Ecuador is one of the biggest shrimps-exporters world-wide. The booming, export-oriented shrimps-breeding has triggered big social and ecological conflicts. The deforestation of the mangrove-forests takes the basis of living away from the local people. Only half of the 300,000 ha of Mangroves on the coast of Ecuador is left today.

Besides the loss of the coastal Eco-systems, the mass-animal-breeding causes further grave ecological problems: the vast quantities of water, that are led through the lakes, salt the soil and glut the disinfectants, pesticides and antibiotics that are used in the breeding-farms into the coastal-areas. For enlargement of their stocks young crabs are caught with fisher-nets. An estimated 100 fish is being caught with every crab.

For assistance for an ecologically sustained shrimps-breeding guide-lines for aqua-cultures have been developed. The internationally working ÖKO-ZERTIFIZIERER NATURLAND (An Organisation giving away certificates for ecological businesses called Nature-land) has created together with the 'Gesellschaft für technische Zusammenarbeit mbH' (Society for technical partnership) a project for ecological shrimps-production.

What are the guidelines for an ecologically sustained shrimps-breeding?
What is shrimps-breeding like on an ecological shrimps-farm?