From a critical analysis of the current technological configuration of boats and fishing equipment for the industrial fleet of shrimp trawl fishing in the Caribbean Sea of Colombia, we investigated the viability of introducing technological changes that would have a positive impact on efficiency of the fleet, currently embroiled in a situation of economic restraint due to the high operating costs. The results indicate that the transmission ratios are poorly designed, and an ideal performance is achieved by reducing the number of teeth of the driven sprocket. There is also an oversizing in the power and dimensions of the vessel, regarding the size of the fishing equipment currently used. The alternative would be to design fishing gears adjusted to the installed power, built with resistant and lightweight materials that reduce fuel consumption and the impact on by-catch.