Squid catches fall and 14 thousand tons to reprocess on land

ARGENTINA
Thursday, February 18, 2021, 20:00 (GMT + 9)

This week the jigger vessels have seen their catches fall to an average of 5-15 Ton / day. There was bad weather in the area so we will have to wait as the fishing continues in the next few days

Squid 2020: more than 14 thousand tons for reprocessing on land

It is the figure that is reached after calculating the minimum percentage of committed refrigeration reprocessing based on the total tons caught by each boat, according to data provided by the National Fisheries Directorate. Until the end of the month they have time to comply with it and until March to report it to the Directorate of Control and Inspection.

The abundant squid harvest that was recorded last year, with landings that exceeded 172 thousand tons declared by the different fleets in all seaports, generated some enthusiasm among fish workers as of the modification of Resolution 6/2008 which established the effective fulfillment of the commitment to reprocess a percentage of the total squid catch in land-based refrigerators for shipowners with permits that established it.

Photo: gcourtesy C.A.P.A. – Cámara de Armadores de Poteros Argentinos

This good intention to generate more work on land, especially in Mar del Plata, which is reaffirmed with the recent new CFP resolution that increases the percentages of squid for reprocessing, began to take shape with some concrete numbers of the tons destined for this purpose .

The Directorate of Fisheries revealed the list of the 68 jigger boats that recorded squid catches last year and that in total landed 148,825 tons. There were 39 vessels committed to reprocessing part of their catch ashore, but two did not participate in the season. The vessels with processing commitments on land caught 88,991 tonnes.

Along with the statistics of the individual catches of all jiggers, the percentage of each boat that must fulfill the commitment to reprocess ashore was also reported. As there are some cases in which the percentage is variable, that is, greater than 20%, greater than or equal to 10% and less than or equal to 20%, REVISTA PUERTO calculated it as follows.

Photo: courtesy Revista Puerto

For those cases in which the commitment established a variable percentage, equal to or less than 20% and greater than 10%, such as the cases of Lu Qing Yuan Yu 288 and 289, 15% was taken. For the cases that established greater than 20%, such as the cases of Huyu 907 and Huyu 906, a minimum of 21% was taken.

The vessels with the highest catches and the highest reprocessing commitment were Esperanza 909 and Orión 3, which caught more than 3,000 tons of squid and must reprocess at least 20% of their catches.

Photo: courtesy Revista Puerto

The sum of all the catches destined for reprocessing on land by the 37 jigger vessels of the 2020 harvest resulted in 14,009 tons. An approximate figure to that should be the amount of tons dumped on the cutting table where the whole squid is converted into different by-products.

But the precise figure will only be available in the coming weeks when the Undersecretariat of Fisheries will finish processing the information sent by the shipowners and the fisheries inspectors of each district.

Photo: gcourtesy C.A.P.A. – Cámara de Armadores de Poteros Argentinos

Resolution 6/2008 establishes that shipowners have time to comply with the committed reprocessing until the last business day of February of the year following the harvest. And until the last day of March to send it to the enforcement authority.

The REVISTA PUERTO has asked Pesca the evolution of this commitment until 2020 and in which manufacturing establishments that squid was reprocessed, but this information has not yet been provided.

Not only these data but also the supplementary records that the fisheries inspectors of each District must draw up when the squid is unloaded and sent to the cold stores to carry out its reprocessing.

Photo: gcourtesy C.A.P.A. – Cámara de Armadores de Poteros Argentinos

Squid exports, between January and November of last year, reached 145 thousand tons, which generated 388 million dollars. Of the total volume exported, 134 thousand tons was whole squid.

Of pod, barely 7,948 tons, but it cannot be distinguished if it was reprocessed on land or on board. 2,159 tons of tentacles were also exported. The products with the highest added value, clean tube and rings without skin, had an insignificant contribution: 3.4 and 2.9 tons respectively.

The December exports have yet to be computed, where the commercialization of whole squid will surely also predominate, and the minimum reprocessing commitment is around 14 thousand tons.

Author: Roberto Garrone / Revista Puerto

[email protected]
www.seafood.media

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