MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fisheries News

Joint Falklands-Argentine research cruise; EU Fisheries official to visit Galicia; Hake as by-catch of red shrimp; Many questions about Chilean salmon; Referendum on EU membership;

Joint Falklands-Argentine research cruise

British Overseas Territory Falkland Islands and Argentina are participating in a Southern blue whiting stocks joint research cruise in the South Atlantic involving two scientific vessels, "MV Dorada" and Capitán Oca Bald".

David Middleton from the Falklands Fisheries Department told Penguin News that this year the Falklands and Argentina had agreed to jointly investigate the Southern blue whiting spawning biomass. Southern blue whiting is the Islands' second most important fishery after squid.

The first stage of the research from 5 September through 2 October was carried out by the MV Dorada, which called at Volunteer Point, Jason Islands, Staten Island and Burdwood Bank. The aim of the research cruise was to study the Southern blue whiting spawning in the south of Meredithde Cape.

"The stocks have been overexploited and we've had to reduce fishing effort during the last two years," said Middleton.

The Argentine vessel "Oca Balda" joined the research last Saturday to carry on the work completed during the first stage and to further investigate individual fish after spawning as they begin to disperse.

"Spawning occurs in different places in some areas from year to year," explained Middleton. "It is difficult for just one vessel to cover the peak spawning period. Together we have been able to get better information this year." (FIS/MP).

EU Fisheries official to visit Galicia

European Union Director of Fisheries Jürgen Holmquist agreed to visit Galicia to assess if the region is effectively "fisheries-dependent". If officially certified Galicia could receive priority consideration in the European Commission's fish quota distribution, according to "Correo Gallego". Mr. Holmquist's visit follows a second meeting between Galician and EU fisheries officials.

Galician Fisheries Councillor López Veiga, on his return from Brussels argued that Galicia was the most fisheries-dependent region of Europe, and even more so because the region wasn't the richest. López Veiga complained to Member States that "fishery-dependent zones" were defined on the basis of catches recorded between 1973 and 1978, that is before Spain became a member of the EU, writes Faro de Vigo.

However Mr. López Veiga cautioned about the visit's result. "The situation has not changed much. Our visit improved the EU understanding of the issue and we paved the way for the EC to put together a proposal based on consensus. The EC was grateful for our contribution to the case and consensus building". Representatives from Finland, Ireland, France, Portugal, Italy, Belgium and Denmark reportedly backed Galicia's claim to be recognised as a fisheries-dependent region, writes "El Faro de Vigo". (FIS/MP).

Hake as by-catch of red shrimp

A team of researchers working with a National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, (Inidep) shrimp project revealed that up to 22,000 tonnes of Argentine hake (Merluccius hubbsi) could be fished annually as a by-catch of red shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri) in the South Atlantic.

Project manager Daniel Bertuche told FIS.com that in the medium term a by catch of between 14,000 and 22,000 tonnes of Argentine hake could be landed annually and if these levels are respected, "conservation of the hake reproductive biomass would continue undisturbed".

Regarding red shrimp stocks and the impact of outriggers, Bertuche said the resource is affected by all different type of environmental factors and fishing shouldn't be considered the only one influencing stock levels.

"A significant statistical link between catches and fluctuating sea temperature in the San Jorge Gulf has been recorded by the Inidep shrimp project," indicated Bertuche. However, the availability of shrimp depends on a series of biological factors and catch levels can therefore vary, from as little as 3,000 tonnes one season to 80,000 tonnes the following. For this reason there are two research campaigns planned for this year onboard the scientific vessel Capitán Oca Balda to help improve forecasting catches.

Bertuche said Inidep has an ongoing program to monitor shrimp stocks and spawning biomass that consists in tagging and releasing shrimp for future research campaigns. (FIS/MP).-

Many questions about Chilean salmon

A video that is strongly critical of the Chilean salmon industry has been shown to Scottish environmental organisations as part of a campaign to reach consumers of Chilean salmon.

