Coldwater shrimp is a wild-caught species, never farmed, hence ensuring sustainability in the fisheries is a top priority. The stocks are prone to variability, which directly affects the catches and production of the coldwater shrimp.
Most of the fisheries for the six species analyzed here have already been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), or are – or are planning to be – on a fishery improvement project (FIP) to advance their sustainability standards and obtain certification. MSC certification is not only a benchmark used to determine a fishery’s sustainability, but is necessary to access certain markets, particularly Europe, which prefers MSC-certified products. Here’s an overview of six species of coldwater shrimp and their level of sustainability.
Northern prawn (P. borealis)
Fisheries targeting the Northern prawn from West Greenland, Canada, Norway, Estonia, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Sweden are all MSC-certified. However, as catches have been declining over the years, the quotas have also been reduced to relieve the pressure on the stock.
This fall in the abundance of stocks has particularly had an impact on Canada. From a quota peak of 180,000 metric tons (MT) in 2009, annual total quotas have been gradually reduced to less than 80,000 MT in the last two years. After a slight increase of quota in 2018 to 51,000 MT for Shrimp Fishing Areas (SFAs) 4, 5 and 6, it has been brought down to 42,000 MT for the 2019-2020 fishing season.
“We have witnessed a shift in the environment as waters are warming up; more of the shrimp predators, such as finfish, have recovered. We’ve seen a lot of reduction especially in the southern part of the fishery,” Bruce Chapman of the Canadian Association of Prawn Producers said.
With stocks declining, Chapman added that all they can do now is adapt to nature and make sure they are not adding more pressure to the current stock levels. Meanwhile, Norway also dropped its quota from 8,157 MT in 2018 to 6,163 MT in 2019. West Greenland, on the other hand, is increasing its quotas. While in 2013, it could not do this due to MSC restrictions, in 2018, West Greenland increased its Northern prawn quota to 101,250 MT, and further to 105,000 MT in 2019 in accordance with recommendations of biologists and the MSC management plan. Royal Greenland’s trawlers have concentrated on the larger sizes of Northern prawn, to allow smaller sizes to develop and help the stocks to recover further.
The fisheries in Canada, Norway, and West Greenland are all certified as sustainable by the MSC, so increasing quotas without the MSC’s approval would put the MSC certification of these fisheries at risk. Northern prawn caught in the Barents Sea by Russia’s bottom-trawlers are not MSC-certified. However, Norebo Holding, Russia’s largest seafood company, is leading a coalition of Russian shrimp companies to start a FIP, hoping to open the European market for the Russians by taking steps to obtain certification.
North Sea shrimp (C. crangon)
The major North Sea shrimp fisheries, comprising 94 percent of the overall world catches, have been MSC certified since 2017. Some of the main fisheries of this species include the Dutch Cooperative Fisheries Organization (CVO), the German Brown Shrimp Steering Group, and the Danish Fishermen Producers Organisation (DFPO).
To carry the MSC seal, a vessel must abide by the rules of the Brown Shrimp Management Plan, which stipulates that no vessel is allowed to fish for brown shrimp – i.e. North Sea shrimp – at sea more than 4,800 hours per year and trawlers may not contain gears with mesh having a smaller opening than 20 millimeters.
The North Sea shrimp are not subject to a total allowable catch (TAC) or quota. However, fishing licenses are mandatory and access to the fishery is restricted to national vessels only.
The stock of North Sea shrimp is difficult to assess as it lacks a clear age structure. Therefore, an age-based stock assessment is not possible. However, as in the case of Northern prawn, the abundance of natural predators (such as the larger gadoids) can play a huge role in the variability of catches.
Oregon shrimp (P. jordani)
Roughly 90 percent of U.S. landings for Oregon shrimp (caught by bottom-trawlers from Oregon and Washington) are MSC-certified, while the remaining 10 percent (caught by bottom-trawlers from California) meet a Seafood Watch “Good Alternative” (yellow) rating. Around 80 to 90 vessels are covered under the existing MSC certification.
The fisheries are not currently subject to a TAC. The fishing season runs from April to October, and most commercial catches are taken in the daytime at depths between 90 and 180 meters.
In 2018, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted the Pink Shrimp Fishery Management Plan including new rules requiring the use of lighting devices on the foot tropes of shrimp trawlers. This management plan is a required step for continued MSC certification.
