Five innovations that have allowed the growth of the shrimp sector in Ecuador

2022 was the year of the Ecuadorian shrimp, as it broke records or historical figures both in production, export volume and economic value. This means that it is even classified as the main non-oil export product that currently generates the most external sales for the country.

The sector has worked on various fronts that have helped position it as such.

Research centers, precision feeding and counting, artificial intelligence and big data, specialized freezing systems and added value are part of the keys to the development of the shrimp and aquaculture sector in Ecuador.

The shrimp sector calculates the impact of the elimination of the subsidy at $0.16 per pound of shrimp

Here are the five main innovations that have enabled its growth in 2022:

1. Research

It is one of the keys to development to maintain high levels of innovation that allow the shrimp sector to be competitive, their representatives explain. In Ecuador there are companies that set up modern research centers.

One of the most recent is Skrettinga global aquafeed company, which in October 2022 inaugurated the Skretting Aquaculture Innovation Guayas Research Stationprojected for the country to be the production center of white shrimp in the world and source of technical information.

“It is focused on the study of shrimp farming in all its stages. It is a new investment that we bring, of $6.1 million (in its construction), where we have a high-tech research center and, at the same time, a laboratory incorporated for the center and to provide analysis services to our clients”, says César Molina, manager of Skretting Aquaculture Innovation Guayas Research.

2. Precision aquaculture

The modernization of shrimp farming is another of the pillars of innovation that has motivated precision aquaculture, through automated feeding and the collection of more parameters to take corrective measures on time.

There are, for example, mobile automatic feeders (such as the one from the Nicovita firm), high-precision counting services to find out how many shrimp are raised in a pool, among others.

3. Artificial intelligence and ‘big data’

Applications (apps), digital and virtual systems and state-of-the-art equipment (such as temperature sensors) made to, among other things, modernize the shrimp sector, increase its productivity, minimize risks, make it sustainable and others are part of the transformation and growth of shrimp production in the country.

In Ecuador, almost all packing houses and shrimp farms have digitized diagnostic equipment to measure sulfite (used as a preservative) in the field and in the vats.

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With this, it is possible to work on the same sample from the origin (swimming pool) to the final consumer, he told THE UNIVERSE At Aqua Expo 2022 Asier Albizu, CEO of the Spanish Biolan, a company present in the Ecuadorian market.

4. Freezing and processing

The shrimp sector “has made enormous efforts to increase its investments in freezing and processing capacity, which has doubled our value-added capacity for two consecutive years,” says José Camposano, president of the board of the Corporation of Exporting Guilds of Ecuador ( Cordex).

A palpable example lives it semaicaa company with 67 years of experience in the construction and engineering sector, which has developed processing plants food and specialized systems with compressed air, cold tunnelsfrozen and industrial refrigeration for sectors such as aquaculture, they say in Semaica.

5. Export value added

The shrimp sector is also focused on exporting products with added value. Nine with these characteristics are in demand abroad.

• Tail with shell, without vein (pulled). Shrimp as a HLSO, the vein of which is removed by pulling on one of the last segments.
• Easy peel glue (Ezpeel)HLSO shrimp, deveined, easy to peel by cutting along the back.
• Peeled and deveined, tail. The first segment and the tail remain on the shrimp.
• Peeled and deveined, without tail. Fifth. Peeled without deveining. Peeled completely, but not uncovered.
• peeled without vein, which has been withdrawn in one of the last segments.
• Butterfly. It is peeled, but the first segment and the tail remain on the shrimp. It is deveined by cutting the back. Both halves of the shrimp lie flat.
• Skewer. The shrimp used is peeled or deveined (pulled) tail, placed on a bamboo skewer. It can be organized in several ways: back to back, U-shaped, or coin-style.
• trays. It is ready to place in a supermarket.

“To date, the Ecuadorian shrimp sector continues to apply research and development to maintain high levels of innovation that allow it to remain competitive,” says José Camposano, from the National Chamber of Aquaculture and Cordex.

For him, the modernization of shrimp farming has been key in development, since it has motivated precision aquaculture through automated feeding and the collection of various parameters that allow corrective measures to be taken in time to improve yields. All this added to artificial intelligence and ‘big data’, he explains.

Another key part is nutrition, which has not stopped and is in constant evolution and research, through “the installation and strengthening of research centers for the development of better diets for shrimp, which naturally enhance their immune system.” and growth rates,” he explains. (YO)