Lobster exports in Nicaragua grew 34 percent between 2015 and 2019; the most productive zone is the Caribbean coast, part of the territory of the indigenous communities of the Miskitu, Sumu-Mayangna, Rama and Ulwa peoples, and of Afro-descendants, such as the Creole and Garífuna.

In this area, artisanal and commercial lobster catch is carried out with the use of wood-based structures in the form of cages traditionally called "nasas", which are submerged and laid on the sea floor for six to nine months. However, the manufacture of these cages puts pressure on the native forest by requiring thousands of cubic metres of wood each year.

Due to the effects of climate change and the growth in demand, lobster catching areas are increasingly further from the coast, and diving accidents, especially due to arterial gas embolism, have become one of the main causes of disability in the regions where lobster fishing takes place.

To promote the sustainability of lobster fishing, FAO, the Nicaraguan Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture (INPESCA), the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID) and the Mesoamerica Hunger Free Programme developed a South-South cooperation project to improve the occupational safety of fishers and increase the sustainability of lobster fishing on the northern Caribbean coast of Nicaragua.

The process involved Mexican fishers from indigenous communities, women traders of fishery products (called “pikineras”), several companies, universities and local government entities. Together, they worked to analyse, validate and disseminate two new, more sustainable technologies for catching lobster: “artificial shelters” and “collapsible traps”.