MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Hake TAC to be doubled.
According to the Argentine's Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, Antonio Berhongaray, this year's maximum permitted catch of common hake will double last year's.
In statements made last week in the province of La Pampa, Mr Berhongary said that the reproduction of the species had increased considerably and that an improvement of the spawning areas had been observed, reported La Capital.
He affirmed that according to a report from the National Institute of Fisheries Research and Development (INIDEP), it was decided to increase the maximum permitted catch from 110,000 tonnes to 210,000 tonnes.
The secretary pointed out that when he took office at the end of 1999, he found a "collapsed sea", which forced authorities to fix the maximum hake catch at 110,000 tonnes, even this measure was expected to cause serious social and economic effects.
Mr Berhongaray also said that the TAC increase would enable the fresh fish vessels, which operate north of parallel 48ºS, to fish for common hake for 15 days and catch other species during the rest of the month. This would secure activity for the fleet throughout the entire year, he added.
Francisco Romano, Undersecretary of Fisheries and Natural Resources of Buenos Aires Province, also assured that the hake stock showed signs of recovery. However, he rejected Berhongaray's statements regarding the effectiveness of the control measures implemented by the national authorities in the Argentine Sea and his affirmation that it would take two years for the hake resource to recover completely.
Mr Romano said that at least four or five years are necessary for the stock to recover, provided that the freezer trawler activities continue to be restricted north of 48th parallel.
He minimised the effectiveness of the measures established by the Secretariat, highlighting the important role played by the fishing sector from Mar del Plata. According to Mr Romano, the fishing restrictions demanded by Mar del Plata, the governor of Buenos Aires and provincial authorities, were vital to help hake recover, and they contributed the most to achieve the present results.
Source: FIS
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