A follow-up on developments at Acuicola 11 de Diciembre S.A. with Ing Ramsès A Chavez Zazueta.
In 2018, I visited the Acuicola 11 de Diciembre farm belonging to a young shrimp entrepreneur, Ing Ramsès A Chavez Zazueta. Back then, Chavez discussed how he and other farm owners in Sinaloa state, Mexico had managed to overcome AHPND (acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease) or otherwise referred to as early mortality syndrome (EMS) which occurred in 2013. Prior to EMS, Mexico’s shrimp production was more than 120,000 tonnes. Then came EMS which brought down production to just over 40,000 tonnes in 2013.
By 2024, after having recovered from EMS and post Covid, Mexico’s production reached a remarkable 170,000 tonnes. Another trump card for the industry is that its in-country demand is taking up almost all of the shrimp produced. Shrimp imports are banned except from the three southern neighbouring
countries. Mexico has three major shrimp farming states, led by Sinaloa, Sonora and Nayarit. Sinaloa is the leading shrimp farming state with a historic figure of 95,000 tonnes produced in 2021.
Annually, there is the Conacua conference and trade show which gathers aquaculture stakeholders in Sinaloa. The 2024 edition was held on November 27- 28 in Los Mochis, and I met up with Chavez to discuss developments at his farming group. Chavez is also Secretary General of Acuacultores de Ahome, the aquaculture association in Ahome municipality, Sinaloa, which is a co-organiser of Conacua with Conafab, the federal level feed association of Mexico. See page 54-56.
Expansion with three farms
AAP: What has changed since 2018 at your farming group
Ramsès A Chavez Zazueta: We have expanded to three farms. We now have two in Sinaloa and one in Sonora state. The total area is 420ha. The stocking is 15-20 PL/m2 in the 187ha farm around Los Mochis. Generally, it is semi- intensive culture, but we have a range of stocking densities, depending on the location. The Sonora farm is smaller at only 115ha and the two other farms are in the Ahome municipality in northwestern Sinaloa.
The latest addition is a farm in Sinaloa which we took over from a farmer leaving shrimp farming. In 2013, when EMS came to Mexico, the owner could not deal with the disease and decided to sell his farm.
Disruption in production with low prices
AAP: What is the general situation with production in Mexico?
Chavez: The final production numbers in 2024 are still not available but industry has estimated that 90% of the production will be from Sinaloa and Sonora. However, in 2024, here in Sinaloa, we estimated that production will be less by 30% because prices for the second half of the year were not tenable in comparison to the cost of production. Many producers did not stock in the second half of the year.
In 2023, Sinaloa produced 90,000 tonnes. For 2024, the estimate is 55,000 to 60,000 tonnes only. In comparison to Sinaloa, Sonora has more integrated groups and most probably does not have these production problems. Sonora is expected to maintain its 2023 production or if anything shows a decline by 5-10% only.
Technification
AAP: What improvements and innovations have helped you during the last six years?
Chavez: Remember, that in 2018, I mentioned how our survival rates went down to 55%. Today, there have been improvements of 10% – to 65% – 68%. My target is 70% and so we are still not there yet. The improvement is not large, but it does help. Here, most producers are managing diseases better by knowing the causes.
However, since 2022, with low prices, technification and reinvesting in farms are something we all need to do. We need to be more efficient in production by harvesting more kilograms of shrimp per square metre. If we do not take this option, we cannot compete in the domestic and international markets.
By technification, I mean installing aerators, automatic feeders and more efficient pumping of water to ponds. Pond electrification is rare in Mexico, but a necessity with intensification of farms.
At the Sonora farm, I had no choice but to invest in electrification. This is a huge investment, but I expect a return from this investment in 3 years. The problem in Mexico is that the electric grid is not near farms, which are in coastal areas. We explored the solar option, but it is not possible for such an industrial scale.
Higher productivity
AAP: What are the benefits with these investments?
Chavez: I am seeing some benefits of technification. We now produce around 3.2-3.4 tonnes/ha as compared to 1.8-2.2 tonnes/ha previously. Harvest sizes are larger at 34-36g, feed conversion (FCR) is lower from 1.9-2.0 to 1.75-1.8 and days of culture (DOC) are shorter, down to 202 days from 215 days. We now feel that we can compete internationally. All the above have been achieved despite maintaining stocking density at 15-20 PL/m2. Perhaps it is also time to explore higher stocking density.
