Fishery Improvement Project

Last Update: July 2024

Species: Argentine red shrimp, Patagonian shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri)

FIP Stage according to CASS Progress Table: 5, FIP is delivering improvements on the water

FIP Rating according to SFP rating system: A (Exceptional Progress, June 2024)

FIP Rating according to MSC benchmarking tool: Initial (2015): 0.64; First (2016); Second (2017): 0.86; Third (2018): 0.88; Fourth (2019): 0.86; Fifth (2020): 0.89; Sixth (2021): 0.89

FIP Profile at FisheryProgress.org:  Argentina onshore red shrimp – bottom trawl (July 2024)

Risk assessments results carried out since the FIP start:

• Análisis Espacial y de Consecuencias temporada 2015-2016
• Análisis Espacial y de Consecuencias temporada 2016-2017
• Análisis Espacial y de Consecuencias temporada 2017-2018
• Análisis Espacial y de Consecuencias temporada 2018-2020

 

Fishery location: Provincial waters in the province of Chubut, Argentina. FAO zone: 41

FIP coordination: CeDePesca. If you would like more information about the FIP or if you wish to support it, please contact Elba Brunetti.

FIP Partners:

• Achernar
• Cabo Vírgenes
• Conarpesa
• Food Partners Patagonia
• Grupo San Isidro
• Iberpesca
• Consermar
• Pesquera Veraz
• CeDePesca (technical support)

FIP Supporters:

• Direct Source Seafood LLC.
• Krustagroup – Patagonia Shrimp S.A

Sustainability information: Profile at Fishsource.com

Other references: Sealifebase – Pleoticus muelleri

Publicly Announced Date: August 2015

Current Improvement Recommendations:

• To characterize the interaction between the coastal fleet and bycatch species in Chubut’s provincial waters.
• To study the interaction between the fishery and the sea bottom, and its potential impacts on the ecosystem.
• To promote a systematic coordination among the different jurisdictions that define the management of this fishery resource.
• To promote a formal and regular assessment of the efficacy of the fishery’s management system.

Background:

The Patagonian shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri) fishery is the main crustacean fishery in Argentina and one of the most important marine resources in the Southwest Atlantic. In accordance with National Law Nº 24.922, Argentinean provinces have jurisdiction over the exploitation of living resources populating their interior waters and the Argentine sea adjacent to their coasts up to 12 nautical miles, measured from baselines, which allows for the characterization of provincial fisheries.

A fleet of coastal vessels of length less than 21m operates the fishery addressed by this FIP, using bottom-trawling nets along the coastal waters of the province of Chubut, mainly in the Restricted Fishing Effort Zone between Punta León and Cabo Dos Bahías (see fishery location map above). This coastal fleet has Rawson Port as its landing point and it conducts daily fishing trips from October to March.

In the 1980s, the National Institute for Fishery Research and Development (Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero, INIDEP) started studies geared toward Patagonian shrimp at a national level. The studies have shown that Pleoticus muelleri reproductive cycle occurs throughout the Patagonian coastal waters, and is concentrated at three sectors: south of Rawson, north of San Jorge Gulf and south of San Jorge Gulf. In these locations, the reproductive process has different starting dates and different intensities and time lengths (De Carli et al., 2012), which would point to the existence of Patagonian shrimp sub-stocks. However, evidence is not enough to properly differentiate them and therefore the fishery is currently managed as if it relied on a single stock, requiring coordination in management between provincial jurisdictions (Chubut and Santa Cruz) and the federal jurisdiction in national waters.

In Chubut, there are management measures for Patagonian shrimp, namely mobile closures that are set in response to the stock status in real time. These closures are complemented by measures set at the national level and founded on the information provided by INIDEP and by Chubut’s Onboard Observers Program.

The Patagonian shrimp fishery produced landings of around 80 thousand metric tons in the period 2009/2013, surpassing the historical record in 2013 with landings above 100 thousand metric tons. The participation of the coastal fleet based at the Rawson Port has been around 20% during the last five years.

Regarding bycatch, contrary to the off-shore fishery, the coastal fishery based at Rawson is almost mono-specific. In 2013, 96.6% of the total landings was composed of Patagonian shrimp, and the remaining 3.4% was Argentine hake (Merluccius hubbsi) (INIDEP, 2013).

 FIP Objectives

• To design and implement and Onboard Observers Program for the coastal fleet to gather data on bycatch.
• To conduct and Ecological Risk Assessment for the Effects of Fishing to serve as input to the management system and to an MSC full assessment.
• To promote the development of a minimum coordination protocol for fishery research and management among the different jurisdictions involved in the fishery’s administration.
• To raise awareness among and involve crew members in research activities related to the FIP.
• To promote the regular assessment of the efficacy of the fishery’s management system.
• To obtain an MSC certification for the unit of assessment addressed by this FIP.

 

Progress Update:

2014

October-December 2014

In October, interested stakeholders decided to build a FIP and to hire an MSC Pre-Assessment of the fishery, in order to obtain a more detailed diagnostic of the obstacles to its sustainability and define a detailed Action Plan.

2015

July-September 2015

In July, Bureau Veritas delivered its first draft for the fishery’s MSC pre-assessment.

In August, FIP participants signed a Framework Collaboration Agreement and Specific Agreement N°1 to formalize their commitment to the FIP and to define a Workplan.

In September, Bureau Veritas handed the MSC pre-assessment final report.  FIP partners and CeDePesca held a meeting with the National Undersecretary of Fisheries, where the fishery’s strengths and weaknesses were discussed. It was agreed that FIP partners will collaborate in the promotion of a more robust inter-jurisdictional coordination mechanism during the following months.

Also in September, CeDePesca started to prepare the Onboard Observer program to be run by the FIP.

October-December 2015

On November 4^th, the first meeting with skippers, onboard observers and FIP partners was held in the city of Rawson, province of Chubut.

2016

January-March 2016

In January, the Onboard Observers Program officially started under the coordination of CeDePesca and with support from the Patagonian National University.  The first samples were taken on board of the vessel “Calabria” (Conarpesa): In total, there are 36 ships of the coastal fleet of Rawson involved in this project.

By the end of the fishing season on March 31^st, 294 hauls were observed during 67 fishing trips onboard vessels associated to FIP partners.  The information collected includes data on bycatch and PET species interaction, which will be analyzed and published soon.

