Currently, shrimp production in Mexico through aquaculture exceeds that obtained through traditional fishing

Mexican Shrimp Plummets 24% in Five Years Due to Illegality and Costs

MEXICO
Wednesday, April 23, 2025, 03:00 (GMT + 9)

Illegal fishing with cloned vessels, high costs, and trade restrictions hit Mexican shrimp production, generating significant losses

The average production of shrimp from vessels in Mexico has experienced a concerning 24% decline over the past five years, resulting in estimated losses of around 13,600 tons, according to a report by Diego Badillo in El Economista.

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Figures from the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Commission (Conapesca) indicate that this decrease in production has been mainly caused by factors such as illegal fishing during the species' reproductive periods, high fuel costs for vessels, trade restrictions imposed by the main export market, and the reduction of prices in the international market.

A particularly serious problem affecting the shrimp fishery in Mexico is the proliferation of cloned or duplicated vessels. These operate without a name, without visible registration, and, more alarmingly, without the required legal fishing permit or concession.

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These irregular vessels often unload their catches at unauthorized sites, which hinders the control and oversight of their activities. This creates uncertainty about whether they engage in the capture of species during established closed seasons or whether they employ fishing gear, methods, and capture techniques that are not permitted by current regulations.

Furthermore, these illegal products reach markets without the necessary documentation to prove their legal origin or, in some cases, with falsified documentation. The transportation of species caught during closed seasons has also been detected.

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During the 2023-2024 fishing season, the total national shrimp production reached 49,214 tons, generating an economic value of 3,921 million pesos (approximately $200.0 million USD).

However, according to the "agri-food expectations August 2024" report from the Agri-food and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP) of the Ministry of Agriculture, the total shrimp production in Mexico, including both fishing and aquaculture, was 244,043 tons in 2023 and is estimated at 244,179 tons for 2024.

In 2024, Mexican shrimp exports reached 10,536 tons, with a value of 112 million dollars. The main destination for these exports was the United States, absorbing 9,776 tons, which represented 93% of the total exported.

The main shrimp exporting states in Mexico are Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Nayarit, Campeche, Baja California Sur, Baja California, Veracruz, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Tabasco, and Quintana Roo.

Ten shrimp species are distributed along the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of California coast, with white, blue, brown, and red or crystal shrimp being the most commercially important. In the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, seven species are found, with white, brown, pink, and seven-beard shrimp being the most relevant for fishing.

It is important to note that, currently, shrimp production in Mexico through aquaculture surpasses that obtained through traditional fishing.

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