Argentina onshore red shrimp - bottom trawl

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Overview

What is a Completed FIP?

Completed FIPs are those that have independent verification that they have achieved their environmental objectives and/or graduated to MSC full assessment or other program assessment. Completed FIPs no longer report on their environmental performance but may choose to voluntarily report on their social performance.

Date of Completion: Mar 2025

Explanation of Completion: FIP achieved MSC certification.

Completion Link

The Argentina onshore red shrimp - bottom trawl FIP is being implemented by Achernar, Cabo Vírgenes, Conarpesa, Food Partners Patagonia, Iberpesca, Grupo San Isidro, Consermar and Pesquera Veraz as FIP Partners, and Direct Source Seafood and Krustagroup – Patagonia Shrimp as FIP Supporters, with the technical support from CeDePesca. The FIP aims to attain a certifiable status for the fishery against the MSC standard.

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.

The fleet operates in the fishery addressed by this FIP, use 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. The Rawson Port as its landing point, and it conducts daily fishing trips from November to April (some years October-March).  This coastal fleet conducts daily fishing trips from November to April (some years October-March), and as opposed to the larger fleet, its catches are almost monospecific.

During 2021 the onshore red shrimp fishery recorded catches of around 60,000 tonnes; total shrimp catches, both onshore and offshore, for that year were just over 200,000 tonnes (Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, 2021). 

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.

 

FIP Description 

The Argentina onshore red shrimp - bottom trawl FIP is being implemented by Achernar, Cabo Vírgenes, Conarpesa, Food Partners Patagonia, Iberpesca, Grupo

FIP Objective(s) 

The main goal of this FIP is to attain an MSC-certifiable status for the Argentine red shrimp onshore fishery by May 2025.  The specific objectives for the period June 2024- May 2025 are as follows:

  1. The adoption of the Contingency Plan by the Federal Fisheries Council.
  2. The development of a reference point for the fishery closure due to abundance reaching a critical limit.
  3. Ensuring that INIDEP makes systematic (annual) retrospective evaluations of the stock status.
  4. Get the Chubut Secretariat of Fisheries to issue technical reports per season of the Observer Programme, including CPUE evolution, bycatch, interactions with protected species and with thesea bottoms, and evidence of sharks non-finning (already requested to the Secretary).
  5. Continue the private On-Board Observer Program while the provincial programme performs in accordance with the certification requirements.
  6. Ensure that the technical basis that supports the criteria used for opening and closure of the fishery becomes available.
  7. To satisfy the requirements of social indicators in Fishery Progress.
FIP Type 
Comprehensive
FIP Stage 
Stage 5: Improvements on the Water
Start and Projected End Dates
July 2015
May 2025
Update 
FIP partners agreed on an extension to complete the task that has been delayed. This extension covers the period June 2024 - May 2025. In May 2023 the FIP partners started the certification process. In May 2024 the site visit took place.
Next Progress Report Due 
Monday, June 30, 2025
Species 
Common Name 
Argentine Red Shrimp
Scientific Name
Pleoticus muelleri
Gear Type 
Bottom Trawl
Location
FAO Major Fishing Area
Area 41 (Atlantic, Southwest)
Exclusive Economic Zones
Country 
Argentina
Geographic Scope 
Province of Chubut
Landings
Estimated Total FIP Landings 
72,000 metric tons
Estimated Total Fishery Landings 
89,000 metric tons
Landings Date 
April 2023
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FIP at a Glance

View current status
July 01, 2015
14% 43% 43%
Progress Rating (A) Advanced Progress

Reserved for comprehensive FIPs that have achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within the past 12 months.

(B) Good Progress

A basic FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within 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 AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months that has never achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result but has reported a Stage 3 activity within the first 12 months.
(D) Some Past Progress
  • A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months BUT has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old AND a Stage 3 activity has been reported within six months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
(E) Negligible Progress
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old, with no Stage 3 activity reported in the last six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months with no Stage 3 activity reported within 12 months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.

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
Not yet available
Actions Complete

This pie chart represents completed environmental actions. Non-completed environmental actions may contain completed sub-tasks that are not illustrated here. For more information on environmental action progress visit the Actions Progress tab.
  • 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.
Jun 2025
Target End Date
May 2025

FIP Leads

Organization Name 
CEDEPESCA
Organization Type 
NGO
Primary Contact 
Tania Zualet
Email 
tania.zualet@cedepesca.net
Website Name 
Argentine red shrimp onshore FIP
Organization Name 
PESQUERA VERAZ
Organization Type 
Industry
Primary Contact 
Federico ANGELERI
Email 
fangeleri@grupoveraz.com.ar
Website Name 
Grupo VERAZ
FIP Identification Number The FIP Identification Number is automatically generated by FisheryProgress when a FIP profile is created. While the number itself is not meaningful, they are used by NGOs, academia, and industry to refer to FIPs in a consistent way.
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