April-June 2016

On April 27^th, a press conference was held during the Brussels Seafood Expo Global, where CeDePesca updated stakeholders, buyers and other interested parties on the advances of the FIP.  Argentina’s Undersecretary of Fisheries, Mr. Tomás Gerpe, attended this conference and took the opportunity to pledge the government’s support for improvement efforts.

On May 13^th, the preliminary results from the Onboard Observers Program were presented to FIP partners.

The final report complete with analyses related to the interaction of the fishery with non-target species was presented to skippers and onboard observers on June 24^th in the city of Rawson, and to representatives of the federal Undersecretariat of Fisheries on June 27^th in the city of Buenos Aires.  The report is available to the public here (in English).

July-September 2016

During FAO’s 32^nd Session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) held in Rome between July 11^th and 15^th, the Undersecretary of Fisheries at the federal level once again reiterated his support for the FIP.

In August, the Fisheries Federal Council convened the Commission for the Follow-up of the Argentine red shrimp fishery.  The meeting will be held at the FFC’s headquarters in Buenos Aires on August 26^th.

In preparation for the meeting, Chubut’s Governor, Chubut’s Secretary of Fisheries and other staff met with representatives from Chubut’s fishing sector on August 24^th at the House of Government in Rawson.  The meeting was attended by representatives from the Patagonian Chamber of Fishing Industries (CAPIP), the Argentine Vessel-Owners Chamber (CAPeCA), the Chubut’s Fishing Chamber (CAPEC), the coastal fleet, the artisanal fleet, and by FIP partners Conarpesa, Iberpesca and Pesquera Veraz

Chubut has agreed to require federal authorities to design a long-term Management Plan for red shrimp.  Authorities have announced that their first request to be made at the Fisheries Federal Council’s Commission for the Follow-Up of the Argentine Red Shrimp Fishery will be  for it to design and implement an inter-jurisdictional management plan, and an inter-jurisdictional commission,, in order to issue those legal measures needed to promote the process of certification for Argentine red shrimp and for the provincial and federal governments to agree measures on the resources exploitation and preservation.

In September, the Argentine Undersecretary of Fisheries, Mr. Tomás Gerpe, once again publicly expressed the federal government’s intention of adopting a comprehensive management plan for Argentine red shrimp.

Also in September, the Argentine Undersecretariat of Fisheries issued Disposition N° 78-E/2016 mandating that Argentine red shrimp is included under the catch-certificate program as of November 1st, 2016.  The program was set up in December 2014 and has been regularly expanded to include more species.

On the other hand, in late August, after more than a year of successful partnership, the Patagonian National University of San Juan Bosco and CeDePesca signed a Framework Collaboration Agreement formalizing the alliance; and, in early September, FIP Partners agreed on Specific Agreement N°2, setting up the workplan for the second stage of this project.

October 2016 – December 2016

In October, FIP partners welcomed Consermar as a new partner to the FIP.

On October 18^th, CeDePesca held a meeting with Chubut’s Secretary of Fisheries, Mr. Alberto Gilardino, and his staff.  The meeting was also attended by Dr. María Eva Góngora on behalf of the Patagonian National University of San Juan Bosco.  The topics addressed during the meeting included an introduction to the FIP’s creation, its goals and its advances to date, as well as on the goals of the private Onboard Observers Program and the interest of stakeholders in supporting the province’s push for an inter-jurisdictional management plan for Argentine red shrimp.  The Secretary and his staff expressed their support for the FIP and their interest in helping advance its goals, including the signature of an agreement between the Secretariat and CeDePesca.

Also in October, this FIP’s Onboard Observers Program has restarted for the 2016-2017 fishing season.

On November 8^th, the Governor of Chubut appointed Dr. Adrián Awstin as Chubut’s new Secretary of Fisheries.  CeDePesca sent a formal letter of congratulations and asked for a meeting to brief him on the progress of the FIP.  A collaboration agreement between the province’s Secretariat of Fisheries and CeDePesca continues to be discussed.

In December, CeDePesca finished a compilation of technical reports issued by INIDEP (National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development) in the last twelve years.  These reports are being analyzed to extract any data that would be useful to assess the evolution of the stock’s abundance in recent years.

2017

January – March 2017

In January, CeDePesca completed a Consequence Spatial Analysis (CSA) for this fishery in light of information compiled on habitats.  The CSA was conducted following the methodology as described in the MSC Certification Requirements v2.0 in order to better understand the potential risks posed by the fishery to the main habitats encountered by the bottom-trawling fleet.  The analysis showed that the fishery poses a low risk to the coastal margin sub-biome and a medium risk to the inner shelf sub-biome, both characterized by sediment plains featuring fine, simple surface structures and small invertebrate communities (the full report is available to the public here).

In January, the analysis of the data compiled from INIDEP technical reports was completed.  A report on preliminary indicators of the evolution of the Argentine red shrimp stock is now being drafted by CeDePesca.

In February, a letter was sent to the National Undersecretary of Fisheries to request a historical assessment of the stock’s abundance to determine if its exploitation rate is in line with its maximum sustainable yield or a proxy.  The letter also asks for the preparation of a weekly CPUE series for each fleet stratum between 2004 and 2016.  The weekly CPUE series would serve as an additional tool for the analysis of the evolution of the stock.

In addition, CeDePesca, on behalf of FIP partners, sent another letter to the National Undersecretary of Fisheries to request the resumption of INIDEP’s fishery-independent surveys.  The Undersecretary provided a formal answer to the aforementioned letter, stating that the survey has been scheduled to start in March with cooperation of the private sector.

On March 3rd, the Fisheries Federal Council met in the city of Buenos Aires and reviewed INIDEP’s independent survey plan.  The plan was designed and agreed with the private sector, which provided a fishing vessel to be used as a scientific cruiser, as well as funds to carry out the survey.  The selected fishing vessel was the Bogavante Segundo, owned by FIP partner Iberconsa.  It should be noted that FIP partners Iberconsa and Newsan both offered their vessels to conduct the survey, and INIDEP researchers made their choice based on research criteria.  The survey had duration of 15 workdays and ended on March 23rd.  

