximally sustainably fished, however
tending toward n = being overfished. Aquaculture has been on the rise in recent
years as a means to meet the demand for fish and make certain species of aquatic
food available in regions where they are otherwise scarce and to meet the high cost
of deep-sea fishing. The aquatic organisms commonly farmed using aquaculture are
salmon, shrimp and bivalves. Aquaculture contributes 7,862,000 tonnes to production
of crustaceans globally in 2018. In the same year, 17,139,000 tonnes of mollusks
were also produced through aquaculture. Although aquaculture has seen tremendous growth in the past few years, captured species still contribute significantly to
availability of crustacean and mollusks. Captured shrimp, crab, lobsters and gastropods recorded for 2016 were 3,400,000, 1,700,000, 315,000 and 170,000 tonnes,
respectively (FAO 2016).
Based on the available data, we can generally say that there is sufficient sustainable
supply of a variety of crustaceans and mollusks to produce chitin. For example if
an estimated two-thirds of the crustacean shells from aquaculture alone is water
and 40% of the dry mass comprises of chitin, then an estimate tonne of over 2
million tonnes of chitin annually from crustaceans sourced from aquaculture alone.
Other sources report a global production rate of chitin from natural source of up
to 100 billion tonnes annually (Elieh-Ali-Komi and Hamblin 2016). However, the
present production quantity of 10,000 tonnes reported in 2000 is quite far from
the potential production rate. Table 3.1 shows some yields of chitin obtained from
different studies.