#HTE

Farmers harvest buckets of large shrimp on the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. This former mangrove swamp, known as Bumi Dipasena, is now the world’s largest facility of its kind covering more than 30 square miles (78 square km). In total, Indonesia harvests more than 637,000 tonnes of shrimp every year — that’s roughly equal to half the mass of the Empire State Building.

Did you know that 90% of the seafood consumed in America is imported? Almost all of it is salmon, tuna, and shrimp. Agriculture now covers approximately 40% of the earth’s landmass, and our food choices have significant environmental impact. After a few years of operation, these ponds in Sumatra proved to be disease prone, and the financial model collapsed. This left 9,000 transmigrant families struggling to make a living while fighting an aquaculture pandemic on their own.

The post is part of an occasional collaboration with Photographer George Steinmetz, who supplied the drone video that gives us the on-the-ground context of what’s going on here. Head over to www.georgesteinmetz.com to see more of his incredible work.

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Drone footage by George Steinmetz
Overview source imagery by Maxar