Fishery Improvement Project

Last Update: July 2024

Specie:

• Brazilian croaker (Umbrina canosai)
• Corvina (Micropogonias furnieri)

FIP Stage according to CASS progress table: 3, the FIP is encouraging improvements.

FIP Rating according to MSC benchmarking tool:  Initial (Y0, April 2022, 0.20)

FIP Rating according to SFP rating system: D (July 2024)

FIP profile at FisheryProgress.org:  Brazil croaker- trawl & bottom gillnet (July 2024)

Fishery Location: South coast of Brazil. See the map below.

FIP Coordination: If you would like more information about the FIP or if you wish to support it, please contact Rochelle Cruz.

FIP Partners:

• Cais do Atlântico
• Ayamo Foods Service

FIP Documents:

• MSC Pre-Assessment– November 2021
• Specific Agreement N1- March 2022
• MSC Pre- Assessment Micropogonias furnieri– December 2023
• Specific Agreement N1- July 2024

Publicly Announced Date: 2022

Background:

Beaver Street Fisheries and CeDePesca have signed an agreement to design a FIP with the goal of achieving a MSC certifiable status for the Croaker trawl and bottom gillnet fishery that takes place in southern Brazil.

Croaker (Umbrina canosai) is a demersal species distributed between Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Rio Colorado (Argentina), exploited mainly on the continental shelf of southern Brazil, and it has great economic importance.

According to a stock assessment conducted in 2006, the croaker stock was overexploited at the time. In addition, the MSC pre-assessment completed by CeDePesca in November 2021 showed that the fishery-specific management system is not enough to rebuild the stock nor to ensure that it fluctuates around a level consistent with its Maximum Sustainable Yield.  Furthermore, at the start of this FIP, the harvest strategy is not well structured, there is no harvest control rule, and there has been no continuous fishery statistics program since 2008.  This FIP will aim at improving fishery practices and policies in Brazil, so that stocks can be rebuilt to their optimal level.

In Brazil, fisheries are managed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAPA), through the Secretariat of Aquaculture and Fisheries (SAP). However, the Permanent Committee for the Management and Sustainable Use of Southeastern and Southern Demersal Resources (CPG), which had the objective of providing advice for sustainable exploitation of demersal resources –including croaker– was suspended in 2019.  Recently, in April 2022, the SAP/MAPA published a list of the institutions that would compose the CPG.  This FIP will aim at achieving the actual reinstatement of the CPG for Southeastern and Southern Demersal Resources and to ensure it meets in a regular fashion to address serious issues in the fishery.

In general, this FIP aims to address all the sustainability hurdles that were identified through the MSC pre-assessment, and Beaver Street Fisheries and CeDePesca are keen to join efforts with other stakeholders in the supply chain to achieve a certifiable status for fisheries.

FIP Objectives:

The ultimate objective of this FIP is to achieve the fishery’s certifiable status against the MSC standard by April 2027, in a socially responsible way. To this end, the FIP has the following objectives:

• Ensure the design and adoption of a harvest strategy that includes recovery objectives for the fish stock, harvest control rules and tools, appropriate control and surveillance measures and stock monitoring schemes by April 2027. 
• Support the authorities in the re-establishment of the Permanent Management Committees at the national level by January 2023 and promote the adoption of decision-making processes that result in strategies to achieve the fishery-specific objectives using the precautionary approach by April 2027.
• Achieve the restart of government-led data collection programs and ensure the inclusion of aspects related to other components of the ecosystem (secondary species, ETP and habitats) by April 2024. 
• As of April 2023, ensure that data is collected in quantity and quality sufficient to conduct regular risk analyses and to estimate the risk that the fisheries pose to other components of the ecosystem (primary species, secondary species, ETP species and habitats).
• Achieve the conduction of regular stock assessments by official research entities by April 2027.
•  Comply with the requirements of the FisheryProgress’ Human Rights and Social Responsibility policy throughout the duration of the FIP.

Progress Update

2021

January– June 2021

In February, Beaver Street and CeDePesca signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) related to the implementation of Stages 0 – 2 of a Fishery Improvement Project for the Croaker (Umbrina canosai) fishery.

CeDePesca created, in April, the prospective profile on the FisheryProgress website.

July-December 2021

In November, CeDePesca concluded the Pre-Assessment against the MSC standard. The document showed that the specific fisheries management system is not sufficient to rebuild the stock nor to ensure that it fluctuates around a level consistent with its maximum sustainable yield and includes recommendations for improvements.

2022

January– June 2022

In March 22 th, Beaver Street Fisheries and CeDePesca signed the Specific Agreement N1, and the Action Plan was approved.

July– December 2022

In July, the profile of the Brazil croaker FIP was published on the FisheryProgress platform.

In September 6 th, Seafood Brasil, a communication platform aimed at the business of the fish production chain in Brazil, published an article on the start of the Brazil croaker FIP.

