Officials expressed concern over the low percentage of shrimp farms that have begun compliance proceedings. (Photo: José E. Holguin Wilson)

60 pct of coastal shrimp farmers not in compliance

ECUADOR
Wednesday, February 17, 2010, 15:00 (GMT + 9)

Around 60 per cent of the 1,500 shrimp fishers located in the Ecuadorian coast have not yet initiated compliance proceedings required by the Federal Government, informed the Subsecretariat of Aquaculture.

Since October 2008, when the government published the Executive Decree 1391 that puts forth the sector’s regularisation, only 35 shrimp fishers have fulfilled the process.

Meanwhile, 600 shrimp fishers are processing their documentation. Altogether, they represent around 14,000 hectares of the 44,000 existing hectares that belong to 1,500 companies.

Most of those companies are located in the province of El Oro, in Guayas, and in several coastal municipalities.

Aquaculture Subsecretary Jose Centanaro (Photo: Subsecretaria de Acuacultura)

"That number is very worrisome for us,” noted Jose Centanaro, Subsecretary of Aquaculture.

According to the official, communication “is not the problem,” since the authority used mobile units and television adverts to publicise the programme in the sector.

The president of the National Aquaculture Chamber (CNA), Cesar Monge, was of the same opinion and clarified that small shrimp fishers are remaining outside this process, since the majority have not carried out the petitioned process.

For Monge, few shrimp fishers move towards compliance due to the economic difficulties that some producers have in initiating the registry, particularly in the matter of reforestation.

Meanwhile, Centanaro announced that the requirements will not change.

“It is no longer worth discussing,” he said.

The reforestation plan that shrimp farmers must present must be approved by the authority, a process that takes around three months.

“Once achieved, and once the inter-ministerial agreement is emitted, the shrimp farmer has a year to culminate the reforestation, that is, it is not immediate,” the official added.

The companies must initiate the regularisation process before next 31 March.

“Now, the important thing is that people realise there is no more time. Or we kick this off or we are going to have people outside [the sector], which would be highly worrisome,” Monge asserted.

The president of the Shrimp Producers Chamber of El Oro, Segundo Calderon, warned that the presentation of a reforestation plan represents a problem for the small shrimp farmer – who owns between 10 and 20 hectares – as he barely has the resources to continue the activity itself.

“That person does not have much money with which to pay for reforestation plans. Plus, another catch is that must be transferred to Guayaquil to comply with the process,” he explained.

By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

Print