The shrimp farmers of the New Mexico Shrimp Company are doing more than bringing fresh seafood to an unlikely place – the U.S.-based aquaculture outfit has also come up with a unique formula for fish meal that features, of all things, cottonseed.
All the jumbo shrimp raised on the NM Shrimp Company’s farms is fed fish meal made with cottonseed, which offers serious cost-savings according to owner Tracey Carrillo, assistant director and senior program manager for the New Mexico State University Agricultural Experiment Station.
“Cottonseed has been of little value — about USD 300 [EUR 264] a ton,” Carrillo told the Southwest Farm Press. “Most cottonseed from this area goes to dairies as crushed feed.” Typical feed for farm raised shrimp usually runs for USD 2,500 (EUR 2,204) a ton, noted Carrillo.
Carrillo, who has been a part of the cotton industry for more than 20 years, is currently partnering with Cotton Incorporated to explore the potential of value-added cottonseed in agriculture and aquaculture farming. While the presence of gossypol, which is toxic, in cotton has kept cotton feed from being incorporated as part of intensive feeding regimens, Carrillo believes the timing may finally be right.
Cottonseed feed options without gossypol can provide as much as 52 percent protein, said Carrillo. It took three years for the team at NM Shrimp Company to learn how to grow shrimp – the facility started out with only four pools, but has grown to operate 11 large tanks and is slated for further expansion. More time is still needed to perfect the feeding system, however.
“It took three years to learn how to grow shrimp — now, we’re continually tweaking the system,” Carrillo said to the Southwest Farm Press. “It’s costing about USD 8 [EUR 7.05] per pound to grow shrimp, and that’s not good enough to compete with foreign imports, even though we have been selling shrimp for USD 15 [EUR 13.2] a pound.”
The biggest expenses for the company, as is the case with many aquaculture businesses, are feed and utilities. “We can reduce utility costs by improving energy efficiency,” offered Carrillo.
The system employed by the NM Shrimp Company is highly sustainable, Carrillo explained. “We have zero water waste — we use the water over and over. The water is also high in nitrogen and phosphorus, so we can use it in a greenhouse near our facility,” he concluded to the Press.
