Photo credit: Diego Mauricio Carrillo Freire (Ecuador)
Review: Diego Mauricio Carrillo Freire and Abdel Rahman El Gamal (Founder of the website)
The overall features of the canton Pedro Vicente Maldonado (600 m above sea level) area are encouraging to the development of agriculture, aquaculture as well as attracting to tourism.
Like many parts of Ecuador, the tilapia-farming has developed rapidly due to the need for species diversification after the crisis in the shrimp industry caused by the spread of the Taura Syndrome Virus (TSV), and intensified after the white spot virus (WSSV) outbreak during 1990s. The introduction of tilapia in Ecuador aquaculture led to strengthening the export of tilapia in the export market especially to USA. Moreover, tilapia culture took the advantage of shrimp ponds which were abandoned after the appearance of TSV and WSSV.
The “Pedro Vicente Maldonado Canton” region has waterfalls and rivers which are ideal for ecotourism, with adventure sports like rafting and kayaking. Having red tilapia culture in this region provides visitors the opportunity to taste delicious red tilapia which was introduced to Ecuador in 1993.
