Argentina onshore red shrimp - bottom trawl

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Overview

The Argentina red 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 the Fisheries Law, 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 baseline), 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, with the Port of Rawson as its landing point.  This coastal fleet conducts daily fishing trips from October to March, and as opposed to the larger fleet, its catches are almost monospecific.

The Argentina red shrimp fishery as a whole (onshore and offshore) produced landings of around 80 thousand metric tons in the period from 2009 to 2013, surpassing the historical record in 2013 with landings above 100 thousand metric tons.  In 2016, the fishery produced landings of around 180 thousand metric tons.  The participation of the coastal fleet based at the Port of Rawson has been around 20% of landings during the last five years.

The Argentine red shrimp onshore fishery's current obstacles to becoming more sustainable are mainly related to MSC Principles 2 and 3. This FIP will work to address Principle 2 by characterizing the interaction between the coastal fleet and bycatch species in Chubut’s provincial waters and to support efforts aimed at better understanding the interaction between the fishery and the sea bottom, along with its potential impacts on the ecosystem. With regard to Principle 3, further coordination among the different jurisdictions that define the management of this fishery resource will be achieved, and a formal and regular mechanism for the assessment of the efficacy of the fishery's management system will be available to stakeholders.

For more information regarding this FIP's progress, please visit CeDePesca's Argentine red shrimp on-shore FIP Public Report (updated quaterly).

FIP Description 

The Argentina red shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri) fishery is the main crustacean fishery in Argentina and one of the most important marine resources in the Southwest Atlantic.

FIP Objective(s) 
  • To design and implement an Onboard Observers Program for the coastal fleet to gather data on bycatch until May 2019.
  • To conduct regular Ecological Risk Assessments for the Effects of Fishing to serve as input to the management system and to an MSC full assessment, until May 2019.
  • To develop a minimum coordination protocol for fishery research and management among the different jurisdictions involved in the fishery’s administration by July 2018.
  • To raise awareness among and involve crew members in research activities related to the FIP until May 2019.
  • To initiate regular assessments for the efficacy of the fishery’s management system by May 2019.
  • To achieve an MSC certifiable status and enter into an MSC full-assessment process by May 2019.
FIP Type 
Comprehensive
FIP Stage 
Stage 5: Improvements on the Water
Start and Projected End Dates
July 2015
May 2019
Update 
The FIP has been extended until May 31st, 2019. Please see consolidated Action Plan provided in the Documents section. The main reason for the 10-month extension is related to the completion of Action 1. Currently, the Argentine Fisheries Federal Council has set a deadline for the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (INIDEP) to pronounce itself by the end of November 2018 in regards to criteria for the opening and closure of fishing zones in national waters. Also, the local government of the provine of Chubut is expected to set criteria for the opening and closure of the onshore fishery in provincial waters where this fishery takes place. On the other hand, an assessment of the evolution of the stock's abundance in relation to reference points is being expected by INIDEP, while provincial authorities are digitizing data with collaboration of FIP partners to obtain a weekly catch-per-unit-effort series as an abundance indicator. During this extension, the effective implementation of the interjurisdictional harvest strategy will be monitored before hiring an conformity assessment body to conduct a new MSC PA of the fishery previous to it entering an MSC full assessment.
Next Progress Report Due 
Monday, December 30, 2019
Species 
Common Name 
Argentine Red Shrimp
Scientific Name 
Pleoticus muelleri
Additional Names 
Patagonian shrimp, langostino patagónico, langostino argentino
Gear Type 
Bottom Trawl
Location
FAO Major Fishing Area
Area 41 (Atlantic, Southwest)
Exclusive Economic Zones
Country 
Argentina
Geographic Scope 
Province of Chubut
Regional Fisheries Management Organization
High Seas Name 
Atlantic Ocean
Volume
FIP Volume 
20,000 metric tons
Total Fishery Volume 
180,000 metric tons
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FIP at a Glance

21% 79%
July 01, 2015
14% 43% 43%
Progress Rating

A - Advanced Progress
Reserved for comprehensive FIPs that have a Stage 4 or 5 result within the past 12 months.

B - Good Progress
A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 in more than 12 months AND Stage 3 activity in the last year; OR a basic FIP that has achieved Stage 4 or 5 achievements within the past 12 months.

C - Some Recent Progress
A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months but has not generated a Stage 3 result within the past 12 months OR a FIP younger than a year that has never achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result but has completed a Stage 3 activity.

D - Some Past Progress
A FIP for which the most recent publicly reported Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 30) months.

E - Negligible Progress
A FIP older than a year that has not reported a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 30 month (but less than 36) months; OR a FIP younger than 1 year that has not reported a Stage 3 activity.

The ratings are currently derived by SFP from publicly available data on FIP websites, including FisheryProgress.org, and are determined using the following methodology: View PDF
A Advanced Progress
Actions Complete
  • Complete
  • Incomplete
Next Update Due FisheryProgress requires a FIP to provide update reports every six months, and two missed reports will render the FIP inactive. If a report is overdue, this date will appear red.
Dec 2019
Target End Date
May 2019

FIP Leads

Organization Name 
CeDePesca
Organization Type 
NGO
Primary Contact 
Alejandra Cornejo
Email 
alejandra.cornejo@cedepesca.net
Phone 
+54 223 489-6397
Website 
Argentine red shrimp onshore FIP
Organization Name 
Pesquera Veraz
Organization Type 
Industry
Primary Contact 
Federico Angeleri
Email 
fangeleri@grupoveraz.com.ar
Enter the public contact information for the leader of the FIP. This information will be displayed on FisheryProgress.org for users who want to contact the FIP.