Argentine red shrimp is just a little bit of education and an improved supply chain away from becoming a staple species, according to Matthew Fass.
Fass, the president of Newport News, Virginia, U.S.A.-based seafood company Maritime Products International, said the fishery developed significantly over the last decade. However, misunderstandings about the product and lingering challenges with its supply chain are still holding it back, Fass said at the National Fisheries Institute Global Seafood Market Conference, held from 15 to 19 January in La Quinta, California, U.S.A.
“One thing about the Argentine red shrimp is it has to be one of the most-misunderstood seafood species, I would argue, in the category,” Fass said. “Which is what makes all this exciting.”
The fishery, he said, has been around for a long time, but only really began coming into its own in the U.S. recently, following an effort to improve its supply chain and the launch of a fishery improvement project to improve its environmental bona fides.
However, according to Fass, the species is still misunderstood by many potential buyers, holding it back from reaching its potential.
“Argentine red shrimp is a great product, but there are so many things that most buyers don’t really understand about its foundation,” Fass said.
One part of the fishery, the inshore fishery, represents roughly 30 percent of the catch and runs until roughly March each year. The other part of the fishery, the offshore fishery, runs in during Argentina’s winter months – from June to October. This part of the fishery nets roughly 70 percent of the catch, Fass said.
“During these different periods, [different] forms are being caught, they have different boats catching different things … when you start to understand what’s caught, you get the picture that it’s almost a couple of fisheries within a fishery,” Fass said. “Offshore, you have almost an entirely separate head-on fishery and mentality and production, and [it changes] when those were caught and how those were frozen versus inshore. It’s a different dynamic for the plants and facilities and prices are different.”
The shrimp itself, which some culinarians say has a nuanced sweetness they compare to the taste of lobster, is also a misunderstood product.
“To be candid about it, this shrimp is different, and that is a challenge. This shrimp does not eat the same as most farm-raised shrimp," Fass said.
Fass said Argentine red shrimp has developed a fan base in the U.S. among consumers, but said the target of any shrimp-fishing company isn’t the end-consumer, it’s the buyers, altering their approach.
“I understand the buyer mentality of risk-taking and other challenges and how many hours one has in a day, so this is the perpetual challenge,” Fass said.
Fass told SeafoodSource Argentine red shrimp in headless shell-on (HLSO) formats, which he said have seen “decent” sales growth recently, is often a success – so long as buyers are willing to give it a try.
“Everywhere we really see some buyers give HLSO a chance, it has performed very well – even if the shrimp itself can be a little ‘messy,' with a thicker vein and sensitive handling,” Fass said. “This is especially true in today’s inflationary environment, where HLSO will always represent more of a bottom-line cost savings than some form of peeled.”
Currently, the United States barely makes it on the list of the top 10 global markets for the species. And for head-on, shell-on product forms, which represents the bulk of the fishery's production, Spain is by far the largest importer and the U.S. doesn’t even rank in the top 10 markets.
“Spain, Italy in particular are where [it goes], often [for] paella," Fass said.
Argentina also exports HLSO shrimp to China, Spain, Peru, and Thailand in far larger amounts than to the U.S. The U.S. is the fifth-largest market for HLSO Argentine red shrimp, purchasing 4,838 metric tons (MT) of the product in 2021.
Fass said a trend in the U.S. of high-end restaurants serving more head-on, shell-on shrimp is beneficial for the fishery, and continued efforts to encourage U.S. consumers to try the product type is key to expanding Argentine red shrimp's reach into the U.S. market.
Even with the many challenges facing the fishery, Fass said efforts to market Argentine red shrimp are beginning to bear fruit.
“The efforts I think have paid off, but there’s still so much to learn all through the supply chain,” Fass said.
Photo courtesy of Luis César Tejo/Shutterstock
