The imported fish and seafood industry: shrimp, prawns, and various species of both fresh and salt water fish has received some unfavorable attention in the American news media thanks to filthy fish products being imported into the USA and other Western countries (links to Youtube video).

But these kinds of problems could change if aqua farmers in Asia and other locations adopted ideas now being undertaken by Saudi Arabia’s National Prawn Company, noted as one of the “world’s largest integrated pawn farms” in an article in the website ArabNews.com.

Located near the Arabian Red Sea coastal town of Al-Lith, 170 km south of Jeddah, Saudi’s National Prawn Company prawn farm prides itself as using organic methods to grow the prawns without the use of chemicals, fertilizers or antibiotics. The company recently appointed Frederic Millet, a French aquaculture consultant, who has been involved in a number of such projects, including a large shrimp farm off the coast of Ecuador

Millet at Work

Millet’s aquaculture techniques are part of what is known as the Blue Revolution in which over a third of all fish and a quarter of world shrimp production come from aquaculture, one of the fastest growing farming methods in the world.

The ecological importance of work being done by aquaculture specialists like Millet is to produce a high quality product without using chemicals or synthetic growth stimulants (such as antibiotics) which are also used extensively in poultry farms, and beef cattle production, as well as in aquaculture.

Eating filtered sewage

There is a downside of aquaculture and poorly processed sea foods coming from countries like Thailand and China in which not only chemicals and antibiotics are extensively used, but also using sewage and industrial wastewater grow both fish and shrimp products which wind up in restaurants and on the dinner tables of people living in countries thousands of miles of away. We know how China regards standards of production, getting caught using lead and other fatal chemicals in products and children’s toys, so would you trust them with your food?

Millet’s philosophy involves in working with and not abusing the prawns’ natural ecosystem:

“We do not push the ecosystem to its limit. We prefer to extend the system to the maximum that is sustainable through an “All In All Out” strategy within the capabilities of the local environment in a way that leaves it in good condition.”

The NPC (pictured below) decided to work towards a longer term growth plan (20 years) instead of a shorter “5 year plan” that many aquaculture companies adhere to, which includes careful preparation of the ponds in which the prawns are grown, and the integration of all areas of operation, including breeding, feeding, and cleaning of the ponds in order to prevent the outbreak of disease and to insure a high level of sustainability which results in a high quality product.
Saudi Arabia’s antibiotic-free shrimp farm. So close to the sea, does beg the question: what is the shrimp “waste” doing to the environment.

What’s haram and kosher about it?

In contrast to Jewish Law in which “only fish with fins and scales” are permitted to be eaten, Islamic Law does allow for shrimps and prawns to be consumed, as well and “fish with scales.”

Other kinds of shell fish, including, crabs, mollusks, as well as smooth skinned fish, like sharks, are considered to be “Haram” or forbidden

NPC, with Millet in charge of quality and sustainability, wants the prawns to have a “minimal impact on the environment, and uses low density stocking in its 10-hectare ponds, strict biomass thresholds, and carefully monitors and manages water quality and oxygen levels 24 hours a day.

::National Prawn Company

Image via dcmetroblogger

Read more articles on pollution and chemical impacts on fish and marine life:
Hunt for Air France Flight 447 Brings Marine Garbage Problem to The Surface

Polluting Eilat Fish Farms Moved to Mediterranean

Persian Gulf “Mermaids” Face Manmade Environmental Threats

Finding solutions to sanitation problems in the developing world may get a big boost with the advent of a the Peepoo, a special biodegradable toilet bag plugged by the New York Times. Invented by a Swedish entrepreneur, this bag costs pennies to make, is designed to break down solid and liquid human wastes and turn them into fertilizer after killing the dangerous disease causing bacteria found in human feces. It could work to help cut down sanitation-related deaths around the world, where more babies die from diarrhoea than anything else. In the Middle East, it could work in Gaza where sewage treatment facilities are badly needed. The invention is a biodegradable bag, that when you “pee” or “poop” in it, works to break down the nasty bacteria that can lead to infection. It’s great for camping too. 

Many people, especially those who have gone camping, may have used something similar which involved a plastic bag attached to a folding toilet seat. The main difference between a folding camp toilet and the Peepoo bag is the bag itself, with the camp toilet polyethylene bag merely holding the decaying doo-doo  for months of even years.

Anders Wilhelmson, the Swedish guy who invented the bag, believes that the Peepoo bag will solve a lot of sanitation problems in places where there simply is none. While African countries have received a lot of attention for introducing this item, many Middle Eastern countries are good candidates as well; especially those where people live in very crowded conditions, such as those living in the Gaza Strip.

Video on how the Peepoo works.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This 41 km (25 mile) long strip of land is home to more than 1.5 million Palestinians, who live in some of the most crowded and unsanitary conditions in the world.  The sewage problem is becoming so bad in Gaza that, as noted on an article published in July, 2009 , are overflowing. Burst sewage lagoons have even contributed directly to many deaths, not to mention making thousands of people sick from various diseases caused by the filthy, stinking water. A great deal of this misery might be eliminated by people using these Peepoo bags, with the “converted” waste inside being used afterwards as fertilizer.

Simple to pee and poop into
How is the Peepoo bag used; and how does it make compost fertilizer out of human feces? It’s really very simple: the bags, which have a special green lining inside with a coating of urea, are opened and placed inside a small plastic bucket-like container, and a person squats above the opening and “pee-poops” inside.

The contents are then sealed by tying the bag’s end into a knot, and the bag is then buried in the ground where the urea inside kills the harmful bacteria found in human feces. Over a period of time, the feces and urea mixture turns into compost and goes naturally into the soil like fertilizer would.

The bags cost only a few cents each, making them affordable with poorer people, such as those living in Gaza, which has an unemployment rate around 40% and where most of the population must receive aid from organizations like UNICEF and UNRWA.

Egypt, where many people live in rural villages along the Nile,  suffer greatly from all kinds of pollution to fertilize crops grown along the Nile River.

Just a small plastic bag; yet so promising in regards to making people healthier by improving the sanitation of areas in which they live. The question is making sure there is enough space to bury the Peepoo, something which may be considered immodest in traditional Muslim societies.

::Peepoople website

More on Middle Eastern sanitation issues:
Saudi Arabia’s Desire to “Go Green” Spoiled by Sewage Scandal”

Garbage Trucks in Lebanon Dump Straight into the Sea as Hizbollah Takes Hold
Untreated Waste Water Threatens West Bank Palestinians