Photo by Revista Puerto

Shrimp prospecting to open the north

ARGENTINA
Tuesday, March 09, 2021, 07:00 (GMT + 9)

On March 28, the fishing tasks will begin to know the situation of the resource between the parallels of 41º and 42º South. If commercial-size shrimp predominate and hake bycatch is less than 20%, it will be opened after four months of restrictions. Not everyone thinks it's a good idea.

In November 2020, the dispatch of shrimp boats was prohibited in the area between the parallels 41 ° and 42 ° of South latitude and the meridians 60 ° and 61 ° of West longitude due to the high percentage of fish of non-commercial size and a sustained presence of juvenile hake, which reached 165% bycatch according to official data. Since then the fleet has not operated and now CaPeCA has requested that the decision adopted by the Consejo Federal Pesquero be annulled and that fishing be allowed in the northern sector. At the meeting on Friday, held in the city of Puerto Deseado in Argentina, the Council decided to grant the request, but beforehand they asked INIDEP to carry out a survey in the area that will begin on March 28. If the conditions of abundance and size of the shrimp, such as hake bycatch, are within the allowed margins, it will be opened to fishing. Not everyone agrees with going to find that shrimp.

The area to be surveyed is located between the parallels 41 ° and 42 ° of South latitude and the meridians 60 ° and 62 ° of West longitude. During four days, eight freezer boats and four fresqueros, which are selected by lottery, will carry out fishing tasks.

Observers must estimate the shrimp catch of each set and the hake catch, and must also identify and quantify all companion species. They will have to carry out two shrimp size-by-sex samplings per day and obtain the shrimp production per survey day (in kilos and boxes per commercial category). They must also carry out at least one hake size sampling per day. They must report daily information per set to INIDEP.

It is clarified that, in the event of a high concentration of common hake or a low shrimp yield, in any sector, the duration will be shortened. The bycatch limit for the sector was established from this act at 20%, as it is taken in national waters.

Once the prospecting is completed, the heads of the Shrimp Program, who are conducting the summer evaluation campaign, must report the results. From the conclusion reached by the specialists, the possibility of lifting the suspension of dispatch to fishing in the northern sector will be analyzed. If you decide on the positive, the area will be automatically open.

Not everyone in the fishing sector has the same criteria regarding the start of activity in the north; some consider it a lousy business strategy. Some businessmen attribute the drop in the price suffered by frozen shrimp in 2019, to the significant sales that were made of this product, which they assure is of a lower quality than that obtained in winter in national waters. That year it was sold less than expected and at a very low price that only began to recover at the end of 2020, after a year of neglect in sales as a result of the pandemic. With this background, not a few distrust the advantages of going fishing in April. Others, on the other hand, need to do it to maintain the activity of the companies and will not hesitate to go looking for it.

INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN THE PROSPECTING

Those who are interested in participating with their vessels must nominate themselves before the National Directorate for Fsheries Coordination and Inspection from 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 10 to 18 on Friday, March 12, in order to participate in the random electronic draw for vessels. and subareas that will take place on Monday, March 15. A maximum of two vessels per company or business group will be admitted, but up to six vessels can apply, reported from the Federal Fisheries Council.

Source: Revista Puerto (article available only in Spanish)

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