Objective: To conduct a study of the major economic, biological and fishing variables of the white shrimp (Litopenaeus occidentalis) resource from the Colombian Pacific. Method: 49 years of catch and effort data were compiled, complemented with information on size and weight that allowed to use surplus and bio-economic (Gordon-Schaefer model) production models. Results: It was found that the resource is being subjected to great stress which has forced the realization of different periods of closure. Conclusions: It was possible to determine that the limit point of reference as maximum sustainable yield was 808 tons with a corresponding effort of 54 motorboats/year and the target reference point as the maximum economic yield of 760 tons with a corresponding effort of 41 motorboats/year, which have already exceeded their levels recording annual catches that do not exceed 200 ton/year.