Guyana is the leading exporter of seabob shrimp (a small-sized white shrimp with a sweet taste) globally as the government seeks to increase the productivity and competitiveness of the fishery commodity.

The plan is to increase Guyana’s status as a major exporter of Atlantic seabob shrimp while ensuring the long-term stability of the stock and enhancing individual wealth in the expanding tourism and oil and gas sectors.

Among the strengths include a well-run, regulated export industry headed by three vertically integrated businesses that have earned marine stewardship council (MSC) accreditation as a sign of their dedication to sustainable business practices, highly effective procedures (from catch to freezing in 20 minutes), a sufficient supply of both skilled and unskilled labour for future growth, and an average annual employment generation for approximately 800 persons, with nearly 40 percent of those hired being women for processing labour, salaries above the minimum wage; and low staff turnover (almost 50 percent of employees have been with the company for more than ten years).

One of two Caribbean nations, as well as one of the 12 ACP nations chosen for the ‘FISH4ACP’ programme is Guyana. The vertical integration of the three industrial companies functioning from capture to export, which enables a coordinated approach toward meeting MSC regulations, is one of the strengths of the industrial channel for seabob.

Approximately 99 percent of the average annual seabob catch (from 2015 to 2020) comes from the industrial channel, and 93 percent of that amount is exported, mostly to the United States of America market where demand is still high.

Between 2015 and 2020, three industrial seabob businesses in Guyana produced about 7,600 tonnes of peeled seabob annually (17,000 tonnes fresh, whole weight equivalent), of which about 93 percent was exported to markets in the US and the European Union (EU), and seven percent was sold to regional supermarkets, hotels, and restaurants.

The Guyana seabob fishery received conditional MSC accreditation in 2019. The 76 licensed trawlers owned by the three largest industrial companies, along with the 11 independently-owned trawlers that they employ, are responsible for 87 percent of all fishing activity.

By guaranteeing the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture in Guyana, will help to advance food and nutrition security, economic success, and the creation of jobs.

Guyana harvests 20,000 tonnes of seabob annually at an estimated value of US $50 million.