When people think about Panama, they usually think about the Panama Canal, tropical beaches, rainforest, islands and perhaps a cold beer with a plate of ceviche. What is easier to forget is that Panama is surrounded by an extraordinary amount of productive ocean. The country has two very different coastlines, with the Pacific Ocean on one side and the Caribbean Sea on the other, and commercial fishing has become an important part of Panama’s economy, food culture and export industry. In fact, Panama’s fishing sector generated B/.158.5 million in exports by July 2026, with fish, crustaceans and mollusks accounting for most of that value. Frozen shrimp alone was the country's number one fishing export.
The fascinating thing about Panamanian fishing is that there isn't really one single “Panamanian fishing industry.” Instead, there are several very different fisheries operating at different scales. There are small boats leaving coastal villages before sunrise, larger commercial vessels working offshore, purse seiners gathering enormous schools of tiny pelagic fish, longliners targeting larger open ocean species and shrimp operations supplying international markets. Then there are fishermen working much closer to shore, bringing in snapper, corvina, grouper, jacks and dozens of other species that eventually appear in markets and restaurants. One scientific compilation identified 223 commercially important marine fish species on Panama's Pacific coast alone, including 25 species of corvina, 17 sharks, 17 groupers and 10 snappers.
Shrimp is the big commercial story
If you want to understand modern Panamanian seafood exports, start with shrimp. Shrimp is one of the country's most commercially important seafood products, and as of 2026 it was the leading item among Panama's fishing exports. Panama is also working toward MSC certification for its white shrimp and pink shrimp fisheries, according to the country's aquatic resources authority.
Shrimp fishing is quite different from somebody going out in a small boat with a few hooks. It can involve specialized commercial vessels and carefully regulated fishing grounds. Panama has specific regulations governing shrimp fisheries, and shrimp species from several families are covered by the country's fisheries regulations.
There is also an important distinction between wild caught shrimp and farmed shrimp. Panama has a significant aquaculture industry as well, so when you see Panamanian shrimp being exported, it does not necessarily mean that it came from a fishing boat dragging a net through the ocean. Some shrimp comes from farms and some comes from wild fisheries. That distinction is particularly important when talking about Panama's seafood exports.
The tiny fish that feed an enormous industry
One of the most interesting commercial fisheries in Panama involves fish that most tourists would probably never order in a restaurant. These are the small pelagic fish, particularly anchoveta, arenque and orqueta.
Anchoveta is a small anchovy like fish, while arenque refers to species of Opisthonema. These fish travel in schools, sometimes in enormous concentrations, making them suitable for purse seine fishing. A purse seine essentially surrounds a school of fish with a huge wall of netting, which is then drawn together underneath the school.
Panama has a specifically managed small pelagic fishery in the Pacific. ARAP, Panama's aquatic resources authority, describes the fishery as targeting anchoveta, arenque and orqueta and says it is managed through limits on fishing effort and catches, monitoring and restrictions on where vessels can operate.
And here's the strange part: much of this fish isn't destined for your dinner plate.
These little fish are extremely valuable because they can be processed into fishmeal and fish oil. Those products can then be used in aquaculture, animal feeds and other industries. Panama's authorities have described this fishery as an important export activity, with fishmeal and fish oil shipped to markets including China and Europe.
So when you look at a tiny anchoveta swimming through the Pacific, you aren't necessarily looking at something destined to become a ceviche. It could eventually become part of a completely different food production chain thousands of kilometres away.
Tuna and the big ocean fish
Panama also participates in fisheries involving tuna and other large pelagic species. These are fish that spend much of their lives offshore rather than hanging around the shallow coastal waters where tourists go swimming.
Tuna are commercially important because they can be sold fresh, frozen or processed. Panama's seafood export statistics include tuna products, including frozen tuna and prepared tuna products.
The country's fishing regulations also recognize longline fisheries targeting tuna and other large pelagic species. Longlines can stretch for considerable distances and carry numerous baited hooks, allowing fishermen to target fish swimming through open ocean waters.
This is one of the reasons Panama's location is so interesting from a fishing perspective. The country isn't simply sitting beside a productive coastal fishery. It is also positioned next to major oceanic ecosystems where highly migratory species pass through.
Corvina, snapper and grouper
Then we get to the fish that most visitors actually recognize from Panamanian restaurants.
Corvina is one of the country's most familiar eating fish and is commercially important. The name covers several species of croakers in the family Sciaenidae, and Panama's Pacific waters contain a remarkable diversity of them. Snappers and groupers are also commercially significant and are particularly important in the fresh fish trade. A government and scientific compilation of Panama's commercial marine fish lists corvinas, snappers and groupers among the country's major commercial fish groups.
These fisheries can look completely different from industrial purse seining. Instead of hundreds or thousands of tonnes of tiny fish being gathered for processing, fishermen may be targeting individual high value fish using hooks, lines or other gear.
That is one reason the seafood market in Panama can feel so varied. One boat might be supplying a restaurant with beautiful whole snapper while another commercial operation is dealing in frozen shrimp and another is supplying a factory with small pelagic fish destined for fishmeal.
