Chilean Hoki Fishery Improvement Project Archive Date: December 2014

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1 Chilean Hoki Improvement Project Archive Date: December 2014 The Chilean Hoki FIP has been suspended. Though industry agreed to take a leadership role in the FIP in January 2013, no progress was made in 2014 and no industry-led public report has been launched. SFP no longer has relationships with Chilean hoki supply chain companies, and thus has suspended its work on this project. The following FIP report reflects the status of the FIP at the time it was archived. SFP will continue to monitor further developments in this fish through the South American Whitefish Supplier Roundtable. Species: Chilean hoki (Macruronus magellanicus) FIP Scope/Scale: Location: Chile, Chilean fish units V-XII, for map see Hoki - Chilean FIP Participants: Nissui (Empedes) FIPES (Southern Demersal eries Industry Federation) FIP Partners/Stakeholders: CEPES (Centro Peruano de Estudios Sociales an industry research institute) Pescachile Friosur Sustainability Information: See Summary and Sustainability Info tabs at this link Hoki - Chilean Date Publicly Announced: 2007 FIP Stage: 4, FIP is delivering improvement in policies or practices Current Improvement Recommendations: Unutilized quota must be revoked

2 Stock assessment must be improved, including collaboration with Argentine scientists Total allowable catch (TAC) must follow scientific recommendation Bycatch and discards of southern hake must be addressed and solved Background: This FIP started in 2007 when the company in Co, Walmart supplier and important Chilean hoki buyer at the time, organized a meeting in Santiago de Chile with fishing companies, SFP and CeDePesca in order to work together toward MSC certification of the fish. This mid-water and bottom trawling fish accounted for landings of around 70,000 tonnes in 2011, which are tracked separately for two subregions as 40,000 tonnes for the Southern Region and 30,000 tonnes for the Northern-Central Region. Currently, fishing activities related to Chilean hoki are industrial only and are carried out by two trawling fleets, one in each fish region. The TAC is divided each year between the two regions: Until 2011, the distribution was 28.5 percent for the Southern Region and 71.5 percent for the Northern-Central Region. Since 2012, it has shifted to 40 percent and 60 percent, respectively, which has contributed to the downward adjustment of the TAC. Until 2002, a fishmeal fish operated with purse seines in the Northern- Central Region, focusing on the juvenile portion of the stock. While purse seines are no longer used, fishers did not want to lose their individual quotas (IQs) so their boats still own an unused quota share. Trawlers in the north were catching just 30 percent of the Northern-Central TAC, or 21.5 percent of total TAC, while the southern fleet used all of its regional TAC. This means that just 50 percent of total legal TAC was effectively used. This imbalance was v unfair for active fleets: for instance, following scientific advice, the TAC should have been reduced in 2012 to around 40,000 tonnes, which means that, legally, just 20,000 tonnes should be harvested; otherwise, the fishing authority would have to establish an artificial legal TAC of 80,000 tonnes in order to allow the fleets to catch the entire 40,000 tonnes. This situation has been affecting the fish s ability to change its status, in turn making MSC certification more difficult. Since

3 2011, this situation started to change, with TACs being set 10 percent, 36 percent, and 61 percent lower than in 2010 for years 2011, 2012, and 2013, respectively. Another problem this fish faces is southern hake bycatch during the spawning season. Chilean hoki and southern hake breed at the same time and in the same zone, but only the southern hake industrial fish is closed during that season. This creates a situation where hoki trawlers catch more southern hake than allowed by their bycatch quota, and these are discarded and not reported, since discards are completely prohibited under current law. This situation started to be solved with the new bycatch and discards law passed in March 2013, which would allows addressing the previous inflexibilities of the Chilean management system. The most recent stock assessment by Instituto de Fomento Pesquero (IFOP) in 2012 shows the stock is fluctuating around the limit reference point. A peer review by foreign experts was hired in the third quarter of 2011 and conclusions were made public in The exports structure for Chilean hoki has changed recently, probably because of the European financial crisis in European countries, as is shown in the graphs below, with volumes in percentage per country for the years 2007 and 2010.

4 Source: SUBPESCA Key issues in this fish: Stock status is risky, needing a recov plan Gap between quota and landing because of rigid quota allocation system Southern hake bycatch and discards higher than legally permitted As discards are legally banned, observers on board do not report them Since Walmart has been one of their main customers, this fish has been

