MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Scientists Replace Soldiers on South Georgia.

Conservation of vital fish stocks around South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, whose economy depends on fishing, will benefit from a new British Antarctic Survey (BAS) research station. This scientific expertise will also help to sustain wildlife.

The initiative is launched to coincide with the BAS take over of the Islands from British military personnel stationed there ever since the 1982 Task Force ended the Argentine military occupation.

The United Kingdom Government says it makes much more practical and economic sense now for the military to be replaced by scientists. The research station ( formally opening on March 22) will be the centre for studies designed to provide sound scientific advice on sustainable management of commercial fisheries around the island - the main source of income for the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Government.

Initial research will focus on five commercially exploited fish species (Patagonian Toothfish, Icefish, Martialia Squid, Stone Crabs and Krill). Around 20 vessels registered in a number of countries including the United Kingdom (Falkland Islands), Chile, Uruguay, Spain and South Africa are licensed to fish within the 200 nautical mile management zone.

The Director of British Antarctic Survey, Professor Chris Rapley, says: "This is an excellent opportunity for BAS science. Around the world fisheries have gone through boom and bust. This new fisheries science programme is a considerable step forward in managing valuable fish stocks in a way that sustains the populations of penguins, seals, whales and seabirds."

Logistics to keep the new station operational will be undertaken by the Survey's vessels that, in addition to conducting a long-term biological monitoring programme in the area, also service the BAS Bird Island Research Station on the north-west tip of South Georgia.

The island of South Georgia is a UK Overseas Territory in the Southern Ocean, between latitudes 53°56', 54°55'S and longitudes 34°45' and 38°15'W. It is approximately 170 km long by 20-30 km wide. It is surrounded by a number of smaller islands, including Bird Island on the north-western extremity, home to large numbers of king penguins, elephant seals, fur seals and albatross, and a centre for BAS pioneering research on birds and seals. The Southern Ocean has a complex biology that has been the subject of long-term monitoring by BAS biologists. Observations of the food web together with studies on krill, squid, seals, alb