Spanish seafood giant Nueva Pescanova has announced plans to sell its Mozambican subsidiary Grupo Pescamar along with its fleet of 26 fishing vessels, signalling a major withdrawal from Mozambique’s once‑thriving prawn industry.
Industry sources cited by Zitamar News confirmed the company’s intention to leave the country, a move that could further weaken a sector already battered by years of declining stocks and environmental degradation.
Prawns were once among Mozambique’s top export earners, generating about US$100 million annually at their peak.
However, decades of overfishing – including widespread disregard for the closed season – have severely depleted stocks. Juvenile prawns have been routinely harvested before reaching maturity, accelerating the collapse.
Environmental pressures have compounded the decline.
Key breeding grounds along the coast have been damaged by sediment pollution from heavy mineral sands mining in Nampula and Zambezia provinces.
Large stretches of mangrove forests, vital nurseries for prawns and other marine species, have also been destroyed for timber and firewood.
As conditions worsened, multinational operators gradually exited the sector, leaving Nueva Pescanova as the last major foreign company still active in Mozambique’s shallow‑water prawn fishery.
Its departure marks the end of an era for a once‑dominant export industry.
While some industrial operators continue to harvest deep‑water prawns, known locally as gambas, these are considered lower quality and fetch lower prices than the prized coastal varieties.
APA