MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fisheries News

Headlines: Spanish rock cod project in Southwest Atlantic; Fishing companies take subsidy battle to WTO; Galicia calls for ban to reduce fishing effort; Lula vetoes unemployment benefits for fishermen; Proposed Bush budget hikes fisheries funding; Researchers recycle aquaculture waste as fertiliser; Special compensations in Galicia postponed

Spanish rock cod project in Southwest Atlantic

Spanish researchers are evaluating the potential of marujito or rock cod, on the European market and assessing its viability for industrial exploitation. Rock cod (patagonotothen ramsayi) is a caught mainly with squid and generally discarded by Vigo vessels operating in the Falkland Islands. With this objective the Spanish Institute of Oceanography and Vigo Marine Research Institute are expected to begin researching using three vessels to carry out an experimental fishery in international waters in the southwest Atlantic and the Falkland Islands. To create a viable fishery, a consortium under the umbrella of a Cooperative Research Project (Craft) aims to minimise these discards and to change the perception of rock cod from a non-commercial one into a profitable species for human consumption. Funded by the European Union, the international consortium comprises five companies: the Asociación Nacional de Buques Congeladores de Pesca de Merluza (Anamer) and Armadora Pereira S.A. from Spain, Optimar A.S. from Norway, and Argos Ltd. and Nertarbech Ltd. from the UK. The Spanish company Pez Austral S.A. is also collaborating in the project. Anamer's technical secretary, Edelmiro Ulloa said the research project will last 24 months and once the initial results are analysed decisions will be taken. The aim of the project is "to avoid fish discards. If we are able to process 100% of catches on board, it will be much better," he told La Voz de Galicia. Mr. Ulloa said the precise amount of rock cod in the area is not yet known but it is believed to be abundant. If the fishery is successful, more than thirty vessels - mostly Spanish - would stand to benefit, he added. According to experts, around 25 to 30% of catches are dumped back into the sea and most of these discarded fish have a high protein value. The aim of the project is to introduce rock cod, not as an alternative species but as an additional one, throughout Europe. "Years ago the barnacle was used to fertilise fields but nowadays it has tremendous commercial value. We believe that turning these discards into food fish will benefit the sector and consumers," said Ulloa. (FIS/MP)

Fishing companies take subsidy battle to WTO

Argentina, Chile and Peru are adding their weight to the Friends of Fishing campaign to stamp out fishing subsidies, which they claim "impoverish the seas and distort commerce," reports EFE. The Friends of Fishing bloc in the EU - comprising France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain - rejects the general application of multi-annual management plans and says the most appropriate management solutions should be defined case by case, based on scientific advice. The group has been pushing for a study on the impact of various support schemes to determine which of them violate multilateral commerce rules. Meanwhile, Argentina, Chile and Peru have voiced their concerns at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), in Geneva, on 7 February. Prior to the talks in Geneva, various Argentine fishing industry organisations - including Calapa, Capip, Cepa and Capca - represented their members at a meeting with government officials to analyse the drawbacks of fishing subsidies applied by countries that buy Argentine products, which do not receive any financial aid. The fishing companies argue that their activities are subject to various fees and taxes but they don't receive any subsidies on their exports, while in other countries, companies that perform the same activities, and import products caught in Argentine waters, did receive subsidies, reports Thefishmall.com. Having agreed on the need to establish joint policies and actions with other countries that want to eliminate subsidies that "create a competitive disadvantage," the proposal was presented to WTO authorities. During the Geneva talks, Chile, which has already faced several international antidumping accusations, stressed that despite having a 4,000 kilometre coastline, the country cannot compete with subsidised fleets. Peru added that overexploitation by other countries is exhausting its fishery resources. And the US delegate concluded that any subsidy scheme "that artificially reduces prices or increases income is effectively distorting commerce." (FIS/MP).

