24. Present social and industrial aquaculture, development trends and respective obstacles in Latin America are as follows:
Social aquaculture, characterized by:
Target group: Low income population
Objectives: Nutrition, employment, improved living standards, keeping people on the land.
Characteristics of the production process:
limited financial requirements
Types of implementation in Latin America:
Restocking: the use of existing bodies of water (inland and coastal) for the introduction and control of aquatic species;
Rural: generally ponds, sometimes cages, etc.
In both cases production is organized along family, community or cooperative lines.
Industrial aquaculture, characterized by:
Objective: maximum profit in the shortest possible time with the least possible risk
The characteristics of the production process, the level of technology and the cost-benefit ratio are based on technical, economic and financial feasibility studies.
Types of implementation in Latin America:
Public and private enterprises using various technologies to produce freshwater trout and tilapia and salt/brackish water shrimp, molluscs, salmon and seaweed.
25. In most of the countries of the region, aquaculture began at the turn of the century with the introduction of freshwater species such as the rainbow trout (Salmo gairdnerii) and carp (Cyprinus carpio) in lakes and reservoirs for recreational fishing. This became an important activity in countries such as Argentina and Chile, less so in others such as Colombia and Cuba, during and around the period of the second world war. There is still considerable restocking in Argentina for recreational fishing. Restocking in the Central American and Caribbean countries during this same period was rare.
26. The restocking of lakes and reservoirs to increase the output of cheap fish began in earnest during the 1970s in Brazil, Cuba and Mexico (in areas such as the North-East of Brazil it began much earlier). The most commonly stocked species were tilapia and Chinese carp, whilst Brazil preferred to stock native species. Restocking programmes are being developed in Panama and Peru for the establishment of permanent stock capable of sustaining fishery activities. Pejerrey (Odontesthes bonaerensis), stocked for a number of years in Argentina for extensive production, was introduced in Peru in 1983 for the same purpose.
27. Colombia has been stocking marshlands with various native species for a number of years and similar operations have been carried out in the coastal lagoons of Cuba on an experimental basis.
28. The total annual catch from lakes and reservoirs in Cuba, Mexico and Brazil amounts to over 100 000 t. Though the nature of this catch (aquaculture or fishery) is a subject of controversy, it would be fair to state that most of the activity takes place in water bodies that were “at one time” stocked, and therefore the populations got established. There are cases such as Cuba and Brazil where restocking is done to reinforce the established fauna. Most such production in the region is for the local markets.
29. In Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Panama and Brazil reservoirs are farmed along the lines of the “culture based fisheries” system.
30. The major restrictions would appear to be institutional, logistic and financial rather than technical. The administration and management of these bodies of water is usually entrusted to more than one public body, which makes it difficult to obtain the necessary resources and then to organize and continue the required operations (which involve more than merely stocking and fishing).
31. In countries with good potential, as in Central America, there are additional technical problems regarding the species to stock, size of fry, fishing effort and organization, etc.
32. In Cuba the growth of this activity is slowing down and in Mexico it appears to have levelled off, whereas in Panama it would seem to be rising sharply. Operations continue in Peru with the pejerrey and in Brazil mainly with local species. There are no indications of significant growth in the rest of the region.
Rural Aquaculture
33. Rural aquaculture is taken to mean subsistence or semi-commercial aquaculture3. With few exceptions, rural aquaculture in Latin America amounts to rural fish culture, which began in the 1950s in Central America and the Caribbean and some years later further south (e.g. Peru in 1966 and Paraguay in 1964).
34. The predominant species in the Caribbean and neighbouring countries is the tilapia. The countries of the Latin American continent also breed trout and more recently a local species, the “cachama” or “gamitana” (Colossoma spp.) which is reared in several countries (Brasil, Colombia, Costarica, Venezuela, Perú) from artificially produced fry.
35. Initially, efforts were made under the auspices of FAO to determine the culture viability of certain local species for which demand was high (El Salvador). These efforts, however, were interrupted and substituted in the 1950s by the importation of exotic species for which the culture technology had already been totally or partially developed, but which needed to be adapted to local conditions. Subsequently, new species of tilapia and Chinese carp were imported. These have not been very successful so far whilst the Nile tilapia, one of the most recently introduced species, has produced the best results.
