Suriname corvina and acoupa weakfish - driftnet and trawl

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Overview

FIP partners Sea Delight, Deep Sea Atlantic, Caribbean Sea Foods, Marisa Fisheries, Omicron Seafood, and CeDePesca have committed to the sustainability of the Suriname corvina and acoupa weakfish driftnet and trawling fisheries, and look forward to bringing about the necessary improvements in collaboration with other fishery stakeholders. 

Corvina (kandratiki, Cynoscion virescens) and acoupa weakfish (bang bang, Cynoscion acoupa) are between the most important commercial species of fish in Suriname and are fished by different fleets, including the artisanal driftnet fleet and the industrial trawling fleet.

In Suriname, the corvina and acoupa weakfish driftnet and trawling fisheries occur entirely within the waters of Suriname's Exclusive Economic Zone.  The driftnet fishery is conducted by open and closed Guyana boats using gillnets that are not anchored to the bottom but float with the tide.  On the other hand, the trawling fishery is conducted by Florida type trawling boats using otter trawl nets.

There has been no formal identification of stocks for Cynoscion virescens and Cynoscion acoupa along their geographical distribution; however, it is expected that the stock's biomass moves across fishing grounds in the Brazil-Guianas shelf.  This would mean that the stocks are most probably shared between Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana, Venezuela (most probably along the Venezuelan Guayana region) and Brazil (most probably along the Brazilian Goiania region).  In 2019, a stock assessment (Willems, in press) was conducted for these species using data collected in Guyana and Suriname and a method appropriate for data-deficient situations.  The results indicate that both species are overexploited.  However, by improving management measures and fishery practices to keep fishing effort at appropriate levels in Suriname and by strengthening collaboration between countries in the region, the stocks could be rebuilt to their optimal level.

This FIP aims to solve those sustainability obstacles that were identified through an MSC Pre-Assessment conducted in July 2020, and FIP partners are keen to join efforts with other stakeholders in the supply chain to attain a certifiable status for the fisheries.

FIP Description 

FIP partners Sea Delight, Deep Sea Atlantic, Caribbean Sea Foods, Marisa Fisheries, Omicron Seafood, and CeDePesca have committed to the sustaina

FIP Objective(s) 

The main objective of the Suriname corvina and acoupa weakfish driftnet and trawling FIP is to achieve the fishery’s certifiable status against the Marine Stewardship Council standard in a timeframe of five years. 

The specific objectives of this FIP are:

  1. Ensure that data is collected in quantity and quality sufficient to perform LB-SPR stock assessments as of July 2022; and that it is sufficient to feed more sophisticated stock assessments as envisioned by WECAFC as of October 2023.
  2. Ensure that LB-SPR stock assessments are conducted in an annual basis as of October 2023.
  3. Achieve the adoption of Management Plans for each fishery by October 2024.  The management plans shall set up a harvest strategy that includes explicit short and long-term objectives, harvest control rules, monitoring mechanisms, management strategy evaluation mechanisms and robust consultation processes.
  4. Ensure that data is collected in quantity and quality sufficient to conduct regular risk analyses for both fisheries by January 2024.  The analyses shall be conducted every two years and will estimate the risk that the fisheries pose to other components of the ecosystem (primary species, secondary species, ETP species and habitats).
  5. Promote bottom-up processes to issue ecosystem-related management recommendations by October 2024, and adopt voluntary measures by October 2025, if deemed necessary.
  6. Comply with the requirements of the FisheryProgress’ Human Rights and Social Responsibility policy throughout the duration of the FIP.
FIP Type 
Comprehensive
FIP Stage 
Stage 4: Improvements in Fishing Practices or Fishery Management
Start and Projected End Dates
October 2020
October 2025
Next Progress Report Due 
Saturday, May 31, 2025
Species 
Common Name 
Corvina
Scientific Name
Cynoscion virescens
Common Name 
Acoupa weakfish
Scientific Name
Cynoscion acoupa
Gear Type 
Driftnet
Otter Trawl
Location
FAO Major Fishing Area
Area 31 (Atlantic, Western Central)
Exclusive Economic Zones
Country 
Suriname
Geographic Scope 
Paramaribo
Landings
Estimated Total FIP Landings 
1,500 metric tons
Estimated Total Fishery Landings 
3,830 metric tons
Landings Date 
December 2022
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FIP at a Glance

View current status
October 01, 2020
71% 18% 11%
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
C Some Recent Progress
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.
May 2025
Target End Date
Oct 2025

FIP Leads

Organization Name 
CeDePesca
Organization Type 
NGO
Primary Contact 
Tomas Willems
Email 
tomas.willems@cedepesca.net
Website Name 
CeDePesca
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.
14453