New FIP launched for Argentine red shrimp

The nonprofit Center for Development and Sustainable Fisheries (CeDePesca) announced a new fishery improvement plan for offshore Argentine red shrimp on Tuesday, 8 March at Seafood Expo North America.

The FIP was created following a Marine Stewardship Council pre-assessment conducted by the Spanish company Bureau Veritas, and after an action plan was designed to address its findings.

Major companies involved in the offshore Argentine red shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri) fishery include Argenova (Pescanova), Arbumasa (Amasua Group), Pesquera Santa Cruz, Pesquera Puerto Deseado, Frigorífico del Sudeste and Newsan, all of whom are working together on the FIP. Suppliers such as iPrisco and Direct Source have also joined the effort and Maritime Products International has been a leader in the development of the FIP. Others are expected to join in on the FIP effort soon, according to CeDePesca.

"All major players in this fishery are involved with the FIP,” said CeDePesca chair Ernesto Godelman. “The offshore (frozen-on-board) fleet is responsible for 70 to 80 percent of Argentine red shrimp landings and the FIP partners are making most of it, so we are really confident that this support will be key to get the necessary reforms to have this fishery MSC-certifiable within a very reasonable term.”

An FIP for the onshore fleet already exists and some of the companies involved in it overlap with the offshore fishery, including CONARPESA, Pesquera Veraz, Iberconsa, Cabo Virgenes and Ristic AG.

Argentina’s Sub-Secretary of Fisheries, Tomás Gerpe, and the Secretary of Fisheries of Argentina’s Chubut Province, Alberto Gilardino, have both expressed support to the project.