In spite of being already established in the country for a few decades, the chain has been expanding more rapidly in the last few years, especially aiming to attend the international market. The depreciation of the Brazilian currency associated with diseases that have been affecting the shrimp production in some of the main world producers, such as Ecuador and countries from Central America, has made shrimp farming one of the most lucrative sectors of the Brazilian agribusiness.

The main factors contributing to make Brazil stand out in the shrimp farming scenario of the Western Hemisphere are related to the development and adoption of an appropriate management technology in all stages of the productive process. The improvement and systematic employment of the new technologies have been contributing to the optimization of the technical indexes and, consequently, of the productivity and profitability levels of the cultures. Among these factors, the following stand out: control of the biological cycle ofLitopenaeus vannamei; the availability of balanced food items; the improvement and dissemination of management techniques (use of intensive nurseries, systematic treatment of the tank soils, use of specific trays for feeding the shrimp, use of appropriate fertilization and water replacement managements, use of artificial aeration); and the growing demand for cultured shrimp by the European and American markets.

Brazil possesses a great potential for the rearing of marine shrimp along its coastal zone. This potential derives from excellent climatic, hydrobiological and topographic conditions, which creates a perspective for the country in becoming, in the next decades, one of the leading producers of cultured marine shrimp in the world.

Figure 1. Productive chain of marine shrimp farming (diagram taken from Batalha et al., 2002)

The parts directly related to production are the most developed ones in the chain, with marine shrimp farming being one of the few sectors of the Brazilian aquaculture where production is an activity in which most of the flooded areas are in the hands of large and medium-sized producers. The sector has a well-organized association (Associação Brasileira dos Criadores de Camarão - ABCC) that has been trying to discuss development policies with different agents of the produtive chain, recently co-producing with the Agriculture and Provisions Ministry a set of guidelines inserted in the final goal of a Technological Platform of Marine Shrimp.