26 JUNE 2019 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG days, with harvest weights around 11-14 g. Shrimp production can vary between 600 and 1200 kg/ha per cycle. Shrimp larvae are imported from Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras or Ecuador. Organic shrimp are produced for export and conventional shrimp are generally produced for local consumption. Currently, pilot-scale shrimp farms are being started in floating cages, especially for sale as bait in responsible fishing areas and the implementation of intensive crops in small and highly technified systems (biofloc) is also being initiated. Snapper There is a strong export market in the US with attractive prices for fresh spotted rose snapper (Fig. 10). The base technology of mass production of juveniles in Costa Rica was developed in 2002 by the Marine Park of the Pacific (PMP) with support of the national university and other state institutions (Chacón-Guzmán 2010, Herrera-Ulloa et al. 2010, Carvajal-Oses et al. 2018). Between 2005 and 2006, PMP produced the first 45,000 juveniles that allowed implementation of the first commercial cage farm managed by lowincome fishermen in the Gulf of Nicoya. In 2011, they implemented a new integrated farming project with tourist activities to diversify income and achieve a project structure that generates positive profitability (Chacón-Guzmán et al. 2018). In 2008 the PMP and the private company Industrias Martec S.A. established a technology transfer agreement. The PMP produced 70,000 juveniles for the company and with this, the first exports with industrial characteristics were achieved in 2009. Currently, Industrias Martec S.A. has a hatchery (almost 2.4 million juveniles in 2017) and a 15-km2 concession near Quepos for the development of an industrial snapper farm using net pens (Fig. 11). The company’s goal is to increase production to around 5,000 t/yr. In addition, the PMP has released about 250,000 snapper juveniles for conservation and environmental education purposes in wildlife refuges and other coastal areas, integrating school groups, parents, fishermen and the general public in the activities as a strategy to sensitize and protect coastal marine resources and to highlight the beneficial environmental services provided by aquaculture (Chacón-Guzmán et al. nd) Oysters Oyster producers in Costa Rica operate at an artisanal level (Fig. 12) but are in the process of improving production techniques (FAO 2016). Farms receive seed of a size greater than 2.5 mm and long-lines of 100 m are used. Normally, the stocking density is 50 oysters per lantern and harvest is expected eight months later with commercial sizes between 6 and 8 cm. The biggest problem faced by oyster farmers has been the shortage of seed but the national university has built a hatchery with a production capacity of 1.5-2.0 million seed per month. It is expected that this hatchery will start continuous production in the second semester of 2019 and thereby improve the productivity of existing and new projects, projected to be 14 farms in the next years. Other Species Initial investigations that defined reproductive aspects, larval culture and growth of corvina Cynoscion squamipinnis and C. albus and berrugate (Pacific tripletail) Lobotes pacificus (Fig. 13) have been carried out (Boza et al. 2017, Chacón-Guzmán et al. 2015). However, consistent and quality reproduction is still required, which would allows scale-up of production to massive levels and thus allowing further definition of nutritional, microbiological, genetic and management aspects in general. Then it would be possible to assume the acquisition of a base production technology. Strategies to Increase the Production and Competitiveness of Aquaculture The national government has been making efforts through the Instituto Costaricense de Pesca y Aquicultura (INCOPESCA), which has the mission of promoting the development of the fisheries sector, mariculture and continental aquaculture of the nation under the principles of sustainability. In collaboration with the FAO, INCOPESCA presented an analysis of the current situation of the aquaculture sector in Costa Rica (FAO 2016), a diagnostic study that has provided basic information for establishment of the main priorities for aquaculture development. In 2019, INCOPESCA developed a Strategic Plan for Aquaculture in Costa Rica that aims to guide the management, strengthening and development of aquaculture activity in the country (INCOPESCA and SEPSA 2019). FIGURE 11. Spotted rose snapper are grown in 5,500 m3 net pens operated by Industrias Martec S.A near Quepos. FIGURE 12. Artisanal cultivation of oysters using lantern nets on longlines in the Gulf of Nicoya.
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