Once a rare delicacy, shrimp is now North America’s favourite seafood, and today it comes cheap. But the more recent plunge in shrimp prices has come at a high cost to forests, marine ecosystems and labourers in countries like Thailand, China and Vietnam, where shrimp are farmed in intensive man-made ponds.
After several months of research into the hidden costs of the shrimp aquaculture industry, the students traveled to Thailand in December 2009 to do a two-week investigative reporting trip.
While in Thailand they filmed interviews with industry leaders and critics, government ministers, and illegal migrant works who fuel the business.
After returning from their reporting trip, the students spent several months building the multimedia project “Cheap Shrimp, Hidden Costs,” which drew from over 100 hours of footage shot in the field. The website centres upon four main issues relating to the Thai shrimp industry: coral reef damage, mangrove destruction, labour abuses, and health consequences. The site also includes an interactive map pinpointing the areas the students visited during their investigation, an audio slideshow, and interviews.
In the fall of 2010, students partnered with The Globe and Mail to host a shortened version of the story on the Globe’s website as part of a special series on global food. The partnership was made possible through funding from the MITACS Accelerate Project.
“Cheap Shrimp, Hidden Costs” was a finalist in 2011 Online Journalism Awards in the Online Video Journalism category, the only project produced by a Canadian university to be nominated.
