Ecuador's shrimp industry joins environmental groups to launch "Climate Mangroves" initiative, targeting 20,000 hectares of certified farms and 250 hectares of mangrove restoration by 2030

Guayaquil — The "Climate Mangroves (Manglares para el Clima)" initiative, jointly launched by the Sustainable Shrimp Partnership (SSP), the Ecuadorian National Chamber of Aquaculture (CNA) and Conservation International Ecuador (CI-Ecuador), is advancing industry collaboration between shrimp farming companies and coastal communities, combining sustainable aquaculture with ecological restoration. The initiative carried out a series of technical matchmaking events in Guayas Province in October and November 2026.

On 29 October 2026, the project held its first technical briefing, explaining participation criteria and the farm application process to aquaculture companies. On 5 November, the project team presented the dedicated programme to compound feed processors and industry chain partners. On 7 November, the project team held a technical workshop on nursery management and vegetation restoration jointly with members of the Cooperativa Manglares Porteños and the Asociación de Pescadores Cangrejos y Afines Sabana Grande Nueva Esperanza, bringing traditional coastal fishing groups into the ecological management system.

In its first year of implementation, the programme aims to bring 50 hectares of mangroves in Guayas Province under restoration, regeneration or direct artificial reforestation. At the same time, the project will provide full technical guidance to 5 pilot shrimp farms covering a total area of about 4,000 hectares, helping them meet Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification standards. Two of the pilot farms will carry out greenhouse gas emissions monitoring and calculate their carbon footprint.

The medium- and long-term plan for 2030 proposes restoring a cumulative 250 hectares of mangroves within farming areas and bringing 20,000 hectares of farming waters under certified operation. The founding organisations estimate that, once these targets are met, this would theoretically be equivalent to offsetting 112,870 tonnes of CO2 emissions; this figure is a long-term planning target for the project, and actual results will depend on the progress of subsequent on-site works.

Separately, according to the General Administration of Customs import and export statistics for August 2026, in August 2026 Ecuador's imports of warm-water shrimp into China (penaeid shrimp, including whiteleg shrimp and black tiger shrimp, under customs commodity classification HS 0306.17) totalled 73,684.42 tonnes, with an import value of USD 320,471,897.0 and an average import price of USD 4,349.25 per tonne.