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Argentine Hake (Southern Stock) Fishery Improvement Project Archive Date: March 2014

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Argentine Hake (Southern Stock) Fishery Improvement Project Archive Date: March 2014 Argentine Hake (southern stock) Fishery Improvement Project Archive Date: March 2014 The Argentine Hake FIP was transitioned from SFP to CeDePesca in March 2014; the following FIP report reflects the status of the FIP at the time of transition. The project was later reclassified as a CeDePesca Improvement Project (CIP) because it did not meet the criteria for a basic FIP. The current CIP public report can be found on CeDePesca’s website, here. Species: Argentine Hake (Merluccius hubbsi) FIP Scope/Scale: Fishery level Fishery Location: For map see: Argentine hake - southern stock FIP Participants: CeDePesca Sustainability Information: See Summary tab at: Argentine hake - southern stock Date Publicly Announced: 2009 FIP Stage: 4, FIP is delivering improvement in policies and practices Current Improvement Recommendations: • Implement a recovery plan • Improve transparency on records • Improve the robustness of Argentina’s fisheries science • Increase reproductive biomass above limit reference point (including reducing bycatch). Background: Argentine hake is a bottom-trawling fishery, which produces around 200,000 tonnes, making it one of the most important hake fisheries in the world. It is an export-oriented fishery, with primary markets in Brazil (23%), Spain (13%), Italy (11%), the US (6%), and Ukraine (6%) (see annual Fisheries Export reports here). In 2007, when the FIP began scoping, the fishery faced significant problems: • Stock was below its biological limit and spawning stock biomass was under the target reference point • The actual catch was over the advised total allowable catch (TAC) • Catchers were landing more juveniles than adults and refused to use devices that would let juveniles escape the trawl nets • Bycatch of juvenile hake by the Argentine shrimp fishery resulted in 30,000 to 40,0000 tonnes of discard each year • There was neither a recovery plan in place to deal with these issues nor any effective monitoring and enforcement of regulations. SFP is collaborating on this FIP with CeDePesca, a South American NGO whose mission is to work toward socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable fisheries. CeDePesca has been involved with the Argentine hake fishery for over 10 years. CeDePesca had worked closely for several years with Alpesca and other local companies such as Yuken to make progress. Formal agreements with both companies were signed on April 2011 and September 2011, respectively. However, both companies were sold (Alpesca in 2011 and Yuken in 2013) to new owners who are not currently interested in supporting sustainability efforts. In 2008, an MSC pre-assessment was completed, and for several years, private companies worked with CeDePesca on improvement efforts. CeDePesca believes that the current crisis faced by the fisheries sector is hampering involvement of the private sector in this FIP, as companies struggle to keep their doors open. The main strength of this fishery is a huge and well-enforced non-trawling zone, covering almost half of the fishing grounds, protecting breeding and feeding. Since 2008, a new mandatory catch certificate has been very helpful in minimizing illegal fishing. Since 2013, the reproductive biomass has been over the limit reference point after around 15 years of being below it. Currently, some important hurdles remain for this fishery: • Loopholes remain in monitoring and control of catches both at sea and on the docks. • • Juvenile fish predominate in the catch, because more mature stocks are depleted. • • Recruitments are still poor and the current exploitation strategy doesn´t allow many fish to reach maturity • • A policy is in place requiring juvenile protection devices for gears, but it is not enforced. • • Interaction with the shrimp fishery, which doesn´t use hake escape devices, occurs mostly in provincial waters of Chubut and Santa Cruz (San Jorge Gulf), and negatively affects the juvenile population. However, the juvenile hake population benefitted from the fact that, in 2011, the shrimp fishery operated mostly out of San Jorge Gulf, within federal waters. FIP Objectives: • Implement a recovery plan and a harvest strategy • • Improve transparency of records • • Increase reproductive biomass toward target reference point (including reducing bycatch) • • Implement the ecosystem approach Progress Update: The enforcement of EU Rule 1005/2008 against IUU has helped to reduce underreporting, although some problems persist, particularly in regard to the internal market information. 