36. With few exceptions (cages in El Salvador and Colombia), rural fish culture has been based on fish ponds. Various forms of organization have been tried: ponds belonging to small aquaculturists, managed by cooperatives, by community groups and by commercial enterprises: however, the anticipated results have usually failed to materialize. From the producer's point of view, rural fish culture has not become an established, self-sufficient and clearly viable activity.
37. Efforts were made in Ecuador and Peru to introduce trout farming at the small-farmer level. The results were disappointing and most of this activity is today in the hands of large and medium enterprises.
38. Rural fish culture has received most of the government resources directed towards aquaculture in general. These have served mainly to establish the infrastructure (physical and human) and to adapt the technologies (mainly breeding and fattening) to local conditions.
39. National reports indicate a total of some 110 aquaculture stations (excluding Brazil which may have some 70). Assuming an average of 7 persons per station, total staff amount to 770 (or 1 260 with Brazil), made up experts, technicians and labourers. In most of the countries the public sector is finding it difficult to fund these stations as required.
40. International technical assistance to the rural sector has naturally supported government efforts. For some years, there were abundant funds for this form of assistance, and fish culture stations were built in countries such as Bolivia, Colombia, Honduras and Panama. Assistance was sometimes directed towards the establishment of extension programmes for small farmers. Activities were significantly reduced in Paraguay when the external assistance was terminated and indications are that this happened in virtually all the countries of the region.
41. According to the AQUILA national reports, rural aquaculture production in 1987 totalled 28 000 tons. If we exclude Brazil and Mexico, the total for all the remaining countries amounted to some 8 000 tons, of which 3 300 tons from molluscs farmed in Chile and Cuba. The remaining 4.700 tons were made up almost exclusively of tilapia and trout and, to a lesser degree, carp and Colossoma. Even though at least one of these species is farmed in most of the countries included in this study, the total production of farmed species exceeded 1 000 tons only in Colombia.
42. Trout farming is very rare in rural areas due to the relatively high production costs (purchase of seed and feed). The typical trout farmer has therefore always been an entrepreneur, though at times the enterprise may be almost artisanal.
43. Tilapia and carp are generally reared by subsistence fish farmers, whilst trout and Colossoma are bred by semi-commercial and industrial concerns.
44. The tilapia and Colossoma are sold on local markets, generally close to the fish farms. Trout commands a higher price and is generally sold in urban areas or, in small quantities, on the international market.
45. The effort required for rural fish culture, particularly during the start-up stage (construction of ponds), is rarely compensated by the food or income output. The subsistence fish farmer has little or no surplus to sell and is therefore unaffected by market difficulties, whilst the semicommercial operator is subjected to the restrictions that apply to inland fisheries. The major restriction is the lack of habit of consuming fish throughout most of the region.
46. The situation is much better where these restrictions do not apply, as, for example, in the case of ponds which were constructed for other purposes in the coffee-growing regions of the Colombian Andes or the expansion of tilapia culture in Jamaica, due partly to the presence of fish in the daily diet, or the relative success of Colossoma (an item in the local diet) in the Meta Region of Colombia.
47. Most of these restrictions are not technical and cannot therefore be overcome by the type of action mounted by most agencies to promote aquaculture. Clearly, other forms of action are required. Two main objectives have dominated the purely technological strategy: (i) the development of species for which there is considerable local demand; (ii) the modification of culture technologies to reduce significantly the unit cost of production. The results, however, have not been very satisfactory.
48. A relatively large number of native species have been examined for their culture potential. These include the Colossoma and pejerrey which are commercially highly promising.
49. For the time being, the prospects of subsistence fish culture are not very encouraging. Rural aquaculture is growing slowly and it is mostly based in the farming of species which produce largely marketable surpluses. The number of small farmers engaged in this activity appears to be fairly stable.
50. The government agencies are apparently losing interest in rural aquaculture in its subsistence form. There are few international assistance projects (the number of those originating in multi- and bilateral agencies is extremely limited) and most of the assistance comes from non-governmental agencies.
