The rapid expansion of shrimp farming in Brazil has
focused attention on the need for effective management
strategies. Such strategies are needed to enhance the positive
contributions that shrimp farming and other forms
of coastal aquaculture can make to economic growth and
poverty alleviation in coastal areas, while controlling negative
environmental and social impacts that may accompany
poorly planned and regulated developments (Rocha et al.,
2004).
The water quality associated with aquaculture developments
is an important concern globally, as a variety of negative
environmental impacts on the receiving environment
have been documented (Landesman, 1994; Lacerda et al.,
2006). Most importantly, it is the water quality that will
influence optimal shrimp growth and yield. Classically, an
investigation of water quality involves a combination of
physical variables and biological indicators (Jones et al.,
2001). The fact that intensive mariculture often involves
the addition of various feeds, fertilizers, and chemicals to
stabilize the earthen pond bottoms, the use of only classic
physicochemical variables to accurately assess the water
quality in and around these systems may be inadequate.
Additionally, there is still insufficient information on the
use of the plankton communities as biological indicators of
water quality associated with culture systems, especially in
marine environments.