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Published Monday, November 23, 2020
Government opens $400,000-plus
valued shellfish plant in Puntarenas
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The government announced the opening of a shellfish processing plant in Puntarenas, which is the largest in Central America, according to the Rural Development Institute.
The construction of the plant is valued at $412,426, of which $247,456 were backed by the Institute, $41,242 by the Production Promotion program and $123,728 by the Ministry of Labor.
According to the institute, the mollusk treatment plant, which is located in the Marine and Coastal Sciences Station, ECMAR, of the National University, UNA, in Chomes District, could process up to one million oysters per month.
Previously, an oyster seed production laboratory had been built in the same facilities, which cost about $932,086, provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and other public institutions.
Both the processing plant and the laboratory will be in charge of the National University with the goal is provide advice and the use of the facilities to entrepreneurs of oyster farms in Puntarenas and Golfito.
In Costa Rica, one million oyster seeds are produced annually and it is expected that when the plant becomes fully operational, one million seeds per month can be produced. The goal is to convert oyster farming as a new productive activity in the Pacific Coast area, according to the institute.
People interested in developing an oyster farm on the Pacific Coast should call for information by dialing the institute line at 2247-7400.
In September, with an investment of approximately $136,264 from the
Aid Institute, the program of 15 oyster farms in the Nicoya Gulf is
developed, of which 9 will begin operations in
November.
Six of the farms have already started operations.
There are three more located in the Florida community
of Venado Island. In the
community of Montero in Chira Island and the Costa de Pájaros Beach a
few more farms will open in November. These will be
administered by 24 families from those communities.
The National University Station is in charge of supplying inputs to the oyster
farms. Also, the organization provides support to six
more farms in the communities of El Jobo and La Cruz
in Guanacaste Province, as well as five more in the
Gulf of Nicoya. All of these are developing
mariculture.
Oyster farms are part of the mariculture industry. It
is a specialized branch of aquaculture involving the
cultivation of marine organisms for food and other
products in the open ocean, an enclosed section of the
ocean, or in tanks, ponds or raceways which are filled
with seawater.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations (FAO) the countries that develop
mariculture the most are France, the United States,
Denmark, and Australia. The complete study of the
mariculture industry can be reached at FAO website.
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What have you heard of entrepreneurs seeking help in maintaining their oyster farms? We would like to know your
thoughts on this story. Send your comments
to news@amcostarica.com
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