June 16, 2010

Ecuadorian shrimp producers that operate parcels of 0 to 10 hectares will have an additional three months to legalise their activities, according to Jose Centanaro, head of the Subsecretariat of Aquaculture.

The government is offering that possibility to shrimp producers who for diverse reasons, did not do so during the previous stage, which concluded on March 31, 2010.

During this second stage, the authorities hope to regularise more than 10,000 hectares of shrimp farms.

The prorogation was also announced by the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, who assured that the regularisation programme "is moving forward as planned."

It seeks to put an end to 30 years of irregularities in the shrimp farming industry. According to government estimates, around 44,000 hectares of shrimp farms located in protected areas did not fulfil the norms.

The Ecuadorian Head of State is expected to sign the decree over the next few days and kick off a new stage of regularisation.

For the time being, the Subsecretariat has already circulated this new programme to diverse coastal shrimp farming unions, according to reports.

According to Segundo Calderon, president of the Shrimp Producers Chamber of El Oro, the deferment granted by the government is significant and beneficial.

Meanwhile, the president of the National Aquaculture Chamber (CNA), Cesar Monge, noted that the possibility of creating a control entity that helps to regulate and strengthen the shrimp farming activity was proposed to President Correa.

While the process of aquaculture regularisation is carried out, the shrimp producers will have to comply with environmental obligations for the obtaining of cards and licences.