With a bill to incentivize development of the sector and other measures to provide facilities to farmers, the government aims to boost the growth of aquaculture in the country.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (Procomer):
The Ministry of Production of Peru announced a series of measures aimed at laying the foundations for sustainable development and launching aquaculture within the framework of the implementation of the National Plan for Productive Diversification.
The Central Cruise Summit 2015 will be held in El Salvador, from 13 to 15 May, where it is expected that 15 corporations from the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association will be involved.
The Salvadoran Chamber of Tourism (CASATUR) hopes to have the participation of 30 union members who will be publicizing various tour packages offered by shipping lines.
Regulations on the Act Strengthening Shrimp Farming provides for the issuance of a certificate of registration for those engaged in the distribution and marketing of shrimp.
The Executive Directorate of Revenue (DEI) will oversee shrimp transport units and establishments that sell them in order to achieve better tax control of this economic activity, which represents one of the largest in the southern region.
Shrimp farms have until September 10th, 2015 to register and complete the process of regularization that was established by recently passed legislation.
According the Act to Enhance Shrimp Farming, producers in Choluteca and Valle must comply with a formal process of regularization, which aims to reduce illegal cultivation and trade in the product.
Producers in Honduras have denounced the existence of an alleged trade triangulation in which Guatemalan companies are importing shrimp from Ecuador to then export them to Mexico.
This commercial triangulation, according to the National Aquaculture Association of Honduras (Andah), creates unfair competition and affects the performance of local industry, and could even be one reason behind the decline in product prices.
There is ample opportunity for countries that are willing to invest in better management of fisheries and environmentally sustainable aquaculture.
According to a report entitled "Fisheries Sector 2030: Prospects for fisheries and aquaculture" prepared by the World Bank (WB), almost two thirds of the seafood consumed globally will be produced by fish farming methods in 2030.
The disease affecting shellfish in Asia has driven up prices and benefited exporters in the region.
The lesser supply of shellfish has led to an increase in international prices which has in turn increased the value of exports sent from Central America.
In Nicaragua alone sales between January and October this year amounted to $75.6 million, representing an increase of 12% over what was exported in 2012.
A little over a year after the launch of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council seal of approval there are now over 500 certified aquaculture products which have been released onto the world's markets.
From an article by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
In the world market there are over 500 aquaculture products certified under the seal ASC, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (a nonprofit organization that certifies the sustainability of aquaculture products) a year and a few months since the launch of this new certificate.
In contrast to the forecasts of reduced fish resources, an increase in production of mollusk in the region has been projected.
In the region there are about 150 thousand artisanal fishermen of which about 2,500 are devoted to the cultivation of oysters, especially in Costa Rica and El Salvador. Although it is a small amount the Organization of Fisheries and Aquaculture in Central America (OSPESCA) argues that the idea is to create a new alternative.
The industry has shown good growth over the last two years, going from around 38 million pounds in 2011 to about 60 million in 2013.
The figures were provided by the National Aquaculture Association of Honduras (Andah), which added that over the past three years they have managed to increase harvest of the product without increasing the area of land being used, which is still approximately 18,200 hectares.
Industrial fishing companies have indicated that exclusivity should not be given to small scale fishing if there is a desire to recover the dynamism of the sector which has already fallen by 40%.
According to Steven Guillen, secretary of the Association of Fishermen of the Caribbean (APESCA), somehow the legislation is conceding certain rights to small scale fishermen in areas that correspond to industrial or mixed fishing .
The new tax has been created by the Mexican government in retaliation for the suspension for health reasons on Honduran exports to the Mexican market.
The suspension of exports from Honduras to this country were put in place because of the threat of entry of early mortality syndrome (SMT by its initials in Spanish), which has caused great losses in the Mexican states of Sonora, Sinaloa and Nayarit.
The presence of a dangerous bacteria in Mexico has worried Honduran producers over the possibility of the entry of the disease by land, in contaminated containers and vehicles.
"The chances of early mortality bacteria entering the national territory are high, since Mexico is one of the main destinations for fresh shrimp coming out of the shrimp farms operating in the south of the country, which is being sent in Salvadoran and Guatemalan dredgers", reported Elheraldo.hn.
This December the first 2,500 cultured octopuses will be exported to Japan with a unit price of $5.
According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Honduras, Juan Carlos Ordóñez, "the octopus farming project started two years ago with 200 who passed through different phases with positive results, managing to adapt to the climatic conditions and the country's water ".
Fishery and aquaculture products are to have specific rules on labeling, which will apply to both locals and imported foods.
From an article by the Costa Rican Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
The 27 member states and the European Parliament (EP) have reached an agreement on the implementation of a Common Market Organization for fishery and aquaculture products (CMO), which includes specific rules that in regards to labeling local and imported products.