On March 22nd, the Argentine Chamber of Freezing Vessel Owners (CAPeCA) -to which several FIP partners are affiliated- sent a letter to the Fisheries Federal Council (CFP) asking for the summoning of the Commission for the Follow-up of the Argentine red shrimp fishery.  The Fisheries Federal Council has instructed that this request is taken into account in the definition of the meeting agenda for 2017 (CFP Meeting Minute N°8-2017).

On March 29th, the Argentine Patagonian Chamber of Fishing Industries (CAPIP) -to which several FIP partners are affiliated- expressed its support for further research on Argentine red shrimp and the impacts of the ice-chilling fleet.

April – June 2017

On April 10th, the Chubut’s Secretariat of Fisheries was updated on the advances of the FIP, in order to agree on points where the entity might contribute to the project.

On April 17th, the Onboard Observers Program for the 2017 fishing season had its last trip, aboard Pesquera Veraz’s fishing vessel “Virgen del Milagro”.

Also in April, FIP partners and CeDePesca attended the Brussels Seafood Show, where advances of the project were presented to international stakeholders.

On May 3rd, the Commission for the Follow-up of the Argentine red shrimp fishery held its first meeting of the year.  The Undersecretariat of Fisheries presented a report on the fishery’s evolution from 2011 to date.

In June, the CFP agreed to grant Chubut and Santa Cruz an extra quota of 2,300 mt to each, in exchange for the setting of fishing closure zones in the San Jorge Gulf during the year 2017.

On June 21st, CeDePesca attended a hearing at the CFP to present the FIP’s goals and progress and to encourage the implementation of a management plan for the fishery.  In addition, the results from the Onboard Observers Program for the 2016-2017 fishing season were presented and compared with those from the 2015-2016 fishing season.

Also in June, an informal meeting with INIDEP researchers responsible for the shrimp fishery was held.  The improvements needed in research were discussed, including the request for a historical assessment of Argentine red shrimp’s stock in relation to biological reference points.

July – September 2017

In early August, the national Undersecretariat of Fisheries formally requested the Fisheries Federal Council (CFP) to conform a special workgroup to draft a management plan for the fishery.  The CFP replied that an agenda will be discussed in subsequent meetings.

On August 18th, CeDePesca sent a formal letter to the Undersecretary of Fisheries at the national level on behalf of FIP partners, to reiterate the request for the estimation of standardized weekly CPUE series for the ice-chilling fleet and the Rawson fleet from 2004 to 2016, as a tool to analyze the evolution of the stock.  On September 18th, the Undersecretary formally replied that the Undersecretariat will not be able to produce the required series with the data currently available to the entity, but suggests that the request is made to INIDEP.

On August 31st, CeDePesca -on behalf of FIP partners- presented a letter to the CFP to encourage improvements needed to achieve a certifiable status for the Argentine red shrimp fishery.  Among the items discussed in the letter are: (i) the need to formalize the criteria for the opening and closure of the fishery, as well as fishery specific objectives, (ii) the need for regular data exchanges between national and provincial jurisdictions, (iii) the need to set up regular meetings of the Commission for the Follow-up of the Argentine red shrimp fishery; (iv) the need for setting biological reference points and the estimation of stock status indicators.

On September 5th, the Commission for the Follow-up of the Argentine red shrimp fishery met.  At this meeting, the representatives from the province of Chubut and FIP partners once again expressed the need to draft and adopt a management plan for the fishery.  It should be noted that fishery stakeholders have already begun to express their interest in participating from the technical group that shall be set up to draft the plan.

Also during this quarter, CeDePesca and FIP partners have been organizing a stakeholders meeting in Rawson, where fishery managers, researchers, fishers and other interested parties will be discussing improvement needs and the FIP’s progress.  The meeting took place on September 25th.

October – December 2017

During October, FIP partners defined the vessels that will be available for the private Onboard Observers Program during the 2017-2018 season.  The vessels are: Virgen del Milagro (Pesquera Veraz); Deseado (Cabo Vírgenes); Trabajamos (Cabo Vírgenes); Vamos a Probar I (Iberpesca); Rayo de Sol (Iberpesca); Valeria Alejandra (Iberpesca); Itatí  (Food Partners); Nathanael (Food Partners); Doña Ruth (Food Partners); Misal (Consermar-Newsan); Sagrario (Consermar-Newsan).

On October 18th, CeDePesca participated of INIDEP’s meeting in Rawson city. The results of Survey BS-01/2017 were presented: “Spatial distribution of biomass and shrimp recruitment process (Pleoticus muelleri) in the San Jorge Gulf and the Chubut north coast”. 

On October 19th, CeDePesca held a meeting with the technical team of Chubut’s Secretariat of Fisheries to expedite the bureaucratic procedures to sign a collaboration agreement.

On November 1st, CeDePesca requested, through the administrative head of the Fisheries Federal Council, access to several communications presented by INIDEP.  These communications helped to guide the decision-making process regarding the management measures in the shrimp fishery at the time, and would portrait the technical opinion of INIDEP in matters such as the possibility of opening fishing areas in national waters within the Juvenile Hake Closed Area.  Recommendations issued by INIDEP for opening and closure of the fishing areas would include criteria such as the percentage of hake bycatch, in addition to abundance and shrimp size structure.  This information would be useful for the design of a proposal for a harvest control rule based on reference points or proxies that mirrors as much as possible the methodology already used by the fishery managers.  

On November 9th, the second survey «Red shrimp survey in the San Jorge Gulf and coasts of Chubut – Spring 2017» began on board the commercial vessel Bogavante Segundo, owned by FIP partner Iberconsa.

On November 11th, the private Onboard Observers Program for the 2017-2018 fishing season began onboard the vessel “Virgen del Milagro”, owned by FIP partner Pesquera Veraz.

From November 21st to 23rd, CeDePesca made a presentation of the results of the Consequence Spatial Analysis conducted for the onshore Argentine red shrimp fishery in 2016 during the XVIII Scientific Symposium of the Mixed Technical Commission for the Argentine-Uruguayan Maritime Front. This meeting convened authorities, specialists, technicians and interested parties from the scientific community and the fishing sector.

On November 22nd, the Secretary of Fisheries of Chubut, Dr. Adrián Awstin, presented the proposal to move forward with the red shrimp Management Plan at the meeting of the Federal Fisheries Council.