Galicia calls for ban to reduce fishing effort

Galician authorities want European Commission approval for a 45-day ban - similar to last year's temporary ban - in the Gran Sol fishing ground, where most of the fleet operates. Fisheries Councillor Enrique López Veiga said a draft regulation will be sent to Brussels in the next few days for processing. He added that the ban was necessary to reduce fishing effort. The Council agreed on the basis for the temporary ban with trade union representatives vessels owners' associations that operate in Gran Sol at a meeting last week. La Voz de Galicia quotes sector representatives as saying that the ban was appropriate because circumstances this year are similar to those that prompted a temporary ban in 2002 to allow stocks in Gran Sol to recover. However, Galician vessel owners asked the authorities to provide social security benefits for fishermen while they are unemployed, on a par with their colleagues in Cantabria and the Basque Country. During the 2002 biological ban, the Fisheries Council subsidised 30 days of the stoppage, with funds from the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG), while vessel owners covered the remaining 15 days. This biological ban was the only one approved last year by the community authorities, so the Galician government believes that this year the resolution will also be favourable. However, they acknowledged that the EU is not "willing" to authorise this measure, but steps will anyway "speed up", according to El Ideal Gallego. Enrique López Veiga reported on the request to the EC at the Galician Parliament Fisheries Commission of the Galician Parliament, where he also discussed the total allowable catch (TAC) allocated to Spain by the EU. He said the regional administration had agreed with central government to do whatever it takes to defend the rights of Galician fishermen at the Luxembourg Court - covering every possible legal aspect, including the relative stability criteria of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform.

Lula vetoes unemployment benefits for fishermen

Brazilian President Ignacio Lula da Silva vetoed a bill granting unemployment benefits for fishermen who are out of work during temporary fishing bans, arguing that it's contrary to public interest and contradicts the country's Constitution. According to Diario Oficial de La Unión, the Brazilian Executive argued professional fishermen are already protected by unemployment insurance. The Ministry of Economy also said there was no budget provision to cover this type of subsidy, and pointed out that in any case it would be contrary to the Fiscal Responsibility Law. Fishermen called the decision "absurd" adding that the veto meant "a great loss for fishermen families", said Ivo da Silva president of the Santa Catarina Fishermen Federation. In Santa Catarina State, 11,000 fishermen are already covered by unemployment insurance and union leaders hoped the new law would achieve a 40% cent increase in the number of beneficiaries by extending it to another 4,400 workers. "Without unemployment insurance, it is going to be difficult to guarantee economic stability for fishermen who are out of work during bans," Ivo da Silva told AN. He said the Executive's reasons did not justify the veto. "The Workers Protection Fund (FAT) has enough resources for this purpose," he added. Federation leaders, together with the National Confederation of Fishermen, have requested a meeting with Chamber of Deputies president João Paulo Cunha, and with legislators, in a bid to revoke the presidential veto. (FIS/MP).

Proposed Bush budget hikes fisheries funding

US President Bush has sent his 2004 budget request to Congress with an increase in fisheries funding totalling around USD 15.9 million, for a total of 737 million in fisheries expenditures nationwide. The increases are slated for an expansion of observer coverage, the reduction of by-catch and a modernisation of fisheries stock assessment by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Much of the USD 3 million increases in observer coverage will be used in New England, to cover 10 per cent of the ground fishing trips and meet the terms of a court-ordered settlement. The settlement resulted from a lawsuit brought by environmental groups against the government for failing to implement a management plan that adequately protected ground-fish stocks. For the first time in any federal budget, a specific amount was earmarked for bycatch. A sum of USD 2.8 million was requested to help reduce bycatch in federally managed waters by increasing cooperative research between fishermen and scientists and boosting the resources and training for regional fisheries management offices. The USD 3 million sought for modernizing and expanding fisheries stock assessments nationwide will mostly go to New England scientists to improve their methods of counting fish. Their systems came into question following "Trawlgate," when it was found that a government research vessel was towing gear with mismatched trawl lines for more than two years of stock assessments. Although the gear was tested and scientists said the fish counts were not much affected by the mismatched lines, fishermen who participated in the tests disagreed. New England fishermen were already sceptical of groundfish stock assessments, saying they saw much more fish than the government counts indicated. "In a year where the president tried to hold down spending growth, clearly fisheries management is an area where the president has stepped up his response," Dave Lackey, a spokesman for Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine told reporters. "That's something we haven't always seen. It's clearly a good start." Snowe is chairwoman of the Oceans and Fisheries Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee. The stringent New England groundfish plan that followed the court settlement was based on federal fish counts, and even stricter guidelines were scheduled for implementation next August. Even though the new rules have been postponed, regulators say fishing effort must still be cut by 50%. Fishermen say either the court-imposed guidelines or their replacement will put a significant number of them out of business. Critics say the proposed budget short changes other priorities, including health care, education and Amtrak, and will plunge the country further into deficit-spending. "The budget should have been printed in red ink," said Senator Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., who ran as vice president with Al Gore in the last election and is now a declared candidate for the 2004 presidential nomination. Lieberman told Associated Press that Bush should "put the brakes" on his 2001 tax cuts. (FIS/MP).

