Aquaculture as a development strategy for coastal and rural areas in Mexico

Abstract

Aquaculture is one of the food-producing activities that has been recording growth rates of 9-10% annually worldwide, a rate far higher than the production of other competing or substitute meat products such as beef, chicken or pork, which on average reach growth rates of less than 3.0%. While all these aquaculture growths are taking place in countries as far away as China, in countries such as Costa Rica, Honduras, Brazil and Chile, the trends are similar. On the other hand, the aquaculture activity that is taking place in Mexico has not found its virtuous course. On the one hand, fish production in the natural environment, which reached 1.5 million tons in the 80s, has not grown. On the contrary, its trend is towards decrease. And, as regards aquaculture, both in fresh and marine waters, it is stagnant due to the fact that the responsible government institutions, as time goes by, lose decision-making and management capacity. This is why the incoming federal authorities have in their hands enormous potential to develop profitable and sustainable aquaculture and thereby create virtuous means of livelihood for the coastal and rural areas of our country.