Nueva Pescanova strengthened its operations in Nicaragua with the acquisition of a farm and various investments, which increased its shrimp production in the country by 7,000t, it said in a press release.
Spanish seafood giant Grupo Nueva Pescanova has invested €8 million to expand production at its shrimp production facilities in Nicaragua, having sold its plant in Honduras, the firm’s CEO, Ignacio Gonzalez, told Undercurrent News.
The group, which processed over 45,000 metric tons of shrimp last year, sold its Honduran subsidiary in December, it announced in February.
Meanwhile, Nueva Pescanova strengthened its operations in Nicaragua with the acquisition of a farm and various investments, which increased its shrimp production in the country by 7,000t, it said in a press release. The investment in Nicaragua totaled €8 million, Gonzalez said.
“[The plant in] Honduras was sold for a matter of profitability and we have invested in increasing water recirculation [at the farm] in Nicaragua, because we have noted last year better survival and higher growth rates [thanks to water recirculation],” Gonzalez told Undercurrent News during an interview at the Brussels seafood show last month.
It specializes in the farming and processing of Vannamei Shrimp. Based in Nicaragua, it has around 4,500 hectares of fishing farms located in Estero Real and around 2,000 employees working in the company. It has the largest larvae production center in America, with a monthly production of 600 million. Its processing plant can produce up to 30,000 metric tons annually. Camanica is, by far, the largest company dedicated to shrimp farming in the country and is responsible for more than 50% of the production and export of shrimp in Nicaragua.
“We are converting an activity that has 2,000 hectares into 4,000 hectares, doubling with good performance thanks to water circulation for the entire surface. Aquaculture can grow by expanding land or thanks to ‘technification’. To modernize, technology is a great investment,” Gonzalez said, pointing out that the group’s production in Nicaragua will progressively grow this year and that by the end of 2018, production should be double compared with “a normal cycle”.
