“La Ruta del Dorado” brings Dominican Republic’s seafood industry together

Santo Domingo - A recent business roundtable offered a rare chance for Dominican fishers and fish vendors to present their product to a larger market.

“This was the first time that we were invited to meet face-to-face with traders, hotels and restaurant owners,” said Enrique Martes, president of the fisher’s association of Guayacanes, west of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic.

“It allowed us to get in touch without intermediaries with the people who are going to buy our fish,” he added.

Enrique Martes was part of 38 vendors, including six fishers’ associations from across the country who had come to Santo Domingo, and met with nine buyers from supermarkets, restaurants and hotels.

By the end of the day, 10 letters of intent to purchase mahi-mahi, or dorado as this fish is locally known, had been signed, and nearly 35 000 kg of fish changed hands.

Organized in partnership with ISA University, the roundtable was the latest move of the global fish value chain development program FISH4ACP towards a more profitable, socially inclusive and sustainable mahi-mahi value chain in the Dominican Republic.

“Mahi-mahi is one of the main catches of artisanal fishers in the Dominican Republic,” said Jeannette Mateo, National Professional Officer in the Dominican Republic for FISH4ACP.

“You can have fresh dorado on the market here all year long, because different parts of the country have different fishing seasons,” said Jeannette Mateo, adding: “But you need to connect the fisher to the market, and that is what we are trying to do.”

In a bid to add value to the mahi-mahi fishery, FISH4ACP has launched a scheme to better connect buyers and sellers across the country, known as “La Ruta del Dorado”. The business roundtable was one of La Ruta first activities.

“La Ruta del Dorado” is also helping to shape a digital future for the Dominican mahi-mahi value chain with the ISA University currently developing a website and mobile application to connect buyers and sellers online. Pilot testing of the platform has begun and the public launch on both Android and iOS app stores is expected by the end of 2025.

FISH4ACP is an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) implemented by FAO with funding from the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).