On November 30th, the Fisheries Federal Council (CFP) announced it will start work to define a Management Plan for the Argentine red shrimp fishery and that it would initiate an exchange with the representatives of different business chambers. For the purpose of these meetings, the CFP will travel to the provinces between December 2017 and March 2018. 

On December 7th, the first of the aforementioned meetings took place in the city of Mar del Plata (province of Buenos Aires).  The Fisheries Federal Council met with the Association of Coastal Fishing Boats, UDIPA, CAFREXPORT, CAIPA and the Cámara de Armadores de Buques Pesqueros de Altura. The following scales of this route during February and March 2018 are to be Port Madryn, Port Deseado and Port San Antonio.

Also during this quarter, the signature process of Specific Agreement No. 3 for the implementation of the FIP during a third year begun, and FIP partners welcomed La Escalerona to the FIP. 

2018

January – March 2018

Regarding the design of a Management Plan for the fishery, on January 31st and February 1st, the Fisheries Federal Council (CFP) held meetings in Puerto Madryn and Rawson city, with representatives of several fishing sector chambers established in the province of Chubut (Cámara Argentina Patagónica de Industrias Pesqueras – CAPIP), Cámara Pesquera de Chubut – CAPECH, Cámara de la Flota Artesanal de Puerto Rawson, Cámara de Empresas Portuarias de Comodoro Rivadavia, Cámara de la Flota Amarilla de Puerto Rawson) and other independent fishing companies. On February 28th and March 1st, the CFP visited the province of Santa Cruz to hold meetings in Puerto Deseado city with representatives of the fishing industry chamber Cámara de Pesqueros Congeladores de la Argentina (Ca.Pe.CA) and independent fishing companies in that province.

On the other hand, in January, INIDEP launched a 26-day campaign to assess the abundance of common hake (Merluccius hubbsi) in Patagonian waters, and to determine the summer distribution of Patagonian shrimp in the Gulf of San Jorge and external waters.  This research campaign took place on board the research vessel Dr. Eduardo L. Holmberg, property of INIDEP.  Later, on March 14th, the fishing vessel Bogavante Segundo, property of FIP partner Iberpesca, carried INIDEP researchers to conduct the third red shrimp survey campaign in the San Jorge Gulf and Chubut coast that is made with support from the private sector.

Regarding improvements to fishery research, on February 21st, CeDePesca and FIP partners coordinator, Mr. Federico Angeleri, met with authorities of INIDEP and the research team dedicated to the Patagonian red shrimp fishery. During this meeting, data requests related to Catch per Unit of Effort and a historical analysis of the evolution of the stock against biological reference points were reiterated.  Data regarding bycatch levels was also requested.  Researchers committed to consider the matter and provide an answer shortly.

On the other hand, on March 13th, a meeting was held at the Seafood Expo North America, where the advances in the Argentine red shrimp FIP were presented at the Boston Convention Center.

Also during this quarter, a collaboration agreement was signed between the Secretariat of Fisheries of Chubut and CeDePesca, to advance together towards FIP’s objective.  Currently, discussions are being held to find ways of helping the Secretariat in digitalizing fishing log books in order to estimate a standardized weekly-CPUE series for the Rawson fleet that would be helpful as an abundance indicator.

April – July 2018

On April 4th, the FFC meetings with different chambers and companies, continued within the framework of Argentine red shrimp Management Plan, during the visit to Río Negro province, which held meetings in Las Grutas, with representatives of independent companies and with representatives of artisan sector.

On April 10th the last boarding of observers was made, ending the fishing season 2017-2018.

On April 26th the preliminary advances in the Argentine red shrimp onshore FIP were presented at Seafood Expo Global, in Brussels, with the participation of Chubut Fisheries Secretary.

On May 11th, a note was sent to INIDEP’s authorities, insisting on the request for catch and effort data. In this note the alternative of financing the work was offered with the contribution from FIP members. On June 28th, a second note was send. There was no official notification yet, although through informal contacts it has been reported that INIDEP authorities will soon offer an estimated development plan and budget for this task.

On May 14th, it was agreed with the FIP partners to make an extra contribution to cover the data digitization expenses from Fisheries Secretariat of Chubut, which will allow the elaboration of indicators of abundance in this fishery. During July, the task of digitizing the provincial fishing forms began.

On May 17th, the Fisheries Federal Council issued the Resolution No. 7/2018, which establishes the management measures for the red shrimp fishery. The main points are: to maintain the commitment of Chubut and Santa Cruz not to allow the capture of red shrimp throughout San Jorge Gulf for the current year, and up to a period of 5 years, as well as length requirements of up to 40m and power up to 2,000 HP and the minimum size of the 45 mm malleus between opposite knots. It also establishes the obligatory nature of the use of the selectivity device when the hake / shrimp catch ratio exceeds the maximum value established by INIDEP. And it adds that in case of catches reduction, equivalent to 50% or more of the average of the last 5 years, a Contingency Plan will be applied.

On June 21th, CeDePesca filed a statement with the authorities stating its position regarding the management measures resolved.

On July 23th, the Spatial Analysis of Consequences corresponding to the 2016-2017 fishing season was completed.

August – December 2018

On August 15th, the Secretariat of Fisheries of Chubut authorized the carrying out of a survey in the Restricted Fishing Effort Zone (ZEPR), through Resolution No. 220/2018. Eight boats participated, at an unusual time for Chubut.

On September 5th, after consulting with the partners, CeDePesca presented a letter to Federal Fisheries Council requesting a Commission meeting.

From 19th to 21th September, the Spatial Analysis of Consequences was presented at the BioPat2018 Conference, held from September 19 to 21 in Trelew, Chubut. The results presented correspond to the fishing season 2016-2017.

During September 2018, meetings were held with the Fisheries Secretariat of Chubut, where the proposed changes were discussed for the collection of fund data in the observer’s sample forms. 

Efforts were continued to achieve the INIDEP’s participation: on October 24 CeDePesca presented a new note requesting an abundance analysis of red shrimp fishery. As of the date of this report, there was still no response.

On November 9th, the red shrimp survey was carried out by INIDEP researchers, who evaluated the fishery on Bogavante Segundo vessel, owned by Iberpesca partner. A survey was made in San Jorge Gulf and Chubut coast, to know the breeding stock that remained.

