RFV 'Mar Argentino' . Photo: courtesy Revista puerto

In search of the shrimp route in the north

ARGENTINA
Wednesday, September 15, 2021, 07:00 (GMT + 9)

During these hours, a research campaign is being carried out in the northern sector of La Veda, the El Rincón area and the San Matías Gulf in Argentina to collect basic information on the crustacean that spawns in that area. The Undersecretary of Fisheries believes that the fishery could be developed in this sector.

Based on the increase in catches in the northern sector in the summer months, the Undersecretary of Fisheries, Carlos Liberman, began to suggest that there could be a shrimp population with the possibility of developing and generating higher volumes of catch. INIDEP does not have data on the migratory route of that population and, to begin to generate basic knowledge, they programmed a campaign in the northern sector of the Merluza Veda, the El Rincón area and the San Matías Gulf, to determine what it happens with the specimens that are born in that area and with those that are not captured.

"In the northern sector, 20 thousand tons were caught, if they are better managed and with the help of the environment, perhaps they will allow us to make the leap that we made to the south, I do not say 200 thousand tons, but many more," said the Undersecretary of Fisheries . Liberman argues that if you reduce the effort on mature females, they will continue traveling north and will be able to spawn, allowing harvest levels to increase year after year.

The conclusion reached by the official might not be as linear. Researchers Paula Moriondo Danovaro and Juan de la Garza explained that the lack of data on this population makes it difficult to know the migration route of this population.

"No one can guarantee that the shrimp that is born continues its way up, down or to the side, we do not even know where the shrimp that they do not catch goes, if it is in the province of Buenos Aires, if it goes to the San Matías Gulf, it does not. we know for sure ", said the Head of the Shrimp Program and added that "the shrimp that is not caught from December to March goes somewhere, if it goes north, out or south, some will die because they are large prawns that are ending the life cycle but others are going to continue traveling, but we don't know where ”.

To find out what happens to this population, they programmed a campaign in the southern sector of the province of Buenos Aires and Golfo San Matías in the province of Río Negro. Although the researcher clarifies that the shrimp caught in August in front of the city of Mar del Plata consisted of large specimens that came from the south and not from the Buenos Aires population, she also pointed out that the appearance of small volumes of shrimp in Mar Chiquita coincided. , and that could be related to the protection measures in the northern sector that began to be taken three years ago.

Researcher Juan de la Garza, now head of the Observer Program, has vast experience in the shrimp fishery and continues to be part of the working group.

For the biologist, it is not strange that shrimp appear in the north and he considers that it is necessary to do basic research, since the only data available on the Buenos Aires population are from the 60s and 70s.

The realization of this cruise on the ship 'Mar Argentino', in charge of Paula Moriondo Danovaro, is the first step in the collection of biological information between the parallels of 39º and 42º South. The data collected on population dynamics, trophic webs, genetics and obtaining samples for reproductive analysis, will serve to create a baseline of knowledge of the resource in this sector, allowing in the future to have a more accurate knowledge on the potential of the Buenos Aires shrimp.

Source: Revista Puerto (article available only in spanish)

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