Last September, Jean Claude Frajmund opened Eco Shrimp Garden in Newburgh.The grand opening was attended by dignitaries like U.S. Representative Sean Maloney and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Bringing industry to Newburgh is a notable event, and Frajmund\u2019s aquaculture start-up is already making a splash.<\/p>\n
Frajmund, a Brazilian with French parents, began envisioning the shrimpery in 1985, when he was 16. On a hitchhiking trip around Brazil, he spent time with fishermen who walked the shoreline with their nets, catching 30 to 40 pounds of fish before breakfast.<\/p>\n
By 1980, when China began shrimp farming, there were already signs of overfishing and poor aquaculture conditions. So Frajmund began formulating a plan for ecologically sound indoor farms that echo the oceanic environment. But after more than six months of research, he realized the technology had not advanced enough. Then, in 2013, he says, \u201cI looked into it again and saw that it was now possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today there are 25 indoor shrimp farms in the U.S. Eco Shrimp Garden is the first one in New York State. \u201cI particularly wanted to do it in an urban environment so that I could deliver to a market within two hours,\u201d says Frajmund. Newburgh\u2019s combination of convenient access to New York City and the prime local real estate market made it the right spot.Last year, says Frajmund, the U.S. imported 560,000 metric tons of shrimp grown in outdoor shrimp-farm ponds. Americans love shrimp, consuming almost four pounds per person per year on average, so chain restaurants endlessly promote shrimp, despite the oceans\u2019 depleting supply. The FDA examined only 3.7 percent of foreign shrimp shipments in 2014, according to Consumer Reports<\/i>. According to a 2014\u00a0New York Times <\/i>report, most of the shrimp the U.S. imports comes from Latin America and Southeast Asia, where environmental and human rights experts have identified forced labor, hazardous working conditions, damage to ecosystems, and the use of hormones and antibiotics.<\/p>\n
\nFrajmund compares current shrimp-farming with factory-farmed chickens. Increased awareness about factory-farmed chicken has resulted in consumer demand for free-range, organic, and hormone- and <\/span>antibiotic-free chicken. Frajmund hopes this awareness will extend to aqua<\/span>culture and shrimp. \u201cI\u2019m part of the movement for healthy foods,\u201d he says. Eco Shrimp Garden has eight 14\u2019 x 4\u2019 tanks in operation, each incubating 150 pounds of shrimp. Frajmund plans to eventually have 24 tanks. \u201cI started seeding the tanks in April this year, and after five months, I was ready to start selling,\u201d he says. He purchases post larval shrimp seeds of the Pacific white-leg variety\u2014the most extensively farmed species\u2014from pathogen-free breeding companies in Florida and Hawaii. Frajmund is waiting to receive a nursery permit from the Department of Environmental Conservation, at which point he will begin breeding the seeds himself. \u201cFor their feed, I purchase a fish protein that has no antibiotics and no hormones,\u201d he says. Frajmund is also researching alternatives to fishmeal, like seaweed. His ponds are in an enclosed area with biosystem security protocol in place, and no chemicals are used.<\/p>\n \n\u201cMy shrimp are happy!\u201d says Frajmund. \u201cWhen they jump! When they are energetic! It\u2019s a shrimp spa.\u201d Each shrimp is allotted a gallon of water. \u201cHow do you know when a shrimp is fresh?\u201d Frajmund asks. \u201cThey have no smell other than the salty smell of the ocean. The heads stick on the body. They have two long antennas that you can see, and the shell is not loose and sticks to the flesh.\u201d<\/p>\n \nEco Shrimp Garden, located at 99 South William Street in Newburgh, sells fresh shrimp every day from 10am to 5pm for $25 per pound. That\u2019s great news because, as\u00a0Forrest Gump<\/i>\u2019s Benjamin Buford \u201cBubba\u201d Blue says, whether you barbecue it, boil it, bake it, or saut\u00e9 it, shrimp is \u201cthe fruit of the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last September, Jean Claude Frajmund opened Eco Shrimp Garden in Newburgh.The grand opening was attended by dignitaries like U.S. Representative Sean Maloney and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Bringing industry to Newburgh is a notable event, and Frajmund\u2019s aquaculture start-up is already making a splash. Frajmund, a Brazilian with French parents, began envisioning the shrimpery in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":267,"featured_media":50370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1150,1476,785,102],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n