We are exploring on how to change our farming models by looking at culture practices in Ecuador, Central America and Asia. Here in Sinaloa, we grow to large shrimp and only have time for one cycle. Now our average weekly growth (AWG) is 1.38g/week. In Mexico, nothing has changed
with regards to broodstock. Hatcheries develop specific tolerant lines from large shrimp and the focus is on disease resistance.
However, a strategy is to have two cycles/year and with a better growth rate. This is the second year that we are using autofeeders and I see some potential with our technification.
Cost of production
AAP: What have been your strategies to reduce production costs?
Chavez: A pain point is the low prices since 2022. Selling prices in November were MXN105-110/kg (USD5.20- 5.45) for 36g shrimp. The cost of production (COP) was MXN82/kg (USD4.05). We have been trying to lower the fuel cost of pumping water. With electrification in the Sonora farm, in July, I migrated to a new pumping system with automation, one which can be programmed to be economical.
At this conference, we are learning what the industry in Ecuador and other producers in Mexico are doing better. Some in Mexico have 2-3 cycles per year. They are not harvesting such large shrimp but maybe two cycles of 20g. We need to see the economics of harvesting 20g shrimp compared to harvesting 36g shrimp. We need to relook at our practices and explore how to be more profitable.
We have several partial harvests, starting with 15g shrimp – the second is 19-20g shrimp, the third 24-27g shrimp and the fourth for 31g shrimp. If survival is good, a last harvest of 36-37g shrimp. We sell fresh shrimp to the domestic market and also send shrimp to the processing plant for brine freezing.
Nursery phase
AAP: What have been the developments with this phase?
Chavez: This is an important phase, preparing post larvae for stocking the next cycle. This is done during the break cycle period. The yearly farming cycle for farms in Sinaloa ends on the first weekend of November and restocking is regulated to start only in the last weekend of March. The date is determined by Acuacultores de Ahome A.C. and enforced by the local authority. The association also establishes the period to dry out the ponds. All these steps have been put in place to avoid diseases, which are more susceptible during the colder season.
Since 2018, the nursery at Acuicola 11 de Diciembre farm has remained unchanged. Post larvae (PL10-12) are stocked and grown to 300mg for stocking. There are two cycles in the nursery phase.
Surviving the Covid pandemic years
AAP: From 2020-2021, what was shrimp farming like at your farm and overall in Mexico?
Chavez: From a business point of view, many other producers and I had expected it to be difficult. On the contrary, we were all farming as normal. There were no imports of shrimp while the consumption and market demand were very good. We saw record prices in 2021. (Note: according to indexmundi.com, prices were highest at MXN316.92/kg in July 2021).
However, there was a downside to this excitement on high prices. Many producers were so excited about this trend and expected the higher prices to stay. They
started reinvesting into farming and some took up loans to expand. Over one year, shrimp prices dropped to the bottom. Post Covid, it became a perfect storm when interest rates increased to 11.25% in March of 2023 and later followed by the devaluation of the Mexican peso (MXN) against the US dollar. Many farms went bust and only the larger groups managed to navigate this storm.
Wish list for 2025
Chavez: I am very interested to see what acoustic feeding can do to increase yields. We are working with Mazatlan- based Acuicultec, which is developing an acoustic feeding system with artificial intelligence. In the past two years, we have been working with them on autofeeders and on control of aeration and reduction of pumping. We also had a trial with AQ1, and we are happy with results such as a drop in FCR and DOC and larger size. I am now tempted to increase stocking density to increase yields.
As a group we are managing the ups and downs of this industry. I am very concerned with the oversupply situation and economic sustainability of shrimp farming. I believe that the large integrators will continue to produce more and more and workers in the smaller farms will lose their jobs. We may see a smaller group of large producers. This race is not healthy. Similar to other countries such as Ecuador, shrimp farming in Mexico provides employment to communities. I also believe in social sustainability – the benefits of shrimp farming should be distributed to many in the community and not only to few.
As a group we are managing the ups and downs of this industry. I am very concerned with the oversupply situation and economic sustainability of shrimp farming. I believe that the large integrators will continue to produce more and more and workers in the smaller farms will lose their jobs. We may see a smaller group of large producers. This race is not healthy. Similar to other countries such as Ecuador, shrimp farming in Mexico provides employment to communities. I also believe in social sustainability – the benefits of shrimp farming should be distributed to many in the community and not only to few.
The article was first published in January/February Aqua Culture Asia Pacific 2025