2023

January – June

After months of encouraging the resumption of data collection, in January the MPA reported (MPA adota estratégias inovadoras para obtenção de dados em 2024 — Ministério da Pesca e Aquicultura) that in 2024 it will put into operation a “National Fisheries Statistics Plan” with the compilation of past information and the mathematical reconstruction of marine fishing statistics for the years 2015 to 2022 , accompanied by the dissemination of data through statistical bulletins and Business Intelligence (BI) panels. In addition, pilot projects for collecting data on marine fisheries will be implemented.

In February, CeDePesca contacted officials from the Ministry of Fisheries (MPA), encouraging the return of CPG Demersal Southeast/South meetings. With the recent changes in the Federal Government, such as the recreation of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and the return of shared management with the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change – MMAC, CeDePesca was informed that they were restructuring the Ministries to then define the meeting dates. At the beginning of March 2023, CeDePesca contacted Government officials again to find out about the return of CPG meetings. Initially scheduled for the month of March, the MPA reported that there was no set date and all meetings had been cancelled. CeDePesca continued to contact the Ministry of Fisheries throughout the first half of 2023, to encourage the return of CPG meetings. In June, in conversation with the federal fishing authority, CeDePesca was informed that the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture (MPA) announced that the Southeast/South Demersal CPG will meet on the 15th, 16th and 17th of 2023. In July, CeDePesca received an invitation to participate in the 1rst Ordinary Meeting of the Permanent Committee for Fisheries Management and the Sustainable Use of Demersal Fishing Resources in the Southeast and South Regions (SE/S Demersal CPG) and requested that an item on the Brazil croaker – trawl & bottom gillnet FIP be included into the Agenda, being subsequently accepted by the MPA.

July – December

On August 15th, 16th and 17th finally took place the 1rst Ordinary Meeting of the CPG Demersal Southeast/South and CeDePesca, as a member, made a presentation about the FIP, its objectives, the result of the pre-evaluation, the actions needed (including the importance of the regular functioning of the CPG) and the need to resume data collection programs accounting also for aspects related to other components of the ecosystem. The next meeting of the Southeast/South demersal CPG was scheduled for March 12th and 13th, 2024. 

On September 8th, CeDePesca participated in a meeting with team of the Secretariat of Aquaculture and Fisheries (SAP) in Brasilia. The scores obtained as a pre-assessment for Umbrina canosai were presented, showing that the great problem is the lack of information and that the main challenges for fishing are: (a) To know exactly what is happening as a resource; (b) Obtain data to build a historical series and periodically carry out an assessment of the stock; (c) Achieve a management system that contributes to maintain the sustainable resource and; (d) Identify the other species that are caught and analyze if the fishery is not affecting these. He also explained that it is necessary to carry out monitoring of landings and traceability, as well as establish a control of capture and resume the operation of the Permanent Committee for Fisheries Management and the Sustainable Use of Demersal Resources in the South and Southeast Regions (Southeast/South demersal CPG). During meeting in Brasília, CeDePesca was informed that the first meeting of the Southeast/South demersal CPG that the was scheduled for March 28th and 29th. Also in September, Ordinance SAP/MAPA Nº 1.274 of September 16th, 2022, was published, appointing the members of the Permanent Committee for Fisheries Management and the Sustainable Use of Demersal Resources in the South and Southeast Regions, including CeDePesca.

2024

January – July

In March, CeDePesca received an invitation to participate in the 2nd  Ordinary Meeting of the Permanent Committee for Fisheries Management and the Sustainable Use of Demersal Fishing Resources in the Southeast and South Regions (SE/S Demersal CPG). On the 9th and 10th of April took place the 2nd Ordinary Meeting of the CPG Demersal Southeast/South.

The white mouth croaker fishery was discussed during a session, with the following recommendations: (a) Formalize a Working Group to prepare Management Plans for demersal species in the southeast and south, considering the bottom gillnet fleets, fish trawling and artisanal fisheries, and (b) Present the corvina stock assessment study (historical series used, data, current production and trends) at the next meeting, scheduled for October 2024. 

In April and June, CeDePesca, received an invitation to participate in the 1st and 2nd Extraordinaries Meetings of the CPG Demersal Southeast/South with a single agenda: Proposal to formalize a Working Group for demersal species in the Southeast and South, considering the bottom gillnet fleets, fish trawling and artisanal fisheries, with a focus on croaker. The MPA published Ordinances No. 291 and No. 292, of June 28, 2024, establishing the Working Group (WG) and designating its members, with the purpose of supporting the review of management measures for demersal fisheries in the Southeast and South regions, with an emphasis on corvina (Micropogonias furnieri). Its responsibilities include evaluating management measures; existing registration and monitoring for demersal fishing; evaluating and proposing management measures considering the state of the stock of the main species landed; preparing a proposal for a fisheries management plan; recommending the review or preparation of new normative acts aimed at the sustainable development of the activity; and preparing a report of the activities for assessment. 

On July 24th, the 1st Ordinary Meeting of the Working Group was held to discuss demersal fisheries in the Southeast and South regions, with an emphasis on whitemouth croaker. A proposed management plan, current legislation and the fishing vessel permitting matrix were presented. Strategies for compiling data on corvina were also discussed, as well as data from the stock assessment.