On December 3rd, the Director of Pelagic Fisheries and Marine Environment contacted CeDePesca to inform them they had already prepared a proposal and budget to develop the abundance analysis of red shrimp fishery, but that proposal was subject to the new auditor designation. On December 21th, the National Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, together with the Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture, presented Mr. Héctor Marcelo Lobbosco, as INIDEP’s Director.

2019

January – March 2019

The observers’ shipments during the 2018-2019 seasons follow the established activity plan. Coordination of shipments is in charge of National University of Patagonia San Juan Bosco. 

On January 13th INIDEP began a new red shrimp survey, in the commercial vessel «Bogavante Segundo» (Iberpesca), in San Jorge Gulf and Chubut coast.

On January 17th, the Chubut’s Secretariat of Fisheries issued Resolution No. 06/2019, which explicitly mentions among its objectives the achievement of a certifiable status for this fishery, in addition to preventing overfishing, evaluating in a dynamic manner the abundance and the resource availability in provincial waters, and avoid the capture of small size specimens.

On January 18th, a meeting was held with the new Director of INIDEP, Marcelo Lobbosco, and the Coordinator by the companies (Pesquera Veraz), and CeDePesca. The authorities were informed about the intention to obtain an abundance analysis of this fishery. It was agreed to review the budget and then report it to the partners group.

In March 2019, the FIP members presented a note to  Federal Fisheries Council, requesting the convocation of red shrimp Tracking Commission. The Council decided to convene the Commission, once the results of red shrimp research campaign are available, as indicated in the Meeting Minute N° 8/2019.

At the Seafood Expo North America, from March 17th to 19th, updated results of the fishery state were presented, and the start of certification process was announced.

On the other hand, digitized data is received monthly by the Chubut Fisheries Secretariat. This information will be used to assemble an historical series of catches from this fishery. 

The Secretariat of Fisheries (Chubut) determined March 31th as the closing date of the red shrimp season.

April – June 2019

On April 9th, a meeting was held between researchers from INIDEP and CeDePesca, where the technical criteria for carrying out the abundance analysis of the shrimp fishery were agreed upon. On May 3rd a new meeting was held to define the time series data to be considered in the above analysis, the coverage area and the formal framework of collaborative work. It was decided to submit a proposal for an agreement between INIDEP and CeDePesca, representing FIP partners. On May 8th the formal proposal of INIDEP’s Director Agreement was presented. Currently, a draft agreement has been made for INIDEP to carry out an analysis with red shrimp reference points in a 10-year time series, and is ready to be signed in the next few days.

On April 22th, the Fisheries Secretariat of Chubut established the closure of the fishery through Resolution No. 75/2019.

On April 26th, the meeting of red shrimp Monitoring Committee was held. Decreasing biomass, delayed maturation and hake bycatch were the central issues. 

On May 16th, the Federal Fisheries Council asked INIDEP to express itself on the selectivity devices, whose compulsory use ceased in 2016. Most of the fleet had not been using them because the crews consider them uncomfortable to maneuver.

On June 13th the company Agropez joined the FIP.

On June 14th, the first “Bycatch Work Commission” meeting was held at INIDEP, in Mar del Plata city.

On June 27th, the CSA Analysis for 2017-2018 season by onshore red shrimp fishery was completed. 

July-September 2019

On July 2nd, Buena Proa-Oceanic joined to the partners group.

On July 4th, the Federal Fisheries Council decided to advance on the criteria for opening and closing areas in closed area (FFC Resolution No. 7/2018). The maximum admissible percentage of red shrimp youth, when in an area or subzone is verified, during four days of fishing followed, the presence of size categories L4, L5 and L6 in a percentage equal to or greater than 20%, will be closed. This percentage is established in a preliminary manner, and INIDEP was requested to report the detail of catches by size composition of the last three years in order to adjust this criterion.

On July 5th, the red shrimp scientific research campaign on board “V. Angelescu” vessel , in San Jorge Gulf, Chubut’s coastal waters and adjacent national waters began. The red shrimp presence was recorded in 89% of the sets. In relation to abundance and density of red shrimp found per square nautical mile, the results of this campaign indicate an increase in both variables with respect to 2018 for the north and south of the Gulf of San Jorge, as well as for the sector of the northern coast of Chubut.

On August 2nd, an agreement was signed with INIDEP that aims to obtain historical series of at least ten years of abundance indicators developed by INIDEP, based on the historical series of campaign data and scientific observers, which can be used as tools to understand the situation of red shrimp stock by establishing biological reference points.

On September 17th and 18th, the «Workshop on selectivity and bycatch reduction» was held at INIDEP. The onshore red shrimp FIP’s members participated, as well as business chambers, associations of captains, civil society organizations, scientific references, Argentine Navy, Argentine Naval Prefecture, national authorities and members of Federal Fisheries Council.

October – December 2019

On October 16th, a workshop was held with the participation of observers from the Chubut province, where the CSA report was discussed.

On October 31th, the Fisheries Secretariat of Chubut authorized the opening of red shrimp season.

On November 15th, CeDePesca completed the Spatial and Consequential Analysis (SCA) to estimate the risk posed by the fishery to habitats commonly found during the 2017/2018 season. The results were consistent with those of previous years.

On November 20th, the FFC convened the Red Shrimp Tracking Commission through Minute No. 34/2019. Also, INIDEP made a presentation to the Red Shrimp Tracking Commission on the fishery evolution throughout 2019.

It presented the methodology used to estimate the hake bycatch and the results obtained indicating the estimated value for 2019 reached 40,000 tons. The fishery conditions were discussed, as well as the implications of management measures on the different fleets. The importance of monitoring environmental issues was highlighted. In relation to the closure of the fishery north of the closed area, the cameras requested that the measure be lifted from the month of February and that the impact on companies in terms of costs is taken into account and the situation of the different fleets be considered. It was clarified that to adopt the measure mentioned different scenarios were analyzed and that multiple factors were considered and indicated that it was decided to advance privileging the precautionary criterion, taking into account the information provided by INIDEP regarding common hake. 

On November 28th, through a skype meeting, INIDEP’s researchers and CeDePesca held a meeting, in which they discussed the advances of analysis abundance and the Catch per Unit of Effort time series of the last ten years. This analysis will be completed during the December 2019. 

