Ecuador is one of the biggest shrimp exporters in the world. In the rich industrial countries, shrimps are considered a delicacy. However, consumers know only very little about the farming of shrimps as well as its environmental and economic impacts.

Growing demand in the industrial countries encourages production.

The haul of wild shrimps of the fishing industry cannot meet the worldwide demand for shrimps any more. At the beginning of the 1980s, the annual yields could not be increased any more. Thus the way was paved for industrially produced shrimps from tropical countries. Currently, just seven countries produce about 85 per cent of the worldwide offer of breeding shrimps. Major buyers are the USA, Japan and the European Union.

Grave consequences for the population

Because of the growing demand in the rich countries, shrimp farming has been a money-spinning business for the farmers. However, inhabitants of the respective coastal regions do not make any profit from the big business. They fear for their existence: the forthcoming destruction of the mangrove forests has had devastating consequences for the marine ecosystem. The yields of the local fishermen have been shrinking. Without the mangrove forests, collectors of crabs and shells are bereft of their livelihood.

Neither environmentally nor economically sensible

The profit from the industrial shrimp production, which is very high in the short term, is neither environmentally nor economically sensible in the long run. From the point of view of national economy, the production has been a loss-making business at the expense of the environment, natural resources and local people.

Essential second thoughts

In the medium term, the development of the industrial shrimp production points to the total loss of the mangrove forests. The GTZ, in co-operation with Naturland e.V. - an association of organic farming - and a group of German importers, has been devising directives for an ecological shrimp production. The world's only ecologically certified shrimp farm is situated near the Ecuadorian coastal town Bahía de Caraquez.