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Black Tiger Prawns in the Wilds of Madagascar
The Ismail family started farming Black Tiger Prawns in a remote part of northwest Madagascar in the 1990s. They set out to build an ecologically responsible aquaculture model which became one of the very first farms to achieve ASC certification. However, this success was not achieved without challenges.
Madagascar has a rich cultural history with 18 recognised ethnicities, each with their own distinct traditions and dialects. It is also one of the poorest countries in the world where social infrastructure is often scarce, especially in remote areas.
The Island is also home to globally unique ecosystems and is famous for many animals and plants which are found nowhere else. Many of these ecosystems play an important ecological role and are often threatened by human encroachment.
For UNIMA, careful considerations of these social and environmental factors are core to their approach, but the remote location and ecological sensitivity of their farm sites presented them with significant challenges.
Center of the Community
Philippe Blais, quality, and CSR director at UNIMA, is familiar with these challenges and the codependent nature of UNIMAs operations with the surrounding community:
‘Madagascar is a really poor country. We cannot develop an activity with people not having electricity at home, not having clean water, not having access to schools for the children, access to health care when they have a problem.’
By actively investing in community infrastructure projects UNIMA provide stability and opportunity to the community.
‘We invest ourselves as a corporate citizen in community development, for the benefit of employees, their families and the surrounding populations.’
Recognising this responsibility, UNIMA have built 10 health centres and 10 schools for use by the families of their employees and the local community.
This includes a mother and child unit which affords mothers the opportunity to give birth in the presence of a nurse as well as school boarding facilities to provide opportunity for students from remote villages.
Other initiatives have aimed to benefit the community by providing 80% of the rice needs for the households of the group’s employees as well as access to clean water, electricity, and a minimum wage significantly higher than the national average.
Sensitive to the Environment
UNIMAs approach to farming is equally as sensitive. Their ASC certified farms practice low density, semi-intensive farming which replicates natural growing conditions, closely equivalent to that of wild shrimp. According to Phillipe this guarantees animal welfare and exceptional quality of product.
Another key consideration for Phillipe is the ecologically sensitive mangrove forest which surrounds their farms.
‘The mangrove plays a fundamental role in the coastal marine ecosystem. It is home to juvenile shrimp as well as many other marine species. It is fragile and must be protected.’
UNIMA has undertaken a significant replanting programme which has replenished a mix of +3 million trees which are native to the surrounding environment.
‘In partnership with the Malagasy State, a biosecurity perimeter around aquaculture sites has been set up to guarantee the integrity of local ecosystems.’
UNIMA has the ambition to go further and develop a protected area in the Moramba region of over 14,000 ha. The objective is to create a network of protected areas of 45,000ha on the Narindra peninsula and to obtain UNESCO Biosphere Reserve approval.
UNIMAs values and approach have always had a close alignment with ASC’s. Their farms were featured in a study by the WWF which contributed to the founding of ASC. According to Phillipe:
“I am very sensitive to ASC certification, which allows us to highlight all our environmentally responsible commitments”
UNIMAs alignment with ASC farming practices and their commitment to the surrounding community and environment have enabled them to overcome the challenges of their remote location and to produce prawns of outstanding quality.
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