© 2013 Morgan Rogge

The state of the shrimp farming sector in El Salvador

In the last couple of months, many people have asked me to describe the shrimp farming industry in El Salvador. As awareness of the environmental costs of intensive aquaculture increases, it seems that many people question whether the benefits of cultivating of carnivorous aquatic species is worth the risk. It’s a difficult question, because this industry provides much-needed income to rural communities and improves food security and access to protein sources in these areas. However, it is also true that this sector has a large environmental footprint and may have long lasting effects on the health of native ecosystems. These characteristics are not unique to El Salvador, but are true everywhere that shrimp farming is practiced.

Like many industries in Central America, the shrimp sector of El Salvador has faced many challenges in terms of its development, mostly due to the lack of financial and educational support for producers. While some political and technological factors have led to advances in this industry, there is still a long way to go towards operational and environmental sustainability. The industry first gained ground after the end of the Salvadoran civil war, as the 1992 Peace Accords included a commitment to reintegrate former combatants into society through agriculture and aquaculture (FAO, 2005). In order to accomplish this goal, the government implemented a large- scale conversion of salt farms to shrimp ponds and provided some initial financing to the majority of the shrimp farming cooperatives in this area. However, the State’s ability to finance and promote this sector soon waned, and today the government does not play a strong role in the support or regulation of the sector. In spite of the government’s current lack of support, several other factors have more recently played a role in the development of this industry. These factors include increased foreign investment in the shrimp industry, increased access to microcredit, and increased local demand for shrimp (FAO, 2005).

In the Lower Lempa, the area in which we were working, the shrimp industry has progressed substantially since its inception, especially during the past five years. Even so, the sector still has a long way to go to achieve sustainability. Although the shrimp producers we interviewed all expressed a strong desire to produce in an eco-friendly way, the primary purpose of their operations was as a means of survival. Increasing yields was a priority for nearly all of these cooperatives, if only to meet the basic needs of the community. Because of this, measures to increase production were undertaken at the cost of the local environment.

Historically, this type of “subsistence aquaculture” has produced significant damage to the environment, primarily because of the intensification of the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and artificial feeds. These pollutants affect the balance of the natural system, deplete the soil, produce deadly algal blooms, and damage the mangroves and the species that inhabit them. In addition, the expansion of cultivated areas generally results in mangrove deforestation, which contributes to soil erosion and waterway sedimentation, reduces coastal water quality, and increases the vulnerability of these regions to natural disasters. The incidence of shrimp disease, such as White Spot, is also directly related to the health of the ecosystem. In the area in which we worked, the monoculture of shrimp and the use of antibacterial agents contributed to extensive attacks of this disease.

Clearly, there are still many problems associated with shrimp farming in El Salvador; however, the industry continues to move toward sustainability. In recent years, an increasing number of cooperatives in the Bajo Lempa have taken steps to reduce the environmental impact, such as the use of organic fertilizers, the implementation of reforestation programs, and trainings in order to improve the knowledge of the sustainable farming. These steps are small but promising. In the future, we hope that the sustainable methods of shrimp farming will become the norm and not the exception.

 

FAO (2005), “Vision general del sector acuícula nacional de El Salvador” <http://www.fao.org/fishery/countrysector/naso_elsalvador/es>

4 Comments

  1. العاب تلبيس عرايس
    Posted April 20, 2013 at 8:53 pm | #

    This is quite tough job, but very rewarding.

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    Posted May 12, 2013 at 6:59 am | #

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    In the last couple of months, many people have asked me to describe the shrimp farming industry in El Salvador. As awareness of the environmental costs of intensive aquaculture increases, it seems that many people question whether the benefits of cultivating of carnivorous aquatic species is worth the risk. It’s a difficult question, because this industry provides much-needed income to rural communities and improves food security and access to protein sources in these areas. However, it is also true that this sector has a large environmental footprint and may have long lasting effects on the health of native ecosystems. These characteristics are not unique to El Salvador, but are true everywhere that shrimp farming is practiced.

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