Photo: Revista Puerto/FIS

Argentine Shrimp: INIDEP Warns a Record Season in National Waters Is Unlikely Despite Chubut’s Success

ARGENTINA
Tuesday, May 06, 2025, 00:10 (GMT + 9)

While the province of Chubut recorded record shrimp landings with over 103,000 tons harvested between November 2024 and March 2025, the outlook for Argentina's national waters is far less optimistic.

This was the key message from the latest technical report issued by the National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development (INIDEP), as reported by journalist Karina Fernández for Revista Puerto.

Photo: INIDEP/Gob.Ar

According to findings from the recent shrimp stock assessment survey conducted by INIDEP’s Shrimp Program, total estimated biomass dropped by 42% year-over-year, to 98,709 tons. The estimated number of individuals also fell by 46%, totaling just over 4.19 billion.

This decline is partly attributed to the intense fishing activity by the inshore yellow fleet operating out of Rawson in provincial waters, which harvested a historic volume. Unlike previous seasons marred by labor disputes, the latest season saw uninterrupted fishing effort.

Photo: Revista Puerto

Still, the report offers some reassurance, noting that despite the year-on-year drop, current stock levels remain within the range observed in 2021 and 2022. This could support a national season with landings around 220,000 tons. However, this figure includes approximately 50,749 tons already landed by the Rawson fleet through February 2025. The projected available catch volume for the March–December period is approximately 169,763 tons.

INIDEP emphasized that these projections carry significant uncertainty, stemming from factors such as fleet access to shrimp concentrations, weather conditions, spatial closures, hake bycatch limits, and environmental variables that are not fully captured by the statistical models used.

A positive sign for the 2025 season is the strong presence of recruits (23–30 mm) and a notable 45% of females in reproductive condition, which could sustain biomass as the season progresses. On the other hand, a lower proportion of adult specimens (31–39 mm) may affect average shrimp sizes early in the season.

“The stability observed in key biological and population indicators, along with the continued presence of a size structure representative of various cohorts, suggests that the fishery is being exploited at biologically sustainable levels,” concludes the INIDEP report.

Photo: Revista Puerto

The document also praised the fishing industry’s cooperation in scientific research, with special recognition given to the crew of the research vessel Bogavante Segundo, which participated in the stock assessment cruise.

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