Effects of Culture Area, Stocking Density, and Shrimp and Fish Polyculture on the Cost Efficiency of Hard Clam, <i>Meretrix meretrix</i>, Culture: A Case Study of Hard Clam Farms in Yunlin, Taiwan

Huang, Jung-Fu; Chou, Ming-Tao; Lee, Jie‐Min; Cheng, Yi-Hsien

doi:10.1111/jwas.12289

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…However, climate change and increasing disease prevalence have led to lower growth rates and higher incidences of mass mortality [2][3][4][5][6][7]. In recent years, the average culture survival rate has decreased to 50% [8,9]. Farmers may adjust input factors according to changes in the survival rate to reduce culture costs and increase profits [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimizing Hard Clam Production in Taiwan by Accounting for Nonlinear Effects of Stocking Density and Feed Costs on Farm Output of Clams

Lee

Chen

Lee³

et al. 2022

Fishes

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Despite mass mortality, hard clams remain among the main cultured shellfish in Taiwan. Using cross-sectional data, this study applies threshold regression modeling with stocking density and feed costs as the threshold variables to explore the nonlinear relationship between input and output factors. The findings show that the production output levels may be increased by different combinations of factor inputs and variations in input factors. More specifically, the higher output levels may be achieved by increasing labor input while reducing capital input factors in farming households with a higher stocking density (HSD > 1,087,870 inds/ha) or higher feed cost (HFC > 13,889 NTD/ha). Farming households with a lower stocking density (LSD ≤ 1,087,870 inds/ha) may enhance production output levels by increasing feed input while reducing capital inputs. Moreover, the maximum output level of HSD and HFC farming households was estimated to reach 9255 kg/ha and 9807 kg/ha, respectively. Results of the production output simulation suggest that the feeding cost per hectare in LSD households should not exceed 25,119 NTD to avoid overfeeding, which may cause culture deterioration and lower survival rates. As such, farmers are advised to adjust their feed costs according to the stocking density to maximize production output.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimizing Hard Clam Production in Taiwan by Accounting for Nonlinear Effects of Stocking Density and Feed Costs on Farm Output of Clams

Lee

Chen

Lee³

et al. 2022

Fishes

Self Cite

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“…The Asiatic hard clam ( Meretrix meretrix Linnaeus, 1758) is a very popular protein seafood in Asia. The high demand for this natural food product has resulted in many developments of M. meretrix aquafarming in several countries as it generates a lot of income (Huang, Chou, Lee, & Cheng, 2016). Nevertheless, sources of M. meretrix do not only come from farming but also harvested from the wild population.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consumption of Meretrix meretrix (Linnaeus 1758) by selective shell size reduces heavy metal toxicity risk and overfishing in Tawau, North Borneo

Hamdan

Udin

Musa

et al. 2020

Environmental Quality Mgmt

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Meretrix meretrix can accumulate heavy metals from the contaminated environment in its tissues and passed on these elements through the food chain, which can cause health hazards. The mean size distribution of the M. meretrix wild population at Batu Payung, Tawau, North Borneo, was determined by the linear morphometric analysis of outer shell length, and bivalve was categorized by the outer shell length size at 5-mm interval cluster groups. The selected heavy metals concentration in wild M. meretrix whole tissues was determined by an Induced Couple Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES) to provide baseline data for policymakers and stakeholders to formulate sustainable harvest management. The largest group of outer shell size (45.00-50.00 mm) had the concentration of the least heavy metals in its tissues among other smaller shell size cluster groups, indicating M. meretrix outer shell length size of more than 45 mm cleanse excessive heavy metals out of their body more efficiently. A negative correlation between nonessential heavy metals (Cd, Pb) concentration in M. meretrix edible tissues and its outer shell length size signified that the largest group of outer shell size was safer to consume. M. meretrix is also facing overfishing like elsewhere in North Borneo.