Researchers recycle aquaculture waste as fertiliser

Chilean researchers are assessing the use of salmon farming waste as fertiliser, to minimise the impact of aquaculture on the environment and at the same time reduce agriculture production costs. Chilean National Agriculture Research Institute, INIA from Remehue Regional Centre in Osorno, Region X, suggests using a remote controlled submarine vehicle (ROV) for removing the waste material that accumulates under salmon cages and then recycling the nutrients as fertiliser in agriculture and cattle farming. Project director Marco Salamanca, a researcher from Concepción University said the research aims to "integrate and support two very relevant activities in the south of Chile - aquaculture and agriculture." The research is being carried out by Concepción University, the Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) and the Fisheries Promotion Institute (IFOP) and will cost approximately USD 620,000. Funding is being provided by the National Fund for the Promotion of Scientific and Technological Development (Fondef), which will contribute 53% of the total investment. The remaining 47% is funded by participating private institutions and companies - Marine Harvest Chile S.A., Salmones Llanquihue S.A., Salmones Multiexport Ltda. and Aguas Claras S.A. The Fondef D01I1113 project was launched by Cristián Lagos, on behalf of Fondef, Dr Franklin Carrasco, dean of the Natural and Oceanographic Sciences Faculty at Concepción University, and Dr. Julio Kalazich, director of INIA Remehue Regional Research Centre in Osorno. (FIS/MP).

Special compensations in Galicia postponed

The International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPC Funds) will postpone its decision to compensate those Spanish affected by the Prestige dumping until next May. The announcement was made early this week after it became public the Spanish government estimated that the cleaning operations of the Galician coasts would amount to EUR 1,000 million. IOPC Funds administrator, Mans Jacobsson, said argued that "the committee has decided it cannot fix a compensation rate at the moment" because they "only have 180 million available", a very low figure compared to Spanish claims, which "show that only in this country, cleaning costs could count for more than EUR 1,000 million", he said. Jacobsson said that in the case of France, cleaning costs estimates amounted to between EUR 10 and 15 million, but they have not mentioned damages to the tourist sector yet. He also stated that "it's senseless to make a temporary estimate; the world agrees that for the time being it is impossible to have a reasonable insight into the magnitude of the disaster". On the other hand, representatives of the International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage (Fipol) will hold an extraordinary meeting during the first week of May. Spanish and French governments will then be in a position to provide a more accurate insight of the damages caused by the black tide. Fipol is an inter-governmental organization created in 1992 and financed by oil companies and located in London. Regarding the IOPC executive committee meeting this week where the Spanish and French governments made their presentations, Ramón Sabín, solicitor for the affected Galician fishermen associations and member of the Spanish delegation said both countries had a positive attitude towards the distribution of compensations. Mr. Sabín pointed out that French representatives stood for giving priority to damages suffered along the Spanish coast which they considered to be "much worse" than those in France. (FIS/MP).