5 sensitive to Walmart s commitment to sustainable seafood. In 2007, the Chilean agent of in Co and representatives from Empedes, the Chilean subsidiary of Nippon Suisan Kaisha (Nissui), approached SFP and the MSC to gain a better understanding of the certification procedures and how to address potential difficulties in the process. After a number of meetings with industry leaders, the fish underwent an MSC pre-assessment in SFP and CeDePesca (a South American NGO whose mission is to work for socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable fisheries) promoted improvements in this fish until In January 2013, a meeting took place in Santiago de Chile where representatives of the industry (FIPES and CEPES) committed to take leadership of the FIP. No updates on FIP progress have been reported; thus SFP archived the FIP in December FIP Objectives: Develop a recov plan Ensure that TACs follow scientific recommendations Improve stock status Solve the issue of interaction between this fish and spawning southern hake stock Progress Update: After some initial progress (e.g., the MSC pre-assessment in 2009) the industry decided to wait for the results of the Chilean common hake full assessment before taking new steps toward certification of this fish. New stock assessments in place since 2010 and confirmed in 2012 by peer review revealed the stock being around the limit reference point, while it was thought before the stock was in better condition. Since 2011, TAC has experienced important curtails from 154,000 tonnes to 60,000 tonnes for Redistribution of shares between the northern and southern administrative units also contributes to a more realistic TAC New eries Law passed in March 2013 will allow an adaptive approach for bycatch issues, particularly those related to southern hake, as well as a new redistribution between North and South. TAC for 2013 is still 20-percent higher than IFOP recommendation, although, due to the aforementioned issues with IQs, foreseen

6 landings will be below scientific advice (around 50,000 tonnes). Since January 2013, FIPES committed to lead the improvement efforts. Nevertheless, no further development has occurred since then. In September 2013, the research plan to evaluate bycatch and discards in the hoki fish was approved under the new eries Law rules. In October 2013, members of the Scientific Committees referred to in the updated General Law on eries and Aquaculture were appointed by SUBPESCA. In early December, the first meeting of the Scientific Committee for the Southern Demersal Species took place in order to discuss the status of the stock and determine advice on the TAC for Chilean hoki. During this meeting, the Committee adopted several biological reference points in accordance with IFOP s suggestions. In particular, the spawning stock biomass at maximum sustainable yield was set at 40% of the spawning stock biomass present in 1985, SSB RMS = 40% SSB 1985; the fishing mortality limit was set at the fishing mortality associated with maximum sustainable yield, F lim = FRMS; and the spawning stock biomass limit was not yet set and IFOP was required to further investigate this species stock-recruitment relationship. In December 2013, the 2014 TAC was set at 40 thousand tonnes, 33% less than in 2013 and within the range recommended by the Scientific Committee There were no new developments to report through December 2014, at which time SFP archived the FIP as inactive. Chilean Hoki FIP Detailed Information The Chilean Hoki Improvement Project was an informal partnership. Problem Summary of fish status a. SFP own estimate, based on data from Source Current status Overfished Status at beginning of FIP Overfished

7 b. Other ranking systems: This fish has not been rated by other ranking systems FIP Progress Update: Results / FIP Stage FIP is launched (Stage 1) FIP is formed (Stage 2) Indicator of Success Sustainabi lity evaluation is publicly available Suppliers are organized Scop e/ Scal e Specific Details Source profile SFP and CeDePesca facilitated discussion among artisanal and industrial fishers groups, government, and scientists to discuss interaction between Chilean hoki and southern hake Meetings with DOSA-Nissui and Friosur FIPES committed to lead the Date Achieve d Source 2007 SFP Hoki - Chilean In process since to 2010 January 2013 SFP CeDePes ca CeDePes ca SFP FIPES SFP

8 FIP is encouragin g improveme nts (Stage 3) The FIP is delivering improveme nt in policies or practices (Stage 4) Suppliers are evaluating this fish Workplan with annual improvem ent milestone s is publicly available Suppliers are engaging regulators is achieving agreed annual improvem ent milestone s eries policy changed improvement efforts MSC pre - assessment completed National eries Council approved 20% quota cut for Chilean hoki for This still does not fulfill scientific recommendatio ns, but it is a 2009 Report confiden tial Decemb er 2010 CNP SUBPES CA Quota cuts

9 step forward. While IFOP recommendatio n was not to exceed 42,000 tonnes, the new TAC is 117,000 tonnes and 2010 landings were 64,000 tonnes. Since 2011 TAC has experienced important curtails from 154,000 tonnes to 60,000 tonnes for TAC for 2013 is still 20% higher than IFOP recommendatio n, though, foreseen landings will be below scientific advice (around 50,000 tonnes) Redistribution of shares between the northern and southern administrative units Decemb er Decemb er 2012 Decemb er 2011 CNP SUBPES CA SUBPES CA 2011 TAC 2012 TAC 2013 TAC SUBPES CA report

10 contributes to a more realistic TAC New eries Law passed will allow an adaptive approach for bycatch issues, particularly those related to southern hake, as well as a new redistribution between North and South Research plan to evaluate bycatch and discards in the hoki fish was approved under the new eries Law rules. March 2013 Septem ber 2013 Chilean Congres s eries Law Research Plan decree