September 30, 2013
Mexico''s aquaculture industry faces severe economic crisis
Due to the damaged caused by hurricane Manuel and the shrimp mass mortality recorded some time ago in the farms of Sinaloa, Nayarit and Sonora, Mexico''s aquaculture industry is undergoing a period of severe economic crisis.
As it was reported by the head of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Sinaloa (Sagip), Juan Guerra Ochoa, the first data on the impact of the hurricane indicate that about 3,500 hectares of the crustacean stocks were affected in the nine counties declared as disaster areas.
The secretary said he is working with federal officials in the search for a support and incentive pattern for losses in fish farms. Most of the 560 farms in Sinaloa located in an area of 37,000 hectares last August faced massive mortality of shrimp.
A team of foreign researchers of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) considered the early mortality was due to possible Asian bacteria. The experts recommended emptying the farms whenever the reproductive cycles are completed, removing the sludge and cleaning the tanks.
As a consequence of hurricane Manuel, Guerra Ochoa explained that now 20,000 hectares of brackish water that had been restocked with shrimp fry, representing at least 25%, were damaged due to water covering. This new harm to Sinaloa aquaculture will lead to shrimp shortage in domestic markets and a rise in its market value.
According to the National Commission of Aquaculture and Fisheries (Conapesca), in the case of fishing, early reports indicate that there was minor damage to the shrimp fleet and to the coastal one. However, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (Sagarpa), Enrique Martinez, acknowledged that "one of the main drivers of the economy, which is fishing, has been upset."
For aquaculture, the first damage reports received by Conapesca covered about 3,300 hectares of shrimp and tilapia farms, "with an estimation reaching 5,000 hectares."