“Third water” prawn farming project to kick off in Cambodia

An onshore prawn farming project using water known as “third water” developed by Toshimasa Yamamoto, associate professor at Okayama University of Science, will start in August in a mountain village in Cambodia, Japan’s Jiji Press reported. Aquaculture on land is expected to improve nutrition and alleviate poverty, but disease has been a huge hurdle so far. However, Yamamoto’s third water prevents disease-causing agents from spreading. “It is magic water that enables aquafarming without chemicals. We can turn a mountain village into a fishing village,” he says. … The water is made by mixing each liter of freshwater with some 10 grams of such minerals as sodium, potassium and calcium. The salt level in the water is almost the same as that of fish and shellfish. It tastes slightly salty. The water, which costs one-10th or less of the price of artificial seawater, was granted a patent in 2012. To date, tiger puffers and eels have been cultivated with the water. … The project in the Cambodian province of Takeo will be led by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Some 30,000 giant river prawns will be reared at each of three farms. The prawn sells for eight times the price of ordinary fish in the Southeast Asian country. JICA will verify the effects of using the water on the efficiency and cost reduction. ….

Bernama News Staff
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v7/wn/newsworld.php?id=1038151