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The study analyzes the Uruguayan industrial fishery sector from 1960 to 2013, identifying four phases: development, expansion, stabilization/diversification, and declining yields/market contraction. While the sector initially grew through the Argentine hake fishery and maintained a role as a net exporter, it currently faces a crisis characterized by decreasing yields of main target species and a rise in seafood imports, which now account for a third of domestic consumption. The findings suggest that a lack of a clear management framework and increasing fishing pressure have undermined the sector's resilience, necessitating a shift in the exploitation model.

The report assesses how proposed WTO disciplines on subsidies—specifically those targeting illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, overexploited stocks, and overcapacity—would affect shrimp fisheries in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Ecuador. It finds that many shrimp populations in the region are overexploited and that fuel subsidies significantly support the profitability of industrial fleets. The authors argue that reforming these harmful subsidies and redirecting funds toward beneficial management programs could improve ecological sustainability and economic efficiency without necessarily reducing total catches, given the current state of overcapitalization.