The DNCyFP suggests arranging the imminent closure of vessel dispatch for targeted shrimp fishing

Negative Assessment for Argentine Shrimp: High Hake Bycatch Forces Imminent Fishing Closure

ARGENTINA
Thursday, October 02, 2025, 04:00 (GMT + 9)

National Directorate Will Not Authorize New Commercial Fishing Zones and Suggests Closing Vessel Dispatch in the ZPVJM to Protect Hubbsi Hake Spawning

The National Directorate of Fisheries Coordination and Oversight (DNCyFP) has issued a forceful assessment following the shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri) surveys in the South Atlantic, concluding that the results do not allow the recommendation to open new subareas to commercial fishing due to high hake bycatch, as reported by Revista Puerto.

The agency reported that the data obtained in Subareas 5, 10, and 13 indicates that the Hake/Shrimp (H/S) ratio significantly exceeded the regulatory limits in force. The situation is exacerbated as trawler vessels report increasing difficulties finding pure concentrations of shrimp

Failed Surveys and Closures

The survey in Subarea 5 (concluded on September 29, 2025, via DNI Note No. 137/2022) failed after only two days of operations, as catches consisted exclusively of hake.

In Subarea 10, despite registering encouraging indicators of shrimp, fishing could not be authorized commercially due to the entry into force, as of October 1, of the closure intended for hake reproductive protection (Art. 8 of CFP Resolution No. 7/2018).

Regarding Subarea 13, whose survey was extended an additional day due to bad weather (ending October 1, 2025), catches were significantly lower, and the H/S ratio greatly surpassed what was established in CFP Resolution No. 9/2022.

Imminent Season Closure

Given the high H/S ratio verified in the three surveyed subareas, as well as the values notoriously exceeded in the currently authorized fishing zones within the ZPVJM (Subareas 4, 8, and 11), the DNCyFP suggests arranging the imminent closure of vessel dispatch for targeted shrimp fishing.

This recommendation is based on the need to safeguard the migration of the reproductive stock of Hubbsi hake toward its spawning grounds, a process that coincides with the shrimp exploitation areas at this time of year. The decision seeks to ensure the sustainability of both resources.

Although INIDEP has reported shrimp abundance estimates similar to last year's, the fleet cannot locate the resource, which is believed to be dispersed or moved outside the closed area, as demonstrated by the unusual finding of significant volumes of shrimp in exterior waters of Subarea 16 by hake vessels.

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