Similar to other coldwater shrimp species, the variability of Oregon shrimp stocks is quite high, and nature emerges as the dominant factor impacting the stocks. In 2017, catches were at their lowest since 2009, and Oregon shrimpers blame the persistent warm water conditions for the reduction of the stocks. However, based on long-term shrimp population data and expected favorable environmental forecasts, the stocks are expected to recover moderately this year.
Atlantic seabob (X. kroyeri)
The Guyanese seabob industry achieved its MSC certification on 6 August, 2019. The certification was the result of Guyana fisheries having implemented a number of management improvements such as the development of an inshore no-trawl zone, setting a requirement of bycatch reduction devices for all nets, and adopting monitoring systems on all vessels.
In Guyana, where almost 50 percent of Atlantic seabob are caught, a maximum total fishing effort has been set at 15,000 standardized days at sea, with a limit of 225 fishing days per year per vessel. No TAC has been set for the fishery, nor are there individual vessel catch quotas. Roughly 98 percent of the landing of Atlantic seabob is caught by industrial offshore trawler fleet.
Meanwhile, the neighboring Suriname Atlantic seabob fishery already obtained MSC certification in 2011.
Chilean nylon shrimp (H. reedi)
The camarones or Chilean nylon shrimp targeted by specially modified trawler vessels are all MSC-certified. A new design for trawling gear was developed in 2007 and only trawlers using this modified gear are covered by the MSC certificate. A full list of these certified vessels can be found via www.fisheries.msc.org.
“All fishing materials including the nets are created to avoid them touching the bottom of the sea and thus we only fish the species we are aiming at,” Laura Rietdijk, representative of Antarctic Seafoods, told ShrimpTails.
The company, a major supplier of Chilean nylon shrimp based in Coquimbo, is also thinking of waste management: the shells of the shrimp are being reprocessed into fishmeal.
“The liquid that remains when pressing the shells together is being sold as a protein/pigment for the salmon, pork and chicken industry,” Rietdijk said.
According to the MSC website, the Chilean nylon shrimp fishery developed in the 1950s. In 1995, the fishery was found to be fully exploited and catch quotas were introduced. Temporary closures of various areas have been imposed since 2001. The fishing season runs from January to December but an annual seasonal closure between July and August has been in force since 1998.
From a TAC of 5,000 MT in 2010, the quota has been gradually increased over the years. In 2018, the TAC was set at 5,900 MT, and was further raised to 6,100 MT for the 2019-2020 fishing season. MSC certified catches of Chilean nylon shrimp represented 70 percent of the target TAC in 2018.
Argentine red shrimp (P. muelleri)
As discussed in species guide, the catches of Argentine red shrimp have grown considerably over the last decade. The main reason for this can be attributed to the management of the fishery, according to Federico Angeleri, commercial director of Grupo Veraz. Grupo Veraz is one the major companies involved in the production of Argentine red shrimp.
In the late 1990s, vessels were mostly used for expansive fishing in the San Jorge Gulf. However, researchers found that the Gulf acts a reproduction area and pronounced that it was better to fish offshore instead, which eventually led to a ban to fishing within the Gulf in 2012. The combination of water temperature and predator abundance also contributed to the increasing biomass of the Argentine red shrimp. As the supply of this species increases and more vessels start to fish for it, the matter of sustainability becomes increasingly urgent.
The offshore fishery, which represents 70 percent of the entire Argentine red shrimp fishery, is currently in a FIP which took off in April 2016. Some of the main issues regarding sustainability are bycatch reduction, data transparency and improvement in fisheries management.
Meanwhile, the inshore fishery for Argentine red shrimp entered the pre-assessment phase for MSC certification in May 2019. If the certification is successful, this will hopefully boost the marketability of the Argentine red shrimp, particularly in Europe. Some of the companies seeking the stamp include Grupo Veraz, Grupo Iberconsa, Conarpesa, Cabo Vírgenes, Food Partners Patagonia, and Consermar-Newsan.
Angeleri believes that the certification will help diversify the market for Argentine red shrimp and also increase opportunities for companies with inland investments.
“This will give the land frozen shrimp a very good opportunity and not only for HOSO but for other added value items. The challenge for our industry will be that we can do produce those items in our own country instead of overseas,” he said.
MSC certification can be a game-changer in the Argentine red shrimp industry as the market is challenged with competition from record harvests of farmed Pacific white shrimp (L. vannamei) from Ecuador and India. If the Argentine red shrimp sector wants to continue its streak in the market, particularly in China and Europe, achieving the MSC label can be a promising means to achieve this goal.
Photo courtesy of Grupo Veraz
