Chilean hake - bottom trawl

The Chilean hake - bottom trawl FIP is being implemented by SONAPESCA, PacificBlu and CeDePesca.  The FIP was publicly announced in May 2012, although early improvement efforts were carried out by CeDePesca as early as 2007.

Chilean hake (Merluccius gayi gayi, also known as whiting) is a demersal species inhabiting Chilean waters.  The Chilean hake fishery takes place between the northern boundary of Chile’s IV Region and parallel 41°28.6' S in Chile’s X Region.  The fishery has two sectors: the artisanal sector and the industrial sector.  The industrial sector is comprised of an industrial small-scale fleet composed of vessels with motor engines less than 1,000hp, and an industrial large-scale fleet composed of vessels with motor engines larger than 1,000hp.  This FIP involves the large-scale industrial fleet, although it is expected to continue to produce positive effects in the fishery as a whole.

In September 2019, the stock assessment conducted by IFOP showed that the Chilean hake stock is now above its limit reference point, after several years of depletion.  This result was consistent in all the stock assessment scenarios explored by IFOP. 

So far, the FIP has achieved its early objectives, including:

• Promoting the consolidation of the stock assessment model after an international peer review took place in 2011.
• Encouraging authorities to establish the TAC in accordance with scientific recommendations by 2014.
• Achieving the adoption of a recovery management plan for the fishery with clear goals, terms and harvest control rules in 2016.
• Estimating illegal and unreported fishing in the artisanal sector by 2016, and installing the topic in the public agenda by 2018.
• Encouraging the inclusion of estimations of unreported fishing into the stock assessment model by 2019.

To read more about this FIP early progress, please visit CeDePesca's Chilean hake FIP Public report.