In August 2012, Ecuadorian tilapia farmers were faced with a financial dilemma, should they continue to grow the white fish in a then-flooded market continually losing money or shift their focus to harvesting shrimp and hope for better financial returns?
The gamble paid off, as Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) broke out globally in early 2013, sending the world's shrimp supply spiraling into disarray. Former tilapia farmers in Ecuador reaped the benefits, as the country quickly became an even more significant exporter in the global shrimp market.
But
