MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine authorities hope for new agreement with UK

Fisheries Undersecretary Gerardo Nieto is hoping to negotiate a fresh agreement with the British government at a meeting in London on 3 and 4 July, which President Néstor Kirchner will conclude himself during his visit to the UK on 13 July.

Nieto will head a delegation to the 23rd South Atlantic Fisheries Commission (SAFC) meeting in the hope of "resuming bilateral negotiations between both countries," reports Agencia DyN. He is aiming to secure approval for a formal agreement on South Atlantic fishery resource management.

Squid is the main fishery resource for the Falkland Islands - which are under UK has sovereignty. It is also caught in the Argentinian Sea, and constitutes a considerable source of income for the country.

The Falklands government earns more than USD 40 million per year from the sale of fishing permits to foreign fleets and it has been issuing these permits since 1987.

But as well as a large fleet of authorised European and Asian squid vessels fishing in the South Atlantic, many illegal boats are also catching squid. And the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned that steps must be taken to stop the overexploitation of squid, to prevent it becoming extinct within the next 20 years.

President Kirchner's administration is determined not to waste Argentina's rich fisheries potential.

During the first four months of the year, 105,460 tonnes of fishery exports earned more than USD 137 million. This figure represents a 21 per cent increase in value and a 33 per cent increase in volume compared with 2002.