This article aimed to study the quality of the jobs generated by the shrimp maturation and hatchery laboratories in Barreta Beach, RN, Brazil, in a context of informality and impoverished work conditions. The study was done among workers in two laboratories, using a questionnaire, to verify the existence of a set of aspects of the work relationship - such as shift length, social obligations, accident hazards, fringe benefits, occupational diseases, among others – and to analyze the quality of the jobs. Examining the data, it became apparent that the jobs generated were considered of good quality, as they met a number of important labor relationship requirements cited in the literature. However, this result must be seen in light of the extremely impoverished work conditions. It is also important to consider that one of the limitations of the study was the impossibility to generalize the data to the entire sea shrimp cultivation sector. Despite this fact, the objectives of the research were fully met and the profile made of the jobs generated by the shrimp farming sector was important in outlining public policies which aim at fomenting this activity.