Characterization and impact of aquaculture in mangrove forest area: a case study of Klong Kone, Samut Songkhram province

Abstract

The study aims to point out the changes in aquacultural areas and characteristics of aquaculture as well as the impacts of aquaculture on mangrove forest areas. The study was conducted in Khlong Khon sub-district, Mueang district, Samut Songkhram province. Three types of aquaculture areas studied were natural shrimp pons, semi-developed shrimp ponds, and scallop and blue crab mixed aquaculture ponds. Questionnaire interviews were given to the farm owners. In addition, all soil pond samples were collected and analyzed. The results showed that the main types of aquaculture farms were white shrimp, blue crabs, sea crabs or black crabs, cockles, snapper, and Nuanchan fish. The results reveal that the farmers have experience in aquatic farming between 21-40 years, and the farm areas range between 10 to > 100 Rais. Farming methods used were different depending on pond types. The main types of aquacultural waste found in this area were water, left overfeed and manure which were discharged directly to the mangrove forest. The results of soil analyses showed that soil organic carbon (SOC) collected from natural shrimp ponds and semi-developed shrimp ponds were not significantly different from the soil collected from natural mangrove (P>0.05). The soil sampled from mix culture ponds has the highest SOC, and this SOC value was significantly different from those sampled from other types of pons (P<0.05).