Infinite Growth: The Myth of Chilean Salmon Farming attacks the socio-economic and environmental record of the high-growth industry, which is set to become Chile's biggest export earner behind copper. The Chilean salmon industry is largely owned by the same multi-nationals which control Scottish and Norwegian operations, but with very different conditions for workers.

According to the Terram Foundation, - a non-governmental organisation that has studied salmon farming for the past three years - although salmon and trout production is seen as the "financial star" of the Chilean economy, its failings on a local economic and ecological level are clear.

Workers are paid at or near minimum wages of less than USD 200 per month with "little benefit" to show in terms of housing and welfare from the vastly profitable multi-national operations. The environmental consequences of intensive monoculture are little understood.

Terram director of studies Rodrigo Pizarro, in Scotland to promote the video, said that Terram was "very pro salmon farming", but a whole range of issues had to be addressed and resolved by the industry, which is set to become the world's largest before 2010. Mr Pizarro told FIS.com that the University of Los Lagos had conducted the world's first public study of fish farm residues in the environment.

"We found that environmental effects are strong and significant. Among them are an estimated fall of about 30 per cent in biodiversity. We estimated that around 70 per cent of the nutrients in the system stay there: mainly nitrogen and phosphorus. We found significant evidence of copper, which suggests use of marine anti-fouling paint and in the case of fresh water lakes can only be explained, to our knowledge, by the use of malachite green, which is prohibited in Chile."

Terram has also researched social impacts. According to Mr Pizarro, workers receive close to the minimum wage. And although conditions, like environmental outputs, meet Chilean regulatory requirements Terram "considers them insufficient to guarantee the sustainability of the industry in the future". "What this video does is summarise highly technical evidence in order to get a debate in Chile about the costs and benefits of salmon farming."

Mr. Pizarro said that Terram had approached the Chilean salmon industry, parliament and government with its concerns but these had been largely ignored. The next logical step was to go to the primary markets for Chilean salmon ? Japan and the US, in order to expose the issues.

Mr Pizarro says he has no objection to the salmon industry making a "legitimate profit", but said it was presently receiving use of a "public resource" ? the coastline and aquatic environment - at minimal cost, and it was time for the industry to address this and put more back into the Chilean economy and for social benefits to be more evenly redistributed. During his visit to Edinburgh Mr. Pizarro met with Scottish Environment Link, WWF, FoE, RSPB, Marine Conservation Society and Green MSP Robin Harper. (FIS/MP).-

Referendum on EU membership

Fishing firms are involved in a legal challenge to force the UK government to hold a referendum on membership of the European Union. Such a move could see an end to both Britain's membership of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and fears that British fishing interests will be irreparably harmed by the CFP review and the full admission of Iberian states to all EU waters.

According to a report in Fishing News, Fraserburgh-based electronics firm R D Downie and Malvern-based Electronic Devices Ltd. are among a fleet of firms which have flocked to join the referendum campaign organised by the Federation of Small Businesses. It is also supported by the Euro-sceptic Democratic Party.

Electronic Devices managing director Geoff Southall said that fishermen would be "extremely interested" in the legal action, given the increasingly restrictive nature of EU regulation and pressures leading to an ever decreasing fishing fleet. Such a referendum would be a "golden opportunity" for fishermen to return to the situation before Britain joined the Common Market in 1972. Since then, Britain, which has the largest fish resource in the EU, has seen its fleet decline, while foreign owned flagships have risen in number.

Spain has also recently reiterated its right to have access to all EU fish stocks as well as sea areas. According to the group's legal advisor, QC John Macdonald, the legal challenge has a better than 50 per cent chance of success, if conducted in a thoroughgoing manner. It is expected the case will go to the House of Lords, but the campaign will steer clear of the European Courts as the group does not recognise the legitimacy of EU institutions. The case is expected to be mounted ?imminently' although so far only GBP 100,000 of its expected GBP 200,000 legal costs has been raised. (FIS/MP).-