The characteristics of semi-commercial agriculture are: more advanced technology, areas that are larger but generally used for a number of agricultural activities, medium investment, relative access to credit, medium or high output and productivity, large proportion of the output is marketed, intermediate level of dependence. The typical producer is a middle-income peasant farmer with a higher level of formal education and generally greater integration within society.
51. Rural freshwater prawn culture came after fish farming, and first appeared in the Caribbean, Central American and the Caribbean countries of South America at around the same time.
52. Initially, research in various parts of the region (Caribbean, Central America, Peru) focussed on the possibility of farming native species for which there was, and is, a local market. However, no economically viable technology was identified.
53. Once the problem of producing Macrobrachium rosenbergii post-larvae in the laboratory had been overcome in Malaysia, the species was introduced for culture in the Caribbean (Panama, 1964). A number of enterprises were also set up in Mexico, Honduras and Jamaica, but none managed to become commercially viable. In the 1970s, several countries (Central America, Colombia, Dominican Republic) therefore turned to China which proceeded to demonstrate the feasibility of breeding the Malaysian giant prawn in the region. However, this activity has only reached commercial (industrial) proportions in the Dominican Republic.
54. Experimental activities were carried out in six countries with other species such as M. acanthurus, M. americanum, M. carcinus, but none progressed beyond the experimental phase.
55. According to the national reports the 1987 production of freshwater prawn (virtually exclusivelly M. rosenbergii) amounted to approximately 500 tons. Mexico recorded an output of 350 tons in 1989 and the Dominican Republic 118 tons. Seven other countries accounted for the remainder.
56. This production is not marketed internationally but earmarked for the urban areas and the tourist industry (Dominican Republic).
57. The producers are mostly small operators who are also engaged in other economic activities. In the Dominican Republic the commercial success of the small enterprises was encouraged by the creation of three large prawn culture enterprises.
58. Having overcome the major technical difficulties of sustained and massive post-larvae production, the problem now is to open up the international market. The local markets are capable of absorbing the artisanally processed prawn output. This is satisfactory for the prawn farmers as long as the prices are competitive with those of captured prawns. In Mexico, where the prawn catch amounts to 3 000 tons, competition has held back the development of prawn culture. Similar problems have been observed in Peru.
59. A general problem with the small-scale culture of crustaceans is that relatively small quantities are harvested by a number of producers. This makes it difficult to put together uniform consignments with the required market quality.
60. The local and tourist markets are relatively small in comparison with the international market for fishery products, though, with the exception of Thailand, the international demand for Macrobrachium is not as high as for other crustaceans. This has been the most important restriction to date.
61. Macrobachium production in the region could increase with the opening up of international markets. The Latin American producers may be able to introduce this product on the European and United States markets by using the existing infrastructure for the processing, storage and transport of the marine shrimp.
62. Marine shrimp culture is the most recent and important culture activity in Latin America and the Caribbean. This activity began in Ecuador in the early 1970s, then extended to virtually all the countries of the region with the exception of Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. Pilot culture experiments have even existed since 1988 in countries with less suitable climates, such as Argentina, and the economic prospects appear to be good.
63. The activity has been mainly developed through private initiative, except in Cuba where it is public with a centralized administration and Mexico where it is organized in the form of cooperatives. Government assistance has been directed towards rationalizing policies for the provision and/or granting of land for the construction of fish ponds.
64. As the sector has mainly been in private hands, the technology has mainly been developed by private consultants. International assistance has focused mainly on the provision of concessional loans, as in the case of Brazil which have received considerable funds from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for shrimp and prawn production. Technical assistance as such has generally been less important but there have been (and are) technical assistance projects in Peru (European Economic Community), Colombia (China) and Cuba (FAO).
65. Some 92 000 tons of heads-on cultured shrimp were produced in the countries of the region in 1987, with Ecuador accounting for 79 percent of the total and a further ten countries making up the rest. Peru, Panama and Brazil accounted for 14 percent of the production.
66. The average shrimp yield is generally below one ton (tails) per hectare/year. Shrimp culture mainly involves four species. The most common technology is based on post-larvae largely obtained from the natural environment, small feed inputs and tidal exchanges of water.
