Argentina's red shrimp fishing season ends early! Sets the worst record in ten years

This season has been fraught with difficulties from the outset. Due to a prolonged labor dispute with the Argentine Seamen's Union (SOMU), the red shrimp fishing season was forced to delay until August, nearly two months later than previous years. Coupled with a decline in resource abundance, the total national landing volume was only 138,000 tons, with frozen shrimp accounting for just 42,000 tons, marking the lowest point seen before the 2012 red shrimp boom. This data not only weakened the earnings of fishing companies but also brought a heavy blow to port cities that rely on shrimp fishing for employment. According to a report from the National Institute of Fisheries Research and Development (INIDEP) in Argentina, the direct cause of the closure of the fishing areas was the excessively high bycatch rate of juvenile hake (Merluccius hubbsi). Only sub-areas 1 and 2 maintained a bycatch rate within the legal limit of 20%, while all other areas exceeded the standard. Starting from ...