Proceedings of the Workshop on the Management of the Shallow Water Shrimp Fishery of Tanzania

Abstract

The fishery is presently comprised of an industrial trawler component and an artisanal component. During 1989 there were sixteen trawlers engaged, two belonging to the parastatal Tanzania Fisheries Corporation (TAFICO) and the rest being foreign-owned. The landings from these vessels included 974 tonnes (whole weight) of shrimp and 1,069 tonnes of fish by-catch. Almost all the shrimp were exported. The wholesale (fob) value of the shrimp was probably in the order of US$ 5.5 million. On the basis of data collected during a socio-economic study undertaken immediately prior to the Workshop, the estimated landings by the about 859 artisanal fishing units in 1989 was 1,212 tonnes of shrimp suitable for export, along with over 3,000 tonnes of fish. An estimate of the value of this shrimp on the export market, assuming a price 2/3rd that for the shrimp caught from trawlers, is about US$ 4.5 million. The quantity that was actually exported is not known.