Tumbes
Tumbes exhibits ecosystem collapse dynamics: 90% of Peru's shrimp, but production fell from 7,453 to 1,400 hectares as prices crashed and mangroves shrink.
Tumbes demonstrates ecosystem exploitation at multiple levels—shrimp aquaculture dominates the economy but has contracted sharply, while mangrove conservation attempts to balance extraction with preservation. The region produces 90% of Peru's vannamei shrimp, which represents 98% of regional exports. But the industry collapsed from global price drops: of 7,453 authorized hectares, only 1,400 hectares were sown by July 2024—down from 3,161 in 2023. Direct job losses exceeded 40%, and unlike Ecuador, India, China, or Thailand, Peru's government has provided no support for the struggling aquaculture sector.
The Tumbes River Delta shows the ecological cost of shrimp expansion. Satellite data from the 1970s onward documents aquaculture ponds encroaching on mangrove forest, savanna, and dry forest ecosystems. The National Sanctuary Manglares de Tumbes, spanning 29.72 km² and hosting 148 bird species and 105 fish species, represents Peru's largest remaining mangrove area—but upstream gold mining sends lead and arsenic concentrations above legal limits into river water that flows through both sanctuary and shrimp ponds.
Conservation efforts using the Blue Carbon Accelerator Fund model attempt to secure long-term protection through carbon credits, seafood extraction fees, and ecotourism expansion. Trade with Ecuador and tourism to beaches like Punta Sal and Puerto Pizarro provide alternatives to aquaculture. But with informal employment at 72% nationally—higher in border regions due to contraband—Tumbes exemplifies the challenge of transitioning from extraction to sustainable use when state capacity and market prices both fail.