The demarcations that will participate in the venture belong to the region of the Gulf of Guacanayabo, in whose preservation and development the Fisheries Research Center of this Caribbean nation participates, reported the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
According to the source, the scientific institution implements the different aspects of the project called Conpescas Guacanayabo, which has technical assistance from the FAO and financing from the Global Environment Fund.
As part of the initiative, two oyster farms and two marine farming farms will be established in the coastal municipalities of Amancio Rodríguez, in the province of Las Tunas; Manzanillo in Granma, and Santa Cruz del Sur, belonging to Camagüey.
For these purposes, the project will provide modules for the cultivation of shrimp in floating cages and bottom oysters in a basket system, the United Nations agency detailed.
Likewise, he added, materials and inputs will be managed for the assembly of artisanal mangrove oyster cultivation farms and three hammer mills for the production of oyster shell flour, which will be used as an additive in the production of animal feed.
Conpescas Guacanayabo will also develop a technical assistance program for the transfer of technologies for these crops, the FAO assured.
In the opinion of the organization, the provision of equipment and supplies will support local communities and companies in the sector, which will help reduce fishing pressure and pollution of natural resources in that area of the southeastern shelf of the island.
Oyster farms and marine crops, he recalled, play a crucial role in the production of foods in high demand in the national and international market, in the protection of the environment and the generation of new jobs.
Given the growing demand for food and the decline of natural populations of fish, shellfish and other organisms of commercial interest on the island shelf of Cuba, mariculture became a viable option to provide human food and provide economic stability to producers, he considered.
The National Strategy for the Development of Maritime Farming, approved in 2019 by the Ministry of the Food Industry, identifies the main species with potential for cultivation, including red tilapia, oysters and shrimp, among others of interest, appreciated the FAO.
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