Common Name
Argentine Croaker
Scientific Name
Umbrina canosai
FIP partners Ayamos Foods Service, Cais do Atlântico and CeDePesca have committed to the sustainability of Brazil’s croaker and whitemouth croaker bottom trawl and gillnet fisheries.
Croaker (Umbrina canosai) and whitemouth croaker (Micropogonias furnieri) are demersal species intensively exploited on the southern and southeastern continental shelf of Brazil, mainly caught by bottom trawl and gillnet fleets and of great economic importance. Stock assessments conducted out for these species show that croaker and whitemouth croaker are overexploited. Furthermore, the MSC pre-assessments completed by CeDePesca in November 2021 (croaker) and December 2023 (whitemouth croaker) 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 the 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-assessments, and Ayamo Foods, Cais do Atlântico and CeDePesca are keen to join efforts with other stakeholders in the supply chain to achieve a certifiable status for fisheries.
| 75% | 11% | 14% |
| 0% |
| Behind | On Track | Complete | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 50% | 0% | 50% |
| Behind | On Track | Complete | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 50% | 0% | 50% |
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:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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).
5. Achieve the conduction of regular stock assessments by official research entities by April 2027.
6. Comply with the requirements of the FisheryProgress’ Human Rights and Social Responsibility policy throughout the duration of the FIP.