MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine government fail to honor agreement.

It has been revealed during a meeting of the Falkland Islands Legislative Council, that the present Argentine Government has failed to provide London with Fisheries Scientific information on a regular basis, as agreed under the July 1999 Joint Statement which was signed by the Argentine/British/Falklands Governments.

According to Councillor Richard Cockwell, ?In 2001 there has been significant delay in receiving information from Argentina'. He told the Legislature that from January 2001 until 23rd March 2001, the National Institute of Fisheries Research and Development (INIDEP) in Buenos Aires failed to provide any scientific information to its British counterparts, despite the earlier agreement. After the 23rd March the next dispatch was not received until 27th April, but that since then data transfers to Imperial College in London has been ?at approximately weekly intervals'.

Councillor Cockwell in his criticism of INIDEP noted that ?the lateness of the data provided by Argentina has made it difficult to monitor the state of the Illex resource this season. It could have had adverse consequences for the implementation of any conservation measures necessary to allow significant Illex squid to survive to spawn. The reasons for the delay are not entirely clear although the Argentine Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry and INIDEP have undergone administrative changes in the relevant period'. ?It is worth noting that the charter system whereby foreign vessels gain access to the Argentine Fisheries Zone was also much delayed this year. Consequently the data from the charter fleet would not have started accumulating until much later than usual. However data from Argentine domestic fleets should have been available at a much earlier date', he said. However Councillor Cockwell was able to end on a positive note saying that, ? The new Director of INIDEP appears to have resolved any problems and the data exchange (between Buenos Aires and London) is now working'.

The Councillor who holds the portfolio for the Fisheries Department told his fellow Councillors that. ?Her Majesty's Government has made it clear to the Argentine Government the importance it places on co-operation in all fisheries matters and will continue to do so. The whole issue of data exchange will be an item on the agenda of the scientific sub-committee of the South Atlantic Fisheries Commission of which the next meeting is scheduled to take place in London in mid-June'.

However Councillor Lewis Clifton expressed his unhappiness at the inabilit