The inconvenient truth behind your beloved shrimp: Asian farms are taking their eyes off shrimp to boost production

At the beginning of the tropical shrimp industry 30 years ago, ocular ablation, the cutting of an eye, was the only possible technique for maturing females in captivity, says Peter Bossier, director of the Center for Reference. aquaculture and artemia of the University of Ghent.

“The surgery is done to slow down hormone production,” says Bossier in “De Wereld Today” on Radio 1. Behind the eye is a gland that produces hormones. These hormones affect when shrimp can spawn. Without an eye and the hormones behind it, shrimp can start spawning more quickly. The reproductive time can also be cut in half. Peter Bossier: “If you remove one eye, females mature faster and you get mature eggs much faster and more reliably.”