Longline fishing
Longlining is another important commercial method in Panama. A longline consists of a main line with numerous branch lines and hooks attached to it. Depending on the fishery, longlines can target dorado, tuna and other pelagic species, while bottom longlines can be used for snapper, grouper and other demersal fish. Panama's current fisheries regulations specifically recognize surface longline fisheries for dorado, bojala and tuna, and bottom longline fisheries for snapper, conger and grouper species.
Dorado, known as mahi mahi in much of the English speaking world, is particularly interesting because it is a fast growing, highly migratory fish that lives in the open ocean. It is also one of the fish visitors are likely to encounter on fishing trips around Panama.
This is where commercial fishing and recreational fishing sometimes overlap. A fish that a tourist gets excited about catching can be part of a commercial fishery at the same time.
The Pacific is the powerhouse
Although Panama has a Caribbean coastline, the Pacific side is particularly important for commercial fishing. The Gulf of Panama, Gulf of Chiriquí and the waters around Coiba and other Pacific islands contain extensive fishing grounds and a remarkable variety of species.
The Pacific also has large seasonal concentrations of small pelagic fish, which helps explain the existence of the industrial purse seine fishery. Offshore areas contain tuna and other large pelagic species, while coastal and shelf habitats support snapper, corvina, grouper, grunt and many other fish.
The Gulf of Chiriquí is especially interesting from a traveler's perspective because it combines commercial fishing waters with some of the most spectacular marine environments in Panama. Around Coiba and the surrounding islands you have reefs, mangroves, deep channels and offshore waters all packed into a relatively small geographical region.
And then there is the Caribbean
Panama's Caribbean coast has a somewhat different character. Fishing there is generally more closely associated with coastal communities and smaller scale operations, although commercial activity certainly exists.
The Caribbean coastline includes Bocas del Toro, the Ngäbe Buglé region, Colón and the Caribbean islands. Fishing provides food and income for coastal communities, with fish, lobster, crab, conch and other marine resources forming part of the local economy.
The Caribbean and Pacific therefore offer two very different fishing worlds. On one side you have the huge Pacific Ocean with its offshore commercial fisheries and industrial operations. On the other you have islands, reefs, mangroves and coastal communities where fishing can be much more intimate and local.
Lobster, crab, mollusks and the creatures hiding in the mud
Commercial fishing in Panama isn't just about fish.
Crustaceans and mollusks are also part of the industry, and Panama exports products including lobster, crab, shrimp and other seafood.
There is even a particularly unusual commercial resource that most visitors have never heard of: polychaete worms.
Panama regulates the extraction of a native polychaete known as Americonuphis reesei. These worms live in U shaped burrows in sandy coastal areas, and they have commercial value because they are rich in proteins, lipids, amino acids and vitamins. They can be used as feed in aquaculture and as bait for recreational fishing. Panama's aquatic resources authority specifically monitors this fishery.
So yes, there are people commercially harvesting worms from Panama's coastal mud and sand. In the strange world of fisheries, practically everything has a potential market.
Fishing is also a story about Panama's geography
What makes Panama so interesting is that its fishing industry is almost a perfect reflection of the country's geography.
Panama is only a narrow strip of land, but it connects two enormous oceans. Its Pacific coastline has a very different marine environment from its Caribbean coastline. There are offshore islands, mangroves, estuaries, coral reefs, continental shelf areas, deep water and enormous seasonal movements of fish.
The Panama Canal adds another fascinating dimension. Ships carrying seafood and fishing related products can move between oceans through the Canal, while Panama's ports and logistics infrastructure make it possible for seafood products to enter international supply chains.
That means Panama isn't simply a country that catches fish and eats fish. It is also a seafood trading and processing country.
A fishing boat tells you a lot about Panama
If you're travelling through Panama and see fishing boats along the coast, it is worth looking at them differently. A small wooden or fiberglass boat pulled up on a beach represents one part of the industry. A commercial shrimp vessel represents another. A purse seiner working offshore represents another entirely.
And the fish themselves tell different stories.
A corvina on a restaurant menu connects you to Panama's coastal fishing culture. A whole red snapper reflects the country's reef and shelf fisheries. A plate of shrimp connects to one of Panama's most important seafood export industries. Tuna connects Panama to the vast international market for highly migratory ocean fish. And a tiny anchoveta might ultimately end up as fishmeal or fish oil feeding animals or farmed fish somewhere on the other side of the world.
That is what makes commercial fishing in Panama so fascinating. It isn't one industry. It is a collection of completely different worlds operating around the same narrow tropical country. There are fishermen working close to shore, industrial vessels working offshore, seafood processors preparing products for international markets, aquaculture operations raising shrimp and an enormous network of restaurants, markets and local communities that depend on the sea.
For a traveller, the easiest way to experience this world is not necessarily to visit a giant fishing vessel. Sometimes it is much simpler. Walk through a Panamanian fish market early in the morning, look at the boats along a coastal village, order a fresh corvina, ask where the shrimp came from, or watch fishermen bringing their catch ashore. Suddenly the ocean stops being just beautiful scenery. You start seeing it as one of Panama's most important natural resources, workplaces and sources of food.
And considering that Panama's seafood sector exported B/.158.5 million during just the first seven months of 2026, the fishing boats you see along the coast are part of a much bigger economic story than they might first appear.