By Igor Gonçalves, Romulo Soares and Marina Rocha*

Ceará holds a unique position within Brazil’s fisheries sector by combining two strategic assets: relevance in high-value offshore fishing and leadership in marine aquaculture.

At the national level, Brazil recorded approximately 479 thousand tons of extractive fishery production in 2024, including both artisanal and industrial fishing. Within this context, Ceará stands out particularly in the capture of pelagic species with higher international commercial value, especially through its strong presence in the tuna supply chain.

In 2023, the state caught approximately 10.7 thousand tons of tuna (Thunnus spp.), in addition to around 11.3 thousand tons of yellowfin tuna (T. albacares), making it one of Brazil’s leading hubs for high-value offshore fishing aimed at the international market — a segment that has attracted growing industrial investment in the region.

This export-oriented profile is clearly reflected in foreign trade data. In 2024, Ceará’s fisheries sector accounted for approximately US$93.8 million in seafood exports, maintaining national leadership and representing around 25% of all Brazilian seafood exports, a share that has remained consistent for more than a decade. The export profile has historically been led by lobster, with significant participation from tuna and red fish species such as pargo, cioba, ariacó, and guaiúba.

In marine aquaculture, Ceará’s leadership is even more evident. The state is the largest producer of farmed shrimp in Northeastern Brazil, with more than 83 thousand tons recorded in 2024, supported by a strong production base and expansion potential in segments such as processed seafood and higher value-added products.

Why Canada — and Especially Nova Scotia — Makes Sense

Trade relations with Canada are still relatively modest in absolute terms, but they have been growing at a remarkable pace, and this momentum is precisely what draws attention. Export data from the sector between 2023 and 2025 illustrates this potential, both in terms of commercial value and Ceará’s relative share of national exports.

Ceará’s exports grew from US$525 thousand in 2023 to US$2.05 million in 2025 — an impressive increase of approximately 291% during the period. This growth also reflected a substantial gain in Ceará’s share of national exports to the Canadian market, rising from around 19.2% in 2023 to 33.1% in 2024, before stabilizing at 28.2% in 2025.

At the national level, Brazilian exports — driven primarily by pargo and other frozen seafood categories — increased from US$2.7 million in 2023 to US$7.3 million in 2025, representing growth of approximately 167% during the same period.

Ceará therefore emerges as one of the main drivers of dynamism in Brazil’s seafood exports to the Canadian market, consistently increasing its participation over time.

On the Canadian side, there are important complementarities. Nova Scotia is a global fisheries powerhouse, with the sector contributing more than CAD 1.68 billion to the provincial economy. The region leads Canadian production of products for which Brazil has strong import demand, such as scallops, cold-water lobster, cod, salmon, and premium shellfish.

Currently, Brazilian seafood imports from Canada are highly concentrated in a limited number of categories, with frozen scallops accounting for most of the volume. This indicates room for diversification of bilateral trade flows in both directions.

The Real Opportunity: Trade, Technology, and Knowledge

The potential of the Ceará–Nova Scotia relationship extends far beyond seafood trade itself.

Nova Scotia has developed advanced ocean technology ecosystems that bring together companies, startups, researchers, and institutions in areas such as marine monitoring, sustainable aquaculture, fisheries traceability, and onboard technology. Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship (COVE) and Dalhousie University are two of the key drivers behind this ecosystem, operating in ocean geomatics, autonomous systems, and marine resource management — capabilities directly applicable to the challenges faced by Ceará’s fisheries sector.

The Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Canada’s largest ocean science center, employs more than 600 scientists, engineers, and technicians and is part of a network of institutions capable of engaging with Ceará’s concrete demands, including supply chain traceability, fleet sanitary compliance, international certifications, and market access.

For Ceará, this connection represents an opportunity to accelerate the transition from a model focused primarily on fisheries commodities toward a more sophisticated blue economy based on innovation, value-added production, and international integration.

The state already possesses established production scale and export capacity. Nova Scotia offers technological expertise and consolidated access to global markets. Collaboration between both regions could help structure a bilateral blue economy corridor across the Atlantic with significant strategic potential for both sides.

There is an ocean between Ceará and Canada, but it may function far more as a route of access than as a distance.

• Igor Gonçalves

Coordinator of the Chamber of Commerce Brazil-Canada – Ceará Chapter
President of the Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Sector Chamber of the Ceará State Development Agency
Partner at APSV Advogados

• Romulo Soares

President of the Blue Economy Sector Chamber of the Ceará State Development Agency
Partner at APSV Advogados

• Marina Rocha

Foreign Trade and International Business Professional at APSV Advogados

*This text does not necessarily reflect the views of the CCBC and is the sole responsibility of the author who signed this content.