In Ecuador, the explosive global demand for shrimp has propelled the aquaculture sector past petroleum as the nation’s primary export, but this economic boom is driving the severe destruction of vital mangrove ecosystems. Despite national bans on deforestation, rapid industrial expansion continues to devastate coastal wetlands, threatening local livelihoods and biodiversity across provinces like Guayas and El Oro.
Here is why that matters on a global scale: as Chinese, European, and American markets absorb the vast majority of these crustaceans, the true environmental cost is quietly absorbed by local fishers and mollusk gatherers whose way of life is literally washing away with the tide.
The Human Cost on the Mudflats of Jambelí
When the tide recedes, Johana Carolina Cruz Potes wades into the thick mud surrounding Isla Costa Rica in the Jambelí archipelago. Armed with a bucket and a small metal hook, she searches the mangrove roots for the concha negra, an edible mollusk that sustains her community. Cruz Potes began this labor at nine years old alongside her father. Today, at 32, she watches both the available harvesting zones and the mollusk population shrink year over year.
Pointing toward a sprawling commercial aquaculture pool nearby, Cruz Potes notes the direct cause of the decline. “Ever since the shrimp farms arrived, they cut down the trees to build the pools,” she explains. “But the conchas live among the roots, and without roots, they disappear too.”
This dynamic reflects a staggering national transformation. Over recent decades, Ecuador’s shrimp production has nearly quadrupled. Following the removal of trade tariffs, exports surged further, pushing commercial pools deep into fragile coastal habitats. Historical records indicate that Ecuador lost up to 43 percent of its mangrove forests between 1969 and 1999. Today, commercial shrimp farms cover an area one and a half times larger than all the remaining mangrove forests combined.
Evolving Tactics Behind Continuing Deforestation
While official legislation strictly prohibits the felling of mangroves, and industry representatives claim that land conversion for farms has halted entirely, researchers and coastal residents paint a very different picture. On-the-ground reality suggests that the destruction has simply grown more clandestine.
“People think that the destruction of these trees only happened in the past,” says Eduardo Rebolledo Monsalve, a researcher at the Catholic University of Esmeraldas. “But that is not true.”
Data gathered by Trase, a supply-chain transparency initiative, reveals that between 2014 and 2019, approximately 427 hectares of mangroves were converted into shrimp ponds, predominantly within Guayas province, the epicenter of the nation’s aquaculture industry. A separate remote-sensing study identified the loss of 2,900 hectares over the subsequent four years, with nearly half of that destruction occurring directly inside legally protected areas.
Enforcement remains an uphill battle. In January 2024, a naval operation uncovered a ten-hectare clearing inside the Manglares Don Goyo, a wetland of international importance designated under the Ramsar Convention in the inner Gulf of Guayaquil. Fishers along the coast report that large-scale clearings have given way to incremental encroachment.
Luis Ángel Flores Ramírez, a crab fisher in El Oro province, describes how operators now clear smaller plots. “With the pretext of pruning the plants, having to dig a canal, or building a dam,” he says, the farms steadily expand. Pablo Roberto Demera, leader of the Asopesanjocha fishing association further north, echoes that observation. “Every time they repair a pond’s embankment, they widen it by a couple of meters, then another two, and so on.”
Ecosystem Disruption and Estuary Pollution
The damage extends far beyond physical clearing. Aquaculture infrastructure fundamentally alters the natural hydrology of the coast. Earthen walls, dikes, and artificial channels disrupt the daily tidal flows necessary to keep mangrove soil moist and oxygenated.
“When the dikes, canals, and pond walls block this exchange, the mud can dry out and harden, salinity can vary, and the trees still standing can slowly die,” Rebolledo Monsalve explains.
Compounding the habitat loss is the discharge of untreated wastewater. Ecuadorian law prohibits releasing untreated effluents laden with organic matter, uneaten feed, animal waste, and fertilizers. Yet a 2023 study found that mangroves near shrimp farms in Esmeraldas exhibited ammonium and phosphorus levels two and a half times higher than normal baselines. Seafood Watch assessments estimate that more than half of all aquaculture waste is released directly into surrounding aquatic environments.
Former workers describe estuaries turning white with foam near facilities in La Libertad. Local fishers, such as Mauricio Cruz in Huaquillas, point to chemical use—including sodium metabisulfite to prevent harvested shrimp from spoiling—as a driver behind frequent fish kills.
| Metric / Factor | Detail / Sourced Data |
|---|---|
| Export Standing | Surpassed petroleum to become Ecuador’s leading export product. |
| Historical Loss (1969–1999) | Up to 43% of Ecuador’s mangrove forests destroyed. |
| Land Footprint Comparison | Shrimp farms cover an area 1.5 times larger than remaining mangroves. |
| Recent Conversion (2014–2019) | 427 hectares converted in Guayas and other core provinces (Trase data). |
| Subsequent Four-Year Loss | 2,900 hectares disappeared, nearly half within protected zones. |
Ultimately, the appetite of international markets comes with a heavy ecological invoice. As long as global demand for low-cost seafood remains unchecked, the muddy estuaries of Jambelí and Esmeraldas will continue to bear the cost of global consumption. What happens to the remaining mangroves will determine not just the survival of the concha negra, but the resilience of Ecuador’s entire coastal fringe.
How should importing nations balance their desire for affordable seafood against the quiet destruction of South America’s vital coastal ecosystems? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