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“…Previous research on cultured hard clams in Taiwan has focused on growth rate, culture environment, and disease control, whereas more recent publications have included the economic aspects of cultured hard clams (Huang, Chou, Lee, & Cheng, ; Yeh et al, ). Huang et al (), for example, analyzed the cost efficiency of various culture areas, stocking densities, and polyculture types and focused on hard clam farmers in Yunlin County. Their study found that the technical efficiency of cultured hard clams was 0.74, indicating that the input of hard clam production could be further reduced by 26% for an excess input cost of production to occur.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of culture survival rate on culture cost and input factors: Case study of the hard clam (Meretrix meretrix) culture in Yunlin County, Taiwan

Chang

Huang

Schafferer

et al. 2019

J World Aquaculture Soc

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This study applies a translog cost function model to analyze the culture costs and the use of input factors among three groups of hard clam farmer households in Yunlin County, Taiwan, with different survival rates (low-intermediate, intermediate-high, and high). The study found that farmer household production in the three observed groups all exhibited economies of scale and could significantly expand the scale of production to lower the average cost. For farmer households with high survival rates, production cost could be reduced by 2.16% by a 10% increase in output.Moreover, the study shows that the survival rate-cost interaction values of farmer households in the intermediate-high and low-intermediate survival rate clusters were negative. Therefore, any increase in the survival rate could help lower the culture cost of farmer households. For low-intermediate farmers, the survival rate-cost interaction value was the most negative; any increase in the survival rate by 10% J World Aquacult Soc. 2020;51:139-158. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jwas 139 would decrease the cost per hectare by NT$23,424. For high survival-rate households, seeding and capital were substitutes, and seeding and feed were complements. As such, farmers would reduce the use of seeding factors when increasing the use of capital and decreasing the use of feed. K E Y W O R D S economies of scale, elasticity of substitution, Meretrix meretrix, price and cost elasticities, survival rate, translog cost function 1 | INTRODUCTION The hard clam, Meretrix meretrix (L.), is an important commercial aquaculture species in Asia (Ho & Zheng, 1994; Jayabal & Kalyani, 1986). In Taiwan, it has the highest production output among all cultured shellfish species. The main cultured hard clam areas are mostly in counties and cities in western Taiwan, such as Changhua, Yunlin, Chiayi, and Tainan. In 2017, total hard clam production in Taiwan was approximately 52,062 m.t. Yunlin County has the highest production among all counties and cities in Taiwan, which reached 33,024 m.t. in 2017 and accounted for approximately 65% of the total production in Taiwan. The output value of the primarily family-run hard clam production in Yunlin County was close to NT$2.7 billion.In general, the cultured scale in Yunlin is relatively small, and its production cost often high. The size of culture ponds typically ranges from 1 to 3 ha with a unit production of approximately 11-15 m.t./ha, and a stocking density of approximately 1-1.6 million individuals/ha (Kuo, 2005). However, given the deterioration of the culture environment, climate change, and the high culture density, the production of cultured hard clams declined rapidly to 22,309 m.t. in 2016 with an output value of NT$1.1 billion. Moreover, a survey by Huang et al. (2018) shows that the survival rate of cultured hard clams in Yunlin County has declined from 70% to approximately 50% in recent years. Hard clam farmers have been advised to moderately reduce the stocking density of hard clams to enhance their survival and inc...

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Effects of Culture Area, Stocking Density, and Shrimp and Fish Polyculture on the Cost Efficiency of Hard Clam, Meretrix meretrix, Culture: A Case Study of Hard Clam Farms in Yunlin, Taiwan

Cited by 12 publications

References 40 publications

Optimizing Hard Clam Production in Taiwan by Accounting for Nonlinear Effects of Stocking Density and Feed Costs on Farm Output of Clams

Optimizing Hard Clam Production in Taiwan by Accounting for Nonlinear Effects of Stocking Density and Feed Costs on Farm Output of Clams

Consumption of Meretrix meretrix (Linnaeus 1758) by selective shell size reduces heavy metal toxicity risk and overfishing in Tawau, North Borneo

Impacts of culture survival rate on culture cost and input factors: Case study of the hard clam (Meretrix meretrix) culture in Yunlin County, Taiwan

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