Sales of fish preparations and canned fish, caviar and its substitutes prepared with fish roe in the Central American region remained relatively stable, with a value of $22.3 million and 4,182 tons, with El Salvador being the main exporter with $82 million.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [ GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graphic"]
The Law of Fisheries, Aquaculture and related activities was published in the Official Gazette. The law promotes the training of fishermen and establishes the participation of the sector in decision making.
The new legal framework establishes a National Fisheries Conservation and Administration Plan, creates the National Fisheries Information and Statistics System, eliminates discretionally in fisheries management and promotes good fishing practices.
Following the approval of the law on trawling in the country, fishermen's unions announced that they will hold demonstrations so that the Alvarado administration can veto the law.
After a long discussion about the benefits it will bring to a group of fishermen and the harm it could cause to others, the trawling bill was approved in the second debate with a vote of 28 deputies in favor and 18 against, the Legislative Assembly reported.
The Costa Rican Tuna Industry Chamber warned about the possibility that the government will publish a decree that would extend the ban zone for the purse tuna fishery to a distance of between 100 and 150 miles from the Pacific coast.
According to the sector's union, this decree, which is in the drafting stage, would put at risk the fulfillment of the export commitments of canned fish to the world's main markets.
The growing uncertainty about the safety of seafood products exported from China, one of the world's leading producers, could represent an opportunity for Central American countries to gain some insight into the global market.
In this context of new commercial reality, the retail channel will continue to be the main demander in the short term for products that are easy to prepare such as tilapia, salmon, trout, shrimp and others with which consumers feel more comfortable cooking at home.
Given the rise in tuna consumption reported between February and August, in Costa Rica the company that owns Sardimar increased its production by 25%.
After the context of the new commercial reality that arose from the outbreak of covid-19 the demand for tuna increased, Alimentos Prosalud, owner of Sardimar, hired more than 300 additional employees to work in its plant in Barranca, Puntarenas.
Nearby CIFCO, in San Salvador, is a sales point that, at a distance of 15 minutes walking, holds a captive market of 23 thousand people who together spend $6.5 million, and of them, 10% show interest in seafood.
In CentralAmericaData we developed a geomarketing tool based on interactive maps, through which you can identify where people are and what characteristics they have as consumers. The map incorporates, for any Central American country, the variables population, income, average monthly expenditure and consumer interests. With this information, it is possible to identify potential clients and define promotional strategies accordingly, or also explore home delivery times from any sales point.
Because of the health alert for the coronavirus outbreak, it was decided to extend the licenses of artisanal and industrial fishermen for 60 days, and the health records that importing companies renew will be extended for three months.
The Aquatic Resources Authority of Panama (Arap) issued resolutions No. 28, 29 and 30, by which it extends until May 31, 2020 fishing licenses for international service, coastal and industrial domestic service and the card to artisanal fishermen, whose expiration date is between March 1 and May 31, 2020.
During the first month of the year, Nicaraguan seafood exports totaled $16.7 million, 19% less than what was reported in the same month in 2019, a situation explained by the decline in demand from Asia and the U.S., important destinations for this sector.
According to data from the Center for Export Processing (Cetrex), between January 2019 and the same month of 2020 exports of seafood products recorded a fall of $ 4 million, from $ 16.7 million to $ 20.7 million.
The Panamanian government has authorized Forever Oceans Panama, S.A. to invest $50 million in a fish farming project in Charco Azul Bay, Puerto Armuelles.
Aquatic Resources Authority (ARAP) administrator Flor Torrijos handed over the resolution authorizing the fish farming operation in an area of more than 58,000 hectares to company representatives, the Presidency reported.
Since the country has not made enough efforts to eradicate illegal fishing, the European Union sanctioned it with a yellow card, a warning that precedes the red card, which if applied would prohibit the entry of Panamanian fishery products into Europe.
After the corresponding audits were carried out, the sanction to Panama dated December 16, 2019 was issued by the Directorate General of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Union (DG Mare).
Although between January and September 2019, Nicaraguan exports grew 2% compared to the same period in 2018, businessmen say it is because of an atypical behavior of gold and fish sales, not a general improvement.
According to figures from the Center for Export Procedures (Cetrex), between January and September 2018 and the same period in 2019, sales of companies in Nicaragua abroad went from $2.075 million to $2.108 million.
On August 14, the company Rianxeira began to operate its new plant for processing fish waste into flour and oil, located in Escuintla.
The industrial complex located at kilometer 97, highway to Puerto Quetzal, Escuintla, will process all types of waste, such as fish heads, skeletons, bones, bone parts and viscera.
Integral Fruits & Co., a company of Ecuadorian origin, plans to invest in the country close to $6 million in the construction of two aquaculture farms and the production of different types of fruit.
One of the projects that the company will execute will begin in mid-2020 and consists of the construction of a farm with 64 swimming pools dedicated to the cultivation of tilapia, white shrimp, snapper and cod.
About 153,000 visitors annually come to the country to fish for recreational purposes, and the activity generates a chain of business of about $500 million annually.
According to a study conducted by the Costa Rican Fishing Federation (Fecop), most of the income reported in the country by sport and tourist fishing derives from the arrival of tourists interested in the activity, who generate annual revenues of $460 million.