The Provincial Onboard Observers Program of Chubut has incorporated design data sheets, including taking data from marine bottoms according to the forms used in the Private Program of Observers on Board coordinated by the National University of Patagonia. Together with the Fisheries Secretariat of Chubut, a workshop is being prepared with provincial on-board observers, scheduled for October 2019. Also on October 15th, a workshop was held with the participation of observers from the Chubut province, where the registry of fishing grounds forms was discussed. 

2020

January – March 2020 

On February 13th INIDEP presented to the Federal Fisheries Council the abundance evaluation report in San Jorge Gulf, north coast of Chubut and adjacent national waters.

On March 12th the evaluation campaign (INIDEP) was carried out, with the aim to verify  the concentrations of accessible and vulnerable red shrimp to the commercial red shrimp network, in the areas between 43º 30 S and 47º 15′ S and west of longitude 64º 00′ W.

In March 2020, INIDEP presented to the Federal Fisheries Council the Research Report N° 011-2020 “Standardization of the CPUE of shrimp freezer vessels. Period 2009-2018”, according to FFC Minutes N° 6/2020. The results show that, between 2009 and 2015, there was an sustained increase in the annual CPUE, with the exception of 2013, maintaining the yield level from 2016. 

The 2019-2020 fishing season had an early end, due to the mandatory quarantine dictated by the authorities following the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic declaration, so the fleet stopped sailing in the second week of March 2020.

April – June 2020

On April 15th, the red shrimp survey was launched, with 12 vessels from the commercial fishing fleet selected by the Undersecretary of Fisheries. Nine observers from INIDEP and three from the Chubut province participated.

On April 24th, INIDEP reported the results obtained during the first two prospection days. The ratio of hake / red shrimp ranged between 0.06 and 0.16 (86.5% of red shrimp caught belong to categories L1 and L2).

On June 7th, the report of 2019-2020 Onboard observers season was submitted to the partners.

On 17 June the FIP partners decided to sign up the Environmental Code of Conduct for the red shrimp fishery.

July – September 2020

On August 13th, awaiting the campaign results conducted during the second half of July and first of August with the vessel V. Angelescu and INIDEP’s  recommendations, the FFC decided to apply on a transitional basis the following parameters in the red shrimp fishery, within the hake permanent closure area (AVPJM): 1) When, from the information provided by Observers, a hake/red shrimp ratio greater than 0.20 is verified, in any area or sub-area, this shall be closed; and 2) When, based on the information provided by Observers on board, in an area or sub-area is verified, for four (4) consecutive fishing days, the presence of size categories L4, L5 and L6 in an equal percentage or more than 20%, it should be closed.

On August 25th, representatives from the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, the National Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture, INIDEP and Río Negro, Chubut, Santa Cruz, Tierra del Fuego and Buenos Aires provinces, exchanged information on the Commercial Vessel On-Board Observer Programs. The virtual meeting was held to contribute to the strengthening of Commercial Vessel On-Board Observer Program, where the survey results conducted in provinces with a coastline and INIDEP were presented, to consolidate data collection, storage and processing of information from observers.

On September 10th, a note to the Federal Fisheries Council requesting the convening of Red Shrimp Follow-Up Commission was presented by C.A.Pe.C.A. This meeting No. 6/2020 was held on September 23, as stated in FFF Minutes No. 23/2020.

Also, on September 10th, the FIP partners were introduced to the initiative for a webinar with researchers of pink shrimp fishery (Oregon), which achieved certification and has similarities with the Argentinean red shrimp.

On September 16th, CeDePesca held a virtual meeting with INIDEP researchers. They are finalizing the abundance analysis and reference points.

On September 23rd, the first meeting of Red Shrimp Fishery Follow-Up Commission was held. INIDEP made a presentation on the survey of red shrimp in the pre-recruitment and recruitment phase in San Jorge Gulf, the coast of Chubut and national waters. The project was carried out during the months of July and August of this year, which showed no significant change in the estimate of the number of individuals and their density compared to the previous year and reaffirmed the temporary displacement of the reproductive process of the resource.

October-December 2020

On October 20th, workshop «Adaptive management and research of pink shrimp fishery in Oregon» was held. The target audience was: (i) representatives from the companies involved in the Argentine red shrimp FIPs; (ii) researchers from the National Institute of Fisheries Research and Development (INIDEP) involved in the assessment of the Argentine red shrimp stock; (iii) fishery managers from the Chubut Secretariat of Fisheries who are involved in the management of the onshore fishery that takes place under provincial jurisdiction; (iv) fishery managers at federal level who are involved in the management of the offshore fishery that takes place under federal jurisdiction.

On November 1st, the first prospection was carried out, in accordance with Resolution No. 6/2019 of Chubut Secretariat of Fisheries, with the opening of provincial waters; on November 7th the boats dispatch was forbidden for a ten-day by “biological stop”, due to the presence of abundant small red shrimp. Subsequently, on November 16th the second prospection was carried out in three sub-areas: off Rawson, to the south and to the north. On November 19th, two of the three sectors surveyed were opened, while the ‘southern sub area’ remained closed due to high percentages of bycatch and small red shrimp.

On November 5th, the red shrimp assessment campaign was carried out on board “Bogavante Segundo”.

2021

January – March 2021

On March 18th, the Secretariat of Fisheries issued Resolution No. 110/21, indicating the closure of the red shrimp fishing season.

On March 30th, a virtual meeting with FIP partners and the authorities of the Chubut Fisheries Secretariat was held. It was agreed that data digitalization activities would be resumed soon.

April – June 2021

On April 27th, a document with the background of onshore red shrimp FIP and the outstanding tasks was delivered to the Secretary of Fisheries.

On June 10th, a note was presented to the Chubut’s Governor, signed by the most important foreign buyers, requesting his intervention to unblock the project from the Fishery Secretary.

July – September 2021

On August 26th, a new letter was delivered to the Chubut’s governor, signed by the partners, requesting his support for the project. At the meeting with FIP partners on September 13th, it was confirmed that there was no response to the letter.

On September 13th, a new meeting was held with the FIP’s partners, where the search for a solution to reactivate the project continued.

