Bottom Trawl

Titi shrimp (Protrachypene precipua) is a tropical species that inhabits the Eastern Pacific Ocean from Nicaragua to Ecuador. Titi shrimp distribution in Ecuador, particularly in the Gulf of Guayaquil, varies depending on the season with a considerable migration in different stages of its lifecycle through the estuaries and surrounding waters. 

The industrial titi shrimp fishery in Ecuador started in the 1960s in the Gulf of Guayaquil using bottom-trawl nets. Since then, the titi shrimp fishery has supported the livelihoods of thousands of Ecuadorians that participate in different parts of the supply chain, including fishing, processing and export. The industrial fleet reached the maximum number of vessels in 1980 with 74. Since then, the fleet has diminished to reach the current effort with 39 authorized vessels.

According to the National Fisheries Institute, the landings of titi shrimp averaged 6.5 thousand metric tons per year in the 2007-2019 period with a minimum of 5.9 thousand in 2007 and a maximum of 7 thousand tons registered in 2010. It is estimated that the industrial titi shrimp fishery generates an annual income of 4.5-5 million dollars and operative revenues of 1 million for the fleet thanks to the export to USA and EU markets of 75% of the landings.

Since 2000, The industrial fishery has some management measures including a closed season, a geographic division for the authorized fleets, a daily allowed capture and the mandatory use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TED). The industrial fishery is also monitored through a Vessel Monitoring System and a network of fisheries inspectors deployed in the main landing ports. Additionally, the National Fisheries Institute keeps fishery-related historic data and, since 2013, the fleet participates in an onboard observers’ program.

Despite its economic importance, there is not enough information available related to the species biology or the fishery in general (e.g. not all the fishing mortality is well known). In addition, the current management scheme lacks of several elements that could benefit the target species and the environment.  Finally, a combination of weak international markets and the increasing producing costs, difficult the design and implementation of a harvest strategy and the correspondent control rules aimed at recovering the stocks to sustainable levels, mitigating the fishery environmental impacts and satisfying the increasing demands for social and environmental responsibility in the markets.

This FIP concentrates on the stocks of the following species: Heterocarpus chani, H. woodmasoni and Aristeus alcocki. For the pre-assessment, the management unit is the stock of these three species found in Kerala coastal waters, mainly operating in an area called Kollam bank. 

The fishery is a mixed trawl fishery, with each vessel carrying six or seven types of trawl gear, including bottom, midwater and pelagic trawls. Each vessel may catch 200 – 250kg of shrimp per tow. The target Heterocarpus shrimp are caught in around 200-300 metres depth, with Aristeus alcocki mainly taken at 250-300m. Other deep-sea shrimp are also landed in the fishery, with for example Solenocera hextii being significant in the catch from ~150 meters. Small amounts of cephalopods and deep-sea shark species are also landed by the same boats.   

There are 700 – 750 boats operated from Sakthikulangra, and less than 50 from Vypin, 20% of which go fishing for deep-sea shrimp. Trips last between four and ten days, landing their catch in the early mornings in Kollam, which is the nearest landing site to the fishing grounds. A single vessel may do two to three hauls a day, with a towing duration of two to three hours. The fishing season is between September to May, with peak fishing from November to January. The SW monsoon brings bad weather to the coast of Kerala, which can prevent the fishery from starting until mid-September in some cases, as it takes two to three days steaming to reach the fishing grounds (Dr. Rehka Devi Chakraborty, CMFRI, pers. comm.). As with other mechanised trawl fisheries, the deep-sea fishery is subject to a ban during the monsoon period.

The responsibility for marine fisheries in India is shared between the National (Central) and State governments. The national legal framework in India gives individual States control of the seas and living marine resources up to 12 nautical miles (nm) from the shore, while the Central Government has control from 12 nm to the 200 nm exclusive economic zone (EEZ) boundary. This fishery is managed by the Department of Fisheries, Government of Kerala. 

According to the World Bank (2010) report, there are five major legal instruments of the Central government that directly govern marine fisheries and activities:

• The Indian Fisheries Act, 1897;
• Marine Products Export Development Authority Act 1972 (No. 13 of 1972);
• The Maritime Zones of India (Regulation of fishing by foreign vessels) Act, 1981 (No. 42 of 1981);
• The Maritime Zones of India (Regulation of fishing by foreign vessels) Rules, 1982;
• The Operation of Deep Sea Fishing Vessels, 20m OAL and above, Notifications dated 14 December 2006.

State legislation is based on a model Act prepared by the central government in 1979 (World Bank, 2010) with each State developing its own marine fisheries legislation to manage fisheries in their respective area. In Kerala State, fisheries management is guided by the Kerala Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1980 (KMFR Act). It was amended in 2017 and is in the process of being implemented across the State.

The Gulf of Califonia hake fishery is a relatively recent fishery, carried out by 80 permitted vessels. These vessels operate mainly out of Sonora and Baja Califonia states. The fishery produces between 5,000 and 7,000 tons a year and is expected to soon be managed under a quota system. This hake FIP will focus on issues related to fishery-specific management objectives, the definition of HCRs, and defining appropriate reference points. Providing additional and more detailed information regarding its impacts on habitats and ecosystems is also of paramount importance in this FIP.

Shrimp in the northwest Pacific coast of Mexico, including the Gulf of California, is the most important fishery in México. It has the highest economic value of landings, averaging $340 million. It is also the highest ranked fishery in terms of number of vessels (750 bottom trawlers and about 16,000 small-scale vessels) and number of direct jobs (37,000 direct jobs and 75,000 indirect ones). It places third in terms of volume with annual landings of approximately 42,000 tons during a season that begins in September and runs through March. The small-scale shrimp fishery in the Gulf of California contributes to these figures with annual landings of 16,000 tons, of which, 10,600 are produced in the Sonora-Sinaloa corridor.

Sustainability  Challenges:

According to the National Fisheries Institute, the fishery is at the maximum sustainable yield, therefore, the management strategies are designed to maintain the reproductive biomass, protect the offspring, and avoid an increase the fishing effort. However, the absence of an updated, robust and publicly available stock assessment impedes confirming whether or not the harvest strategy and control rules in place are effective.

Regarding the environmental performance of the fishing gear, there is publicly available information on the chinchorro de linea and Suripera environmental impacts. There is no publicly available information for the bottom trawl used by the small-scale producers.

Other concerns related to the management system include the operation of non-authorized vessels and the use of fishing gears with a different configuration to that required by the regulatory framework.