67. Most shrimp production is industrial, both in terms of size and management organization. There are also producers with less than 5 hectares of ponds (Honduras, El Salvador) but these are few and have little impact on national production. Some countries have tried to develop small-scale shrimp and prawn culture.
68. The rural development programme in the Gulf of Fonseca region in Honduras, which includes shrimp production, is an exception. In Mexico, up to 1989, the law stipulated that shrimp production could only be undertaken by cooperatives.
69. In 1987 over 90 percent of shrimp culture production was exported to the United States, Japan and Western Europe. The total FOB value amounted to some US $ 750 – 800 million.
70. The main problems involved are economic and administrative. One is access for pond construction and another the difficulty in obtaining the necessary post-larvae and the operating credit (Peru).
71. The main obstacles to the introduction of shrimp culture concern the modification of existing technologies. This may be crucial for any potential development of the sector, but these countries are generally incapable of enhancing their bargaining power for contract negotiation.
72. Production has so far risen steadily and will almost certainly continue to do so during the next 3 to 5 years.
73. For the year 2000, however, the possibility of placing additional quantities of farmed shrimp on the market at today's (real) prices will be much more limited.
74. In Latin America and the Caribbean, production and above all yield levels will tend to rise with the inclusion of new areas and the establishment of new hatcheries for closed-cycle post-larvae production.
75. Mollusc culture predominates in countries such as Mexico, Chile, Cuba and Peru. Chile is the only country that grows seaweed commercially. With the exception of salmon (native and exotic) in Chile, no other fish has been farmed commercially though there have been extensive small-scale mullet culture activities.
76. There has been substantially less public sector support for mariculture than for freshwater aquaculture. This is perhaps due to the greater complexity of breeding mariculture species. As this activity is even more recent than other forms of culture, the focus has been on identifying species and adapting techniques for the rearing of exotic species such as milkfish (Chanos chanos). Paradoxically, the universities of the region have been far more active in this process.
77. Using its own resources, Mexico has widely developed the culture of the American cupped oyster (Crassostrea virginica) in the Atlantic and of the Japanese cupped oyster (C. gigas) in the Pacific. It has also developed the infrastructure for the farming of abalone (Haliotis sp.) and certain clams. There has also been considerable growth in the culture of oysters, mussels and other bivalves in Chile. With support from other countries, Cuba has initiated the development of mangrove oyster farming. However, the technical and financial assistance that this sector has received from the international agencies has not so far led to the establishment of industrial or subsistence ‘sea ranches’ in the recipient countries. As mentioned, assistance has so far focused on the identification of species and culture systems because of the newness of this sector.
78. Salmon farming in Chile has mainly developed through the coordinated efforts of national, public and private enterprises and private European companies.
79. In 1987, mariculture production (excluding shrimp) amounted to some 15 500 tons of molluscs, 9 200 tons of seaweed and 10 900 tons of fish. The producers are mostly located at the northern and southern ends of the region.
80. The markets are both national and international. The products of seaweed culture in Chile and the oysters from northern Chile are exported. Mexico exports oysters to the United States.
81. Production is generally industrial but cooperatives rather than large enterprises are the usual form of organization. This also includes a number of small operators. Chilean farmed salmon is exported (it accounts for 17 percent of marine fish-culture production).
82. Regarding mollusc culture, most constraints seem to be of economic nature. Areas with mollusc farming potential are often also suitable for fisheries but competition is difficult because the fishery sector usually pays very low wages. The solution might lie in developing a stronger market with an emphasis on quality (size, aspect, colour) which would permit a higher sales price than that of fishery products.
83. Mariculture, which is still in its early stages, also poses problems because the technology is much more complex.
84. The pollution of potentially suitable areas has also slowed down the development of bivalve culture, despite the fact that the required technology has been fully developed.
85. Apart from salmon farming, mariculture in the region appears to have lost momentum. It is possible that in the short-term, mariculture “industries” will be established in a number of countries (for example, Argentina) for the major domestic and international markets. Past developments would indicate that mollusc culture has greater potential for success than fish farming (with the exception of salmon in Chile) or seaweed culture.