October – December 2021

On October 22th, the Secretariat of Fisheries issues Resolution N° 411/2021 authorizing the Rawson red shrimp fishery survey. 

On November 4th the Fisheries Secretariat of Santa Cruz province submitted a note to National Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture, renewing the annual commitment established in Article 1 (Resolution FFC No. 7/2018). On November 30th, the Fisheries the Secretary of Fisheries of Chubut did the same.

On November 9th, the Resolution N° 491/2021 authorizes the opening of red shrimp fishing season in Chubut provincial waters from November 10th 2021, on the basis of Technical Reports N° 1/2021 and 2/2021 of Chubut Fisheries Secretariat.

On November 26th, observers from the private program were trained on the identification and interactions of seabirds with the onshore red shrimp fishery.

On December 13th, the first shipment of the Private On-Board Observer Program for the 2021-2022 season took place. For this season the FIP partners have arranged for 23 boats.

2022

January – June 2022

On February 25th, the Chubut Fisheries Secretariat issued Resolution N° 55/2022, authorizing INIDEP to operate in Chubut provincial waters to carry out the red shrimp survey campaign on board the vessel Bogavante Segundo (Iberpesca). 

Technical Report N° 34/2022 was submitted by INIDEP. Comparison between the 2017 to 2022 summer seasons showed that there are no significant differences in estimates of prawn density and number between 2022 and 2021 (P>0.05 for both variables). However, there has been a reduction in the numbers relative to the 2017 peak, and it is at 75% relative to the average of the last 5 years, still well above the 60% threshold. This confirms that the catching strategy has so far been successful, even with the trend of stock reduction since its exceptional peak in 2017. 

On March 25th, the Secretary of Fisheries of Chubut decided to close the 2021-2022 red shrimp fishing season, by resolution N° 63/2022, thus concluding the observer boarding by the FIP. The Private On-Board Observer Programme was carried out from December 2021 to March 2022. The onboard observer report for the 2021-2022 season is presented.

On March 29th, a meeting was held between CeDePesca and the National Undersecretary of Fisheries, in which the issues previously discussed were ratified and where the fisheries authority the fisheries authority expressed there was already consensus on incorporating CPUE as a criterion for the criteria for opening and closing zones, but the characteristics of the Contingency Plan were still under discussion.  

On May 5th, the Federal Fisheries Council decides to convene a meeting of red shrimp Follow-up Commission. The meeting was held on May 27th. INIDEP presented a summary of 2020 and 2021 fishing seasons through the information reported by observers, showing the changes in the location of red shrimp concentrations over the last three fishing seasons. 

On June 9th, Federal Fisheries Council, issued Resolution No. 9/2022, which refers to changes in the fishery management measures. The resolution establishes:

• The red shrimp fishery will be developed through a dynamic system of opening and closing areas and/or sub-areas. The closure of the area and/or sub-area when, based on the information provided by INIDEP, a high presence of females in a reproductive or spawning state is verified, the Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) is analyzed and, especially, the following is observed: (a) a ratio between common hake (Merluccius hubbsi) and red shrimp greater than TWENTY PERCENT (20%), and/or (b) a presence of L4 or smaller size categories of the red shrimp in a percentage equal to or greater than TWENTY PERCENT (20%) during FOUR (4) consecutive fishing days.
• Actions initiated to plan, design and test selectivity devices that are efficient for the fishery will be continued in the framework of the ongoing work of the Bycatch Commission.
• INIDEP will carry out a minimum of THREE (3) scientific research campaigns per year, on the species and its companions, to evaluate the resource situation and its distribution. a) March campaign: aimed at evaluating the remaining reproduction and obtaining information related to the season that will begin; b) July campaign: determination of pre-recruits and recruits, and c) November campaign: evaluation of reproductive process and the effects of fishing on the red shrimp at the end of the season.
• INIDEP will be asked for a scientific survey plan with commercial vessels of red shrimp fleet, to verify the presence of red shrimp concentrations, the size structure L1 to L3 of 80% or more, and the ratio between hake and red shrimp of up to 20%, without prejudice to the consideration of other indicators deemed appropriate.
• Vessels operating in the red shrimp fishery must report positions via the Fishing Vessel Positioning System at intervals not exceeding FIFTEEN (15) minutes.
• Enables freshers to stay more than 72 hours in the fishing zone if they use liquid ice.
• On June 9th, the FFC Minutes N° 15/2022 refers to the review of the management measures currently in place for the red shrimp fishery, and highlights the numerous exchanges made on the Contingency Plan (explicit catch control rules) foreseen in the current Article 13 of Resolution CFP N° 7/2018 (which would be applied in a hypothetical situation of significant decline in the resource abundance). INIDEP highlights that «in spite of all the variations that have affected the red shrimp stock, through the joint work carried out by the enforcement authority and INIDEP researchers, the yield of the stock, expressed in declared annual landings, has been sustained at excellent levels, hovering around 200,000 tonnes in recent years«. 

The Research Report N° 50/2022 was presented by INIDEP. The most important aspect of this report for the FIP is that for the first time a threshold limit is established to trigger effort reduction measures, that is, a catch control rule, which in the red shrimp Management Plan was called «Contingency Plan». The report defines that the estimated fish number in each March season should not be below 60% with respect to the average established in the 2017-2022 series. Reaching this situation would mean reaching an undesirable and highly vulnerable point to maintain the landings and yields obtained in recent years. The report states: «The strong association in the trends of applied effort levels with the variation of biomass and abundance over the time series analyzed further emphasizes the idea that applied fishing effort is a strong regulator of population parameters. For this reason, estimates of the number of individuals below 60% of the average should result in a rapid action plan aimed at reducing it”. From another point of view, the report also underlines that «it is pertinent to point out that, despite all the variations that have affected the red shrimp stock, through the joint work carried out between the enforcement authority and INIDEP researchers, the yield of the population, expressed in declared annual landings, has been sustained at excellent levels, hovering around 200,000 tonnes in recent years«, which allows inferring that the catch strategy (now reinforced with new elements) has been successful so far.

July – December

On July CeDePesca shared with FIP partners the Observer Report from Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco, corresponding to 2021-2022 season.

