Application of GIS to the Thai Shrimp Farm Survey

TLA geographical information system (GIS) is a digitalised mapping process in which data from topographical maps, remote sensing satellite imagery, high-altitude photographs and other maps can be layered and analysed. GIS has been applied to a number of research disciplines because it is an effective means of relating data to geography. An important advantage of using GIS is that layers of unrelated data can be added to maps for analysis, as long as the geographical coordinates are available. In shrimp farming, Tookwinas and Leeruksakiat (1993) used GIS and remote sensing to study mangrove and shrimp farms in Chanthaburi Province in Thailand. Others have also applied these techniques to shrimp farming (Loubersac 1985; Quader 1986; Shahid and Pramanik 1986; Populus et al. 1995; Anon. 1996; Wibowo et al. 1996), but this paper reports for the first time on the analysis of the 1995 shrimp farm survey with GIS. The aim of the study was to determine whether (a) GIS could assist researchers, coastal planners and epidemiologists in their study of the shrimp farm industry in Thailand and the region, and (b) new insights into the farm survey could be gained.