Nicaragua - Fishing and Seafood Industry
| Fish catch by species |
| Atlantic |
Pacific |
| Red Snapper - 18% |
Red Snapper - 67% |
| Shark - 4% |
Shark - 8% |
| Snook - 59% |
Croaker - 5% |
| Grouper - 3% |
Cabrilla - 4% |
| Catfish - 1% |
Palometa - 3% |
| Other - 15% |
Flounder - 2% |
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Tuna - 1% |
| Source: Consulate General of Nicaragua |
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In the last four years, the seafood industry has become one of the most dynamic productive sector. 80% of the catch comes from the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, which has the largest continental shelf in Central America.
The industry has concentrated on shrimp and lobsters, leaving the large populations of commercially desirable scale fish almost untouched. In the Pacific coast ( 410 km ), 39,000 hectares have been identified as suitable for shrimp farming, which is equivalent to approximately one-third of the total potential in Central America and Panama.
- The maritime shelf in the Caribbean has a 551 km expanse. It has the richest marine fauna in Central America is one of the richest in the Continent.
- Lake Nicaragua has an exploitable biomass of 50,000 tons, with permission to catch 8,000 tons, per year.
- Nicaragua, has approximately 10,338 km of continental waters and 7,365 km of fresh water stemming from rivers. This abundance of water and the adequate climate, make the country the most ideal in the Central American region for the farming of Tilapia and Carp.
- Currently, there are 5,000 hectacres of shrimp farms in production, generating US $13.7 million.
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