Whitemouth croaker landings. (Photo: MAA)
ARGENTINAFriday, April 24, 2015, 22:00 (GMT + 9)
Seafood landings decreased by 10.8 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period of 2014, according to statistics from the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
According to the Situation Report published by the agency in the first three months of this year 144,997.2 tonnes of fishing resources were landed compared to 162,641.8 tonnes a year earlier.
The resource that experienced the sharpest drop was the anchovy (Engraulis anchoita), whose catches changed from 11.3 tonnes in 2014 to only 1.5 tonnes in the same period of 2015, that is to say, 87.2 per cent less.
Other resources that recorded lower landings were the mackerel (Scomber japonicus), with 78.4 tonnes and a fall of 64.9 per cent; southern blue whiting (Micromesistius australis) with 1,804.5 tonnes and a fall of 44.6 per cent; and the whitemouth croaker with 3,355.3 tonnes, 38.2 per cent less than in the first quarter of 2014.
Besides, the Undersecretariat informed that 49,705.5 tonnes of hake (Merluccius hubbsi) were landed between January and March 2015, a figure which shows an increase of 0.1 per cent over last year (49,644.5 tonnes).
In addition, shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri) landings grew from 15,188.2 tonnes in the first three months of 2014 to 17,534.9 tonnes in the same period of 2015 (15.5 per cent).
However, the squid (Illex argentinus), another of the most important species of Argentine fisheries, experienced a decline of 45.4 per cent, adding 29,825.9 tonnes in the first quarter of this year while during the same period of 2014 the unloaded volume reached 54,653.5 tonnes.
Furthermore, it is highlighted in the report that several species recorded increases:
- Toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides): from 462.6 to 1968.6 tonnes (325.6 per cent);
- Red snapper (Sparus pagrus): from 919.1 to 1077.3 tonnes (17.2 per cent);
- Seabass (Acanthistius brasiliensis): from 337.4 to 480.1 tonnes (42.3 per cent);
- Sea trout (Cynoscion striatus): from 3027.2 to 4975.9 tonnes (64.4 per cent)