2011 As of January 2011, an on-board video cameras system is mandatory, although full implementation was delayed by authorities. Although 2011 surveys registered some increase in spawning biomass, it is still under its limit reference point (450,000 tonnes). Managers have set non- precautionary TACs for 2010, 2011, and 2012, assuming in all cases the most optimistic scenaria. Research cruises restarted in 2011 after 3 years of inactivity from 2008 through 2010. 2012 January – March In February 2012, CeDePesca had a meeting with the newly appointed Undersecretary of Fisheries and discussed issues such as the delicate situation of this stock of hake and the need for a recovery plan. April – June Transparency of stock assessments and fisheries statistics has improved, with up-to-date landings information on the Undersecretariat of Fisheries website. An external peer review was completed by FAO in May 2012, but as of March 2013 the results were not yet available to the public. July – September The call for a Recovery Plan for hake, with clear targets and timetables, was reiterated in a letter sent in September to the Federal Fisheries Council. On the other hand, in August 2012, CeDePesca held meetings with other stakeholders in the province of Chubut to invite them once again to participate in the FIP, and to discuss both the situation of the hake stock and its interaction with the shrimp fishery. Meetings were conducted with Pesquera Pereira, the researcher in charge of the province’s on-board observers program, and with researchers at the faculty of fishing at the National University of Technology. In August 2012, during an interview with the press, the Undersecretary of Fisheries stated that the on-board camera system is being simplified, although he didn’t offer any details. He had already discussed this topic with CeDePesca during a meeting in February 2012, when he expressed his intention of streamlining the system that has been tested on 10 vessels since early 2012. Originally, it was hoped that the system would help to enforce the use of selectivity devices and to discourage discards. October – December In October 2012, as part of the project “FAO – Support to CFP to formulate a fishery research policy and technological application in fisheries,” CeDePesca attended a meeting in Buenos Aires and participated in the consultation round after the event. In November 2012, CeDePesca sent a letter to the Undersecretary of Fisheries (Chubut) to encourage him to take the first steps to improve the fisheries and finally obtain MSC eco-certification. In December 2012, INIDEP recommended a TAC below 279,000 tonnes in Technical Report N° 38/2012 and the CFP set it in 278,000 tonnes in Res. 26/2012. 2013 January – March CeDePesca sent a copy of the letter sent to the Undersecretary of Fisheries (Chubut) in November 2012 to the new Coordinating Minister; no response had been received as of June 2013. CeDePesca talked with the Production Manager from Altamare SA (ex Pesquera Pereira Argentina SA) who had promised as long ago as December 2012 to talk with the Undersecretary of Fisheries (Chubut) about the letter CeDePesca sent to him. The answer she received was that CeDePesca must wait for the moment. CeDePesca proposed to API (Professionals Association of INIDEP) a workshop/course about The Ecological Risk Assessment for the Effects of Fishing (ERAEF). INIDEP accepted the proposal and API and CeDePesca worked together to coordinate the workshop to take place in April 2013. A description of the fishery according to ERAEF methodology was created for use in the workshop. April – June CeDePesca requested information from the Congress on the initiative by Congressman Raul Eduardo Costa in July 2012 (4862-D-2012) asking the Fisheries Authority about the on-board video camera system. The reply was that there had been no action regarding the mentioned request, the request was never officially recognized by Congress, and therefore the Executive had no response. During April 9–11, a workshop about the Ecological Risk Assessment for the Effects of Fishing (ERAEF) method was held in the INIDEP and attended by 22 scientists, technicians, and on-board observers. The Researchers Association, INIDEP, and CeDePesca jointly organized the workshop. The study case, Argentine hake – southern stock, yielded interesting discussion about the need for tracking trawling areas and for closer attention to some bycatch species. In June, as part of the project “FAO – Support to Federal Fisheries Council to formulate a fishery research policy,” CeDePesca attended a stakeholder’s workshop. The conclusions of the meeting are being developed by the project advisory committee led by the FAO. The workshop was organized around five topics: a) institutional aspects of marine fisheries research; b) research in biology and fisheries ecology, stock assessment, and population dynamics; c) marine fisheries research activities; d) databases and information for fisheries research; e) Human Resources training for fisheries research.
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