Ever wanted an insider peek at a shrimp farm? I did, of course!
Val Minkowski of Urban Seas Aquaculture welcomed me for a tour of the sustainable shrimp farm right here in Greenville, South Carolina.
Watch the interview and tour here, or scroll down to read highlights.
Find out why raising shrimp in pools is an eco-friendly alternative to open sea and coastal shrimping.
- Open sea and coastal shrimping both have potential negative ecological impacts. Open sea shrimping can damage the sea floor and leaves behind “by catch,” which means many marine life forms are killed and discarded in the process. Coastal shrimping often has very dense populations. Nearby mangrove forests and water can be polluted by feed and excrement.
- Urban Seas is a recirculating indoor system, which means there is no waste water leaving the farm.
- Shrimp in the wild are scavengers. They eat anything they can! Unfortunately they can also eat plastic or trash that ends up in their path. At Urban Seas, they eat pellet food that mimics the nutrients they would eat in the wild.
- Request sustainably-caught or raised seafood in stores and restaurants. Know where your food comes from!
Find out more about Urban Seas Aquaculture and sign up to be notified when the shrimp are ready.
Ready to take action? Click below for sites to help you learn more and make sustainable choices.
Here’s the link to Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program.
See the related blog posts about sustainable fish and seafood here: