MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fisheries News.-

Headlines:
Suspicious boats in Australian toothfish waters;
“Friends of the Fish” proposal to WTO; Squid shortage hastens season end; New coastal and large fish market opens in Vigo; Papers wanted for aquaculture feed conference in Hawai; NAFO scientists recommend 50 % cut in halibut catch; Argentina will review fishing licences;

Suspicious boats in Australian toothfish waters

Two suspicious vessels have been chased away from protected Australian waters after a legal toothfish operator sighted one boat fishing, apparently illegally, just 100 metres outside of local waters. The incident occurred on Friday afternoon (27 June), after the vessel was spotted hauling its lines by the Southern Champion, owned by an Australian member of the Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators (COLTO), Austral Fisheries. About 1.30 pm Western Australia (WA) time, the skipper of the Southern Champion, Steve Paku, contacted the Perth office of Austral to report a sighting of a boat fishing 100 metres outside of Australian waters, according to a press release. There are no legal licences to fish inside waters protected by the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) other than those issued by the Australian government. Pictures and video were taken of the suspicious boat before the captain took steps to warn the vessel that it had been sighted fishing illegally and would be subsequently reported to authorities. With no visible flag or call sign, no name or homeport on the stern and only a partially visible name on the bow, the boat is in contravention of International Maritime Law. Such a lack of any means of identification usually indicates the boat is "stateless", and therefore operating as pirate ship. A spokesperson for COLTO said that the boat has been identified as the Strela, which is known to be an IUU (illegal, unregulated and unreported) operator, flagged to Russia. Australian authorities recently found documentation on board an illegal vessel that identified a number of boats, all operating illegally, with professionally coordinated fishing activities, trans-shipment of fish at sea, refuelling at sea, and operational techniques designed to evade apprehension. COLTO said it was hopeful that appropriate action would be taken by CCAMLR and flag states against this illegal activity to prevent it from continuing. (FIS/MP).-

Agreement with EFTA benefits Chilean aquaculture

The Chilean government signed a free trade agreement on 26 June - with members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) - that could be very beneficial for the local aquaculture industry. Signed in Kristiansand, Norway, the agreement will allow more than 90% of Chilean exports to enter EFTA member countries duty free. This will include exports to Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The percentage could be as high as 96% of the products taking only exports to Norway and Iceland into account, reports Aqua. This free trade agreement is considered very important for the Chilean aquaculture sector. It will help to expand the market for finished products and facilitate the commercial exchange of supplies, equipment and technology for developing marine aquaculture. Another aspect that benefits Chile is the elimination of the protectionist and anti-dumping measures in the commercial activities covered by the agreement. The agreement includes a system for handling disputes and the creation of a Joint Council comprising Chilean and EFTA authorities that will be responsible for the development and application of the agreement. The main goal of the agreement is to promote bilateral trade, which has plenty of precedents in Chile. Between 1974 and 2002, the EFTA member countries invested USD 922 million in the country, with funds mainly from Norway and Switzerland. The fishing and aquaculture sectors received 37% of these investments and topped the list of contributions from EFTA countries, reports the Chilean Economy Directorate (Direcon). During 2002, the country's main exports to that European group were fishmeal, carrageenan, algae, salmon fillets and fishing vessels. The European representatives that signed the treaty were the Norwegian Commerce and Industry minister Ansgar Gabrielsen, Foreign Affairs ministers from Liechtenstein and Iceland, Ernt Walch and Halldor Asgrimsson, and Swiss Economy minister Joseph Deiss. (FIS/MP).-

"Friends of the Fish" proposal to WTO

A Chilean delegation belonging to the "Friends of Fish" group has presented a new proposal on possible approaches to improved disciplines on fisheries subsidies to the Negotiating Group on Rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The WTO Negotiating Group on Rules met on 18 and 19 June to consider a number of submissions on issues relating to anti-dumping, subsidies and countervailing measures, and addressed the new Chilean submission during the meeting, reports the Weekly Trade News Digest. The proposal begins by observing that fisheries subsidies impede trade with non-subsidising countries, as countries that do not subsidise their fisheries sector cannot participate on equal terms in the exploitation of shared, and sometimes their own, fishery resources, a classic 'tragedy of the commons' example. It has also been seen how the subsidisation of fleets can impact negatively on conservation measures put into place by other WTO members, as this encourages a certain amount of exploitation of fish stocks under pressure. After considering previous submissions of the US and the EU, the Chilean paper proposes a "red box" of banned fisheries subsidies, and an "amber box" of conditional subsidies. All subsidies that promote overcapacity and over-fishing would be included in the "red box". These would include subsidies that transfer a country's ships to the high seas or local waters of another country; allowing the purchase of new or used ships; to modernise the fleet; and therefore reduce costs of production factors. Subsidies that come in the form of positive discrimination in tax treatment or access to credit would also be banned. The "amber box" would include all other subsidies that do not cause injury to other Members, and would only occur after other Members receive notification. This category of subsidy would include social subsidies that are designed to assist small-scale fisheries and coastal communities, and to improve the overall management of a fishery that would encourage sustainability. In terms of the notification aspect of the "amber box", the paper outlines issues for discussion. For example, notifications under the WTO should complement other existing schemes belonging to other agencies, such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). And also proposed is that notification should be mandatory. Chile also supports the EU proposal that a scoreboard of notifications should be made public. Other members from the "Friends of Fish" group supported the Chilean proposal during the Negotiating Group meeting, and a brief discussion was held over technical details. However, two members, Japan and Korea, who are reported to substantially subsidise their fishing fleets, took a cautious stance during the meeting. Members of the "Friends of Fish" group include the US, Argentina, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway and Peru, as well as Chile. (FIS/MP).-

Squid shortage hastens season end

The Argentine Illex argentinus season has come to an end due to the scarcity of stocks. Almost all of the 100 vessels fishing in Argentine waters have remained in port after researchers recommended closing the fishery in the south. The fleet had caught barely 210,000 tonnes in the Patagonian fishing grounds during May prompting the Federal Fisheries Council (CFP) to suspend the fishery south of parallel 44. The CFP decision was based on National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development (Inidep) recommendations. Considering the results of the first four months of the season, Inidep researchers warned that if catches continued at the same rate there were serious risks that stocks would not recover for next season. Once the fishery was suspended in the south, vessels moved north of parallel 44 where the season was expected to last until 31 August. But hardly anyone is still fishing because it is not profitable, according to Oscar Fortunato, head of the Argentine Fishing Companies Council (CEPA). Companies withdrew their vessels because they lose too much money staying at sea for very poor catches, Mr. Fortunato told La Capital. Although the season has closed early many times before, he said this season was one of the worst in recent year. The head of the National Fisheries Defence Centre (Cedepesca), Ernesto Godelman, said it was the first season to have ended so early. Mr. Godelman agreed that the particular nature of squid was the main reason for the low availability but also implied that over-fishing may have played a part at some point. "It's not easy to determine if there was overexploitation because we don't have reliable monitoring. But there were certainly a lot of vessels authorised this year," he told La Capital. Guillermo de los Santos of Rosales Industrial Pesquera - the only company in Mar del Plata dedicated entirely to squid - defended the decision to ban fishing and said the poor catches had devastated the local industry. "All we did was to wet the hooks," he said. But Mr. de los Santos emphasized that not only biological aspects can be blamed for the situation, "there were also some political issues that may have contributed to the present situation". Mr. de los Santos specifically mentioned the large number of vessels licenced to join the fishery and the lack of control over foreign vessels fishing illegally in Argentine waters. (FIS/MP).-

New coastal and large fish market opens in Vigo

Galicia's President, Manuel Fraga, officially opened the new coastal and large fish market in the port of Vigo. More than EUR 6.5 million was spent on the building and modernisation which is part of the Galician government's plan to upgrade the fish auction facilities. Vigo's Port Authority president Julio Pedrosa, Galicia's Fisheries minister, Enrique López Veiga, and the recently appointed mayor of Vigo, Ventura Pérez Mariño, were also present at the inauguration ceremony. The new market is a three storey building. The ground floor area covers more than 5,200 m2 and houses the exhibition and auction room, the processing hall and the loading wharf. The processing hall has cleaning and evisceration facilities with workstations for both horizontal and vertical tasks, i.e. with the fish hanging. The processing facilities can accommodate any kind of product. The room has two exits - one for the processed product and the other for waste; and has folding doors to separate the clean and dirty areas. There is direct access from the wharf to the loading bays so the fish goes straight from the market to the refrigerated truck to maintain the cold chain and avoid any possible contamination. There are shelters, hydraulic ramps and doors that keep the wharf closed when there is no loading taking place. On the first floor, there are sixteen offices covering a total area of 3,500 m2. All of the offices are external and from the corridor it is possible to observe the market activity. The top floor houses a parking lot. The fishing port of Vigo has been extensively developed in the last five years: besides the new fish market, it has a deep-sea fish and a shellfish market as well as storage and manufacturing facilities. Last year, 82,604 tonnes of fishery products worth almost EUR 169 million were sold at Vigo port. (FIS/MP).-

The sponsors of an aquaculture feed conference are inviting scientists specialising in aquatic animal feeds to submit papers for the conference. The Aquaculture Interchange Programme (AIP) of the Oceanic Institute are sponsoring the conference, Alternative Protein Sources in Aquaculture Feed, in Honolulu from 3 to 7 November, 2003. The conference will host a range of subjects, including an overview of aquaculture diets; animal, plant, and unconventional sources of protein for aquatic feeds; and the use of additives to improve the nutritional value of plant proteins, reports Aquafeed.com. There will also be a discussion on various protein sources, which will include fish by-products; meat, bone, and blood meal; poultry by-products; soybean, cottonseed, and canola meal; lupin; distillery by-products; yeast and bacteria; krill meal, and other plant protein sources. Presentations will be made on the use of animal by-products and plant protein in crustacean diets and the use of soybean meal in freshwater fish, salmonid, sea bass, and sea bream diets. The Oceanic Institute was founded in 1960 as an independent, not-for-profit, applied research organization dedicated to the development and transfer of technology and applications in aquaculture, environmental science, and marine biotechnology. The institute later established the Aquaculture Interchange Program in 1989 with the aim of disseminating information on aquaculture, in a bid to facilitate a rapid development of the commercial aquaculture industry in the United States. The Oceanic Institute is located at Makapu'u Point on O'ahu, the third largest island in the Hawaiian chain. Those wishing to present their papers should submit their manuscripts for publication by the AIP. Any interested scientists or others who would like to recommend potential presenters can contact Dr Cheng-Sheng Lee by email, cslee@oceanicinstitute.org, or by telephone on +1 808 259-3107. (FIS/MP).-

NAFO scientists recommend 50 % cut in halibut catch

The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) Scientific Council has recommended a 50% cut in halibut catches next year, but the issue will not be discussed until the NAFO Fisheries Commission meeting scheduled for September. The Commission is responsible for setting the Total Allowable Catch (TAC), but does not always follow the recommendations of scientists, who this year advised a maximum of 16,000 tonnes for Greenland halibut. The NAFO Scientific Council recommended a 36,000 tonne TAC for halibut this year, but the Commission set the TAC at 42,000 tonnes. Spokesman Antonio Vázquez said the scientific recommendation for a drastic cut in halibut quota follows research carried out around the Grand Banks and Felmish Cap which showed a sharp decline in stocks since 1998, reports Faro de Vigo. Xavier Paz, who led the Spanish research campaign on board the Vizconde de Eza - which was joined by the Cornide de Saavedra - said it was the first time two Spanish vessels had carried out joint research off Newfoundland. He said the research had turned up "solid" scientific data which could be combined with commercial catch data. Mr. Paz also seemed satisfied by the estimates they have collected this year, which he described as very "solid", given that it was possible to combine "the scientific campaign information with the commercial fishery data". Mr. Paz, who is also a researcher at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) in Vigo, said previous research had been limited to a smaller area but the latest studies had covered the entire area where reefers from Vigo catch halibut. He added that plaice and cod stocks in the area still showed no signs of recovery while skate stocks remained stable. Thirty reefers from Vigo fish in NAFO waters. They divide their time between catching halibut in the North Atlantic, the fishery in South Atlantic international waters, and the Irminger Sea, near Iceland. (FIS/MP).-

Argentina will review fishing licences

All fishing permits granted to companies that operate along Argentina's coasts will be reviewed, said Fisheries and Aquaculture Undersecretary Gerardo Nieto. In an interview with La Nación, Nieto said that "the historical context in which the permits were granted" would be analysed, and he would not shirk the responsibility of reviewing one of the most sensitive aspects of this activity. When asked about the privileged situation of some national fishing companies that hold "unrestricted and permanent" fishing permits, Mr. Nieto explained that according to the lawpermits were just authorisations to access the fishing ground. His position is that "there must be a transition process for the regulations to be adequately enforced." Mr. Nieto wants to begin a transition process towards a catch quota system, which several groups within the local fishing sector are calling for. At present, Argentina annually exports USD 780 million worth of fishery products, which is considerable more than the export revenue generated by beef traditionally considered the country's leading export products. However Argentina also has a 4,000 kilometre coastline that is rich in marine resources, but so far successive governments have had little knowledge of the industry and there have been irregularities in the administration of resources. This situation led to the collapse of the hubbsi hake fishery, the country's main commercial species from 1990 to 1999. During that period, fishery exports reached a billion US dollars but simultaneously endangered the sustainability of hake stocks. Mr. Nieto admitted that the fishing agreement signed between Argentina and the European Union (EU) in the nineties was used as currency in exchange for other interests, and that this partly led to the collapse of the Argentine fishing ground. The fisheries authorities now have to face the challenge of reorganising the industry and try to solve conflicts that have hindered development. Mr. Nieto said plans for harsher sanctions were already underway and these should be implemented as soon as possible. Mr. Nieto is also pushing ahead with plans to reactivate the satellite monitoring system, but anticipated that details of fisheries surveillance would be only released when the system is fully functional again. "Sometimes it seems that surveillance and monitoring has to be limited to the Coast Guard service, the Navy or the Air Force," said Mr. Nieto adding that his Department has plans for an integrated system "to protect resources in each jurisdiction". "This will allow us to become, in the eyes of the world, a fishery nation that is aware of the importance of the sea and conservation," he concluded. (FIS/MP).-