On August 1st, the Chubut Fisheries Secretariat published in the Official Gazette of Chubut, the authorization to INIDEP to carry out the «Survey of red shrimp in Pre-Recruit and Recruit phase in the San Jorge Gulf, Chubut Littoral and National Waters on board the BIP «Mar Argentino».

On August 18th, a meeting was held with FIP partners to discuss the agreement with OIA for the Full Assessment.

On August CeDePesca delivered to INIDEP researchers the on-board observer database corresponding to the 201-2022 season shipments.

On August, the new partner Achernar joined the FIP.

The CSA Analysis for the 2018-2020 seasons was published in November.

On November, the Federal Fisheries Council issued Resolution N° 19/2022, modifying the Chondrichthyan Management Measures.

On November 23rd, the Chubut Secretary of Fishery issued Resolution N° 519/2022 referring to the opening of 2022-2023 season.

On December the Federal Fisheries Council issued Resolution N° 22/2022 extending until the annual period 2028 inclusive, the period referred to in Articles 1° and 2° of the Management Measures for the red shrimp fishery referred to in Annex I of Resolution N° 7/2018.

2023

January – June

The provincial fisheries authorities were able to meet with the head of INIDEP’s Red Shrimp Programme and agree on some guidelines for information exchange. Within the framework of the FAO Good Practices workshop held in May 2023 in Puerto Madryn (Chubut), the INIDEP’s technical group met with the Secretary of Chubut Fisheries, Dr. Gabriel Aguilar and his technical team. They discussed the possibility of working together. 

The last meeting of the Red Shrimp Follow-up Commission was held on May, as recorded in Minute Nº 8. The topics discussed at the meeting were: landings and foreign trade statistics; biological situation of red shrimp fishery and preliminary results of the last season; hake bycatch in the red shrimp fishery; and red shrimp bycatch in the hake fishery. 

On May, the Chubut Secretariat of Fisheries published the Technical Report Nº 4/2023-SP Ch: «Incidental Catches for the 2022/2023 season. Análisis de la Planilla V del Programa Provincial de Observadores a Bordo».

In the 2022-2023 season, 8 vessels and 88 fishing days were monitored by the Private Onboard Observes Program between November and March.  The protocol to record bycatch was carried out on 329 hauls, the remaining hauls were recorded under the seabird interaction protocol.  Preliminary results show that an average of 17 bycatch species were recorded per haul.  Forty bony fish species and 16 cartilaginous species were identified. In relation to invertebrates, urochordates, consisting of both solitary and colonial organisms, were the invertebrates with the highest frequency of occurrence recorded.  The highest frequencies of occurrence and abundance of both seabirds and marine mammals were observed during the discarding process, followed by hauling operations, with extremely low presence and abundance during trawling.  During 128 hauls, the interaction of seabirds with the cables was monitored, and no direct interactions were observed. During 127 hauls, the interaction of marine mammals during the net hauling process was monitored, and only one interaction was observed with a sea lion that struck the cables, but it escaped unharmed by itself. During 133 hauls, observations were made during the discarding process,  and no interactions with the cables were observed.

August – December 2023

In Argentina there has been a change of government, which took office on December 10th, 2023. Therefore, it is expected to have news about this task once the new authorities of the Chubut Fisheries Secretariat and Inidep begin the planned interaction. On September 14th, 2023, a meeting was held with the new Chubut’s Secretary of Fisheries, and other authorities of new incoming government.

The Committee for the Follow-up of Argentine red shrimp fishery has not met since last May. On November 30th, 2023, a representative of CeDePesca attended the meeting convened by National General Auditor (AGN), to conduct participatory planning with civil society organizations. At this meeting, the selection of the proposal that CeDePesca presented at the beginning of 2023, for the red shrimp fishery, was made public. 

In meetings with INIDEP it was learned that so far this year two campaigns have been carried out to evaluate the population of red shrimp. INIDEP continues working to improve the stock evaluation methodology. 

Following the change of government that occurred in Argentina on December 10th, 2023 the new Federal Fisheries Council has not yet been formed. Although the issue is on the agenda, nothing has been resolved yet. It is expected that soon and with the new authorities the adoption of a contingency plan for the fishery as stipulated in Resolution No. 7/2018 and the implementation of the Management Plan, will be effective. 

We have had a good response from them and the commitment to carry out the issues related to the red shrimp fishery, to achieve its certification. We are waiting for results. 

In a meeting on December 15th, 2023 between a representative of CeDePesca and those responsible for INIDEP shrimp program, it was reported that INIDEP developed a diagnosis of red shrimp fishery using a Bayesian Maximum Sustainable Catch program using the Shaffer model  as a basis, to recommend an even more precise Maximum Allowable Catch. Work is being done on the standardization of the Catch Per Unit of Effort of the entire fleet that fishes for shrimp, under a GLM model: with days, dates, strata, months, years, catches per month, per stratum, etc. This work will be carried out during 2024.

We have continued collaborating with the Chubut province to upload data in order to maintain a base that allows reporting on fishery catches. In this sense, it will be proposed to the new authorities to move forward with the publication of reports.

The Secretariat of Chubut has continued to implement the harvest control rule adopted by means of Res. N° 06/2019 as shown by the Res. N° 526-2023 that calls for a prospection prior to the opening of the season to monitor the parameters.  

The partners decided that no further evaluations will be carried out. Throughout the project, four CSA were carried out:  the CSA 2015/2016 – 2016/2017 – 2017/2018 – 2018/2020 and published. The reports have been published on Fisheryprogress.org and CeDePesca.net websites. When the new authorities of the Chubut Fisheries Secretariat take office, the results will be shared with them.

January – June 2024

Project partners continue to collaborate with the uploading of data from the Chubut Province Onboard Observer Program. Reports from previous years are expected to become public knowledge.

The Private Onboard Observer Program was implemented for the 2023-2024 season with the organization of the embarkations and with the technical support of the Hydrobiology Laboratory of the National University of Patagonia San Juan Bosco (UNPSJB), headed by Dr. María Eva Góngora. 

A copy of the Habitat Risk Analysis – CSA Method – Year 2016 – 2016/2017 – 2017/2018 – 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 was sent to Chubut Fisheries Secretariat, to the person in charge of the INIDEP Extension Area of ​​Puerto Madryn, and to the Director of the Hydrobiology Research Institute of the National University of Patagonia San Juan Bosco.