Colombia

Although aquaculture production is becoming the fastest contributor to the food sector, the Caribbean has seen slower growth and accounts for less than 1 percent of global aquaculture production.

After leading a management buyout of Spring Genetics from Benchmark, Hideyoshi Segovia Uno is working hard to help ensure the international tilapia sector – particularly in Latin America (LATAM) – succeeds, in the face of a raft of emerging challenges.

The first experimental batch of a vaccine that should help Colombia’s tilapia farmers combat the new serotype strain of Streptococcus agalactiae that has recently been reported in the region arrived in the country last week.

Colombia’s aquaculture industry has been stuck in a cycle of low productivity and low profitability, but a recent value chain analysis notes that the country could capitalise on its climate and geography to become a leading producer of tropical – and native – …

A pilot project that aims to use tilapia farming as a way to bring peace and economic prosperity to a violent part of rural Colombia is showing promising results, but there is still a long way to go.

Marcela Salazar, Benchmark’s shrimp production manager and one of the pioneers of shrimp genetics, explains how shrimp breeding programmes have evolved and are likely to be heading.

Patricia Barrera swapped a career in pharmaceuticals to follow her passion for aquaculture, establishing Trout Managers SAS in Colombia, which she now runs.