GUATEMALA '^' 



About 50 thousand pounds, heads -on weight, 

 of shrimp are caught annually by part-time fishermen 

 using cast nets. There is no travel fishery for shrimp 

 in Guatemala . An estimated 1 to 2 miilion pounds, 

 heads-on, can probably be produced along tlie west 

 coast, where there are no harbors and port facilities 

 are poor. Prospects on the east coast are not good. 



COI-UffiRCIAL SPECIES AND FISHING GROUNDS 



Guatemala has no regular shrimp fishery. It is estimated 

 that about 50,000 pounds, heads-on weight, are caught with cast nets 

 each year. These appear to be entirely the vrhite or blue shrimp, 

 Penaeus stylirostris , which are taken in some of the estuaries of 

 the v;est coast near San Jose. Some vjhite shrimp, probably P. schmitti , 

 are reportedJ.y taken on occasion from Lake Izabal on the east coast. 



The possibility of developing a shrimp fishery on the west 

 coast is greater than on the east coast. There are more nursery 

 grounds and adult feeding grounds on the west than on the east coast. 

 Reports are numerous of Mexican trawlers fishing along the west 

 coast of Guatemala. 



OUTLOOK FOR PRODUCTION 



Interest is being shot^m, both in the United States and in 

 Mexico, towards init-j;iting a Guatemala-based shrimp fishery on the 

 west coast in connection with GuatemalLan capital . The major drawback 

 lies in the lack of harbor and port f. '"ilities. There are no harbors 

 suitable for sheltering boats. Unloading facilities consist of two 

 piers, one at San Jose and the other at Champerico, extending to sea 

 beyond the surf line. 



It is estimated that maximum annual production on the west 

 coast would probably be between 1 and 2 million pounds of shrimp, 

 heads-on weight. 



Reports from the east coast suggest that the shrimp in this 

 region are dispersed during most of the time and congregate only now 

 and then. 



214/ The survey of Guatemala was made during February 1956, and this 

 date is implied when current events or prices are alluded to. 



67 



