Comparative Analysis of Pink Shrimp,Farfantepenaeus paulensis, and Pacific White Shrimp,Litopenaeus vannamei, Culture in Extreme Southern Brazil

Culture potential of the native pink shrimp, Farfantepenaeus paulensis, and exotic Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, was analyzed in extreme southern Brazil. The experiment was conducted at the Marine Aquaculture Station, University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul State. After nursery, pink shrimp (0.16 g) and Pacific white shrimp (0.17 g) juveniles were transferred to a 450 m2 earthen pond internally divided into six circular (21 m2 each) experimental pens. Pens were randomly assigned to a treatment (pink shrimp or Pacific white shrimp) and stocked at 15 shrimp/m2. Shrimp growth was monitored during 102 days in the summer. Feed was composed of a commercial diet and a fresh frozen mixture (fish and crustacean). After 30 days of culture, Pacific white shrimp showed significantly higher increases in mean weight, reaching at-harvest weight of 12.52 g compared to 11.17 g for pink shrimp. Water quality parameters presented optimal growing conditions for both species, except for lower temperatures (19°C) during the last two weeks of culture, which resulted in a drastic decrease in the growth rate of Pacific white shrimp. These results indicated a better tolerance for lower water temperatures on the part of shrimp. Although the lower temperatures resulted in a reduced number of cycles (1 or 2 per year), the estimated yield for pink shrimp (1,451 kg/ha) and Pacific white shrimp (1,790 kg/ha) suggested that the production per cycle in extreme southern Brazil is comparable to that in the other Brazilian States. Despite the more favorable results for Pacific white shrimp, the culture of pink shrimp is also recommended, but further studies are necessary to improve its growth performance under culture.