Development & Aid, Environment, Tierramerica - Ecobrief

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Promoting Artisanal Fishing

GUATEMALA CITY, Feb 4 2006 (IPS) - Some 15,000 small scale fisherfolk along Guatemala's Pacific and Atlantic coasts will benefit from a project “with incentives and aimed at supplying the national market,” says Erick Villagrán, coordinator of the government fishing and fisheries agency, Unipesca.

“The goal is to build six collections centers in areas of greatest production of fish and shellfish. The first warehouse is almost finished in the area of Tilapa,” in the western department of San Marcos, he added.

There will also be incentives for producing tilapia fish as well as shrimp, which according to Villagrán, 90 percent of what is sold inside Guatemala is farmed, and 10 percent is wild.

The incentive has the backing of Spain's international cooperation agency and the Guatemala City government.