Its affect on Ecuador is not only economic, but environmental also. There are tremendous sociological and environmental costs that could yield disaster for countries such as Ecuador. In recent years, Ecuador s maricultural shrimp industry has suffered losses with the most important factor being the current scarcity of post larval shrimp caused by the destruction of the mangrove habitat.
Mangroves are the common name for three species of trees and shrubs found along warm water coasts.
Shrimp mariculture requires the creation of ponds below the high tide line, which is often accomplished by clearing the mangrove forests. Mangroves are breeding and rearing grounds for a substantial part of the planets populations of fish and shellfish upon which a hungry world depends. There is a direct relationship between the declining mangroves and declining fish catches, where mangrove destruction is extensive. Profit, as in any industry, is the motivating force behind the great levels of intensification squeezing the most out of the shrimp industry. Deforestation is not the only negative to come out of the shrimp industry.