page_title: Paraíso, Tabasco
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Paraíso, Tabasco / Economy
caption_attribution_description: Español: Renta de kayak's en el centro turístico Puerto Ceiba, Paraíso, Tabasco.
context_page_description: Paraíso is a town and municipality located in the north of the Mexican state of Tabasco, about 75 km due north of the state capital of Villahermosa on the Gulf of Mexico. Much of the area is traditionally dedicated to fishing and agriculture. Today, it is also an oil-producing area with the mostly oil-dedicated port of Dos Bocas. There is also some tourism connected to the area's beaches and natural attractions, and the area is promoted under the state's Cacao Route tourism program.
context_section_description: The municipality has 57,755 hectares of land with 17% used for agriculture, 16% for livestock, 12% forest and 55% is residential/urban, wetlands or bodies of water. The municipality has an annual agricultural, industrial, arts and crafts fair in April. About thirty three percent of the working population is employed in agriculture and fishing. The most important crop in the municipality is coconut as the number one producer in the state, accounting for over sixty percent of cropland. Other important crops include cacao and bananas. Corn and beans are generally grown in small plots for family consumption. Livestock is not an important economic product although some cattle, pigs and domestic fowl is raised. There are still some tropical hardwood trees such as mahogany which is mostly used to make furniture. Fishing occurs in both ocean and fresh waters catching sea bass, shrimp and shellfish. It is a major producer and distributor of oysters and lately of edible jellyfish, most of which is farmed. However, fishing has been threatened by a number of factors. Oil spills and red tide have led to closure of fishing areas. In the 2000s, wild oyster yields dropped almost fifty percent in the lagoons of the Tabasco coast. It is traditional here for men to harvest oysters and the women to process them but this economic model is disappearing. Over exploitation of the mollusk is the main reason behind the drop in production. A study by the Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco strongly recommends the implementation of oyster farming to replace reliance on oysters growing wild, with state authorities also pushing for this change. However, local fishermen have been resistant to outside interference.
  Just under twenty eight percent of the working population is employed in mining, petroleum, construction and manufacturing. Oil drilling is mostly done in two fields: Puerto Ceiba Mesozoico and Puerto Ceiba Terciario, each with two wells. These produce over two thousand barrels daily along with 1.2 million cubic feet of natural gas. Most manufacturing is small concerns which produce corn flour, chocolate, ice, clothing, cinderblock and tortillas. The production of fiberglass is an important source of employment. Handcrafts include figures from dried coconuts and seashells as well as hammocks.
  Oil spills both on land and in the ocean have been problematic not only for fishing but for tourism as well. When spills happen, the smell of oil can dominate the air of the surrounding areas. Tabasco beaches have been affected by spills that have occurred off of Campeche. Local fishermen have expressed concerns about the viability of their livelihoods due to oil spills including those such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill off the coast of the United States. Paraíso beaches have been closed on occasion due to high toxicity of chemical spills, which negatively affects local tourism. In 2005, PEMEX cleaned twelve tons of pitch and other contaminants off 77 km of Tabasco beaches, including those in Paraíso. The beaches and waters off them are monitored by federal and state authorities for toxicity and aptness for use by tourists.
  Almost thirty five percent are employed in commerce, tourism and services. The municipality has four traditional markets and a weekly tianguis along with supermarkets, corner stores and other retail outlets. Tourism is relatively undeveloped but is mostly based on the areas beaches, fishing and natural sites. The municipality's natural environment has been used for a number of Mexican telenovelas. Available hotels range from small inns to one four-star hotel. The municipality  is just north of the Comalcalco archeological site as part of the Cacao Route.
  The most popular tourist area of the municipality is the Puerto Ceiba area due to its vegetation, docks as well as its inn with restaurant. Seafood dishes typical of the area include oysters, and tourists can also tour the Mecoacán Lagoon by boat. The Parador Turístico Puerto Ceiba is a look out area for the Mecoacán Lagoon. It offers boat tours on the Gonzalez River to the G
caption: Kayak's in Puerto Ceiba.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "SONY", "Image Model": "DSC-W170", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2010:04:01 16:52:55", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "258", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 51, 48, 48, 0, 0, 2, 0, 2, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Make": "SONY", "Thumbnail Model": "DSC-W170", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail DateTime": "2010:04:01 16:52:55", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "9768", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "9997", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/200", "EXIF FNumber": "8", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2010:04:01 16:52:55", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2010:04:01 16:52:55", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "55/16", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2592", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1944", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "9560", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal"}