MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands refutes Argentina's claims of over-fishing.
Falkland Islands Director of Fisheries Dr. John Barton this week emphatically refuted claims by the Argentine President that the Falkland Islands is destroying the fishing grounds in the South West Atlantic.
Argentine President Néstor Kirchner raised a number of issues regarding the Falkland Islands when he met with the British Prime Minister on Sunday July 13.
President Kirchner told Mr Blair he intends to continue pursuing claims for sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. He also expressed concern over the large number of fishing permits the Falklands Government issues to third countries, which he said represents important economic losses for Argentina.
According to Agencia DyN, the brief meeting between Kirchner and Blair took place following a Progressive Governance Conference meeting in London on July 13.
When he touched on the Falklands fishing issue, Kirchner said the region was experiencing excessive economic growth and Falkland Islanders were destroying the fishing ground.
Director of Fisheries in the Falklands, Dr John Barton, responded to the allegation saying, "Catches in Argentina in recent years have far surpassed Falkland catches. The issue is really one of total catches or total effort directed at Illex. The fact that Argentine catches may be taken by Argentine flagged vessels does not make the squid any less dead.
"Conservation agreements in respect of Argentine and Falklands areas have been working reasonably well. The long term sustainability of Illex requires that conservation measures also extend to the high seas. This is an issue which has been flagged up in joint statements between the UK and Argentina. It is something which the Falklands have been pushing for, but progress has been slow."
The Argentine government says the fishing permits the Falklands issues for Japan, Korea and Taiwan represent losses of USD$100 million a year for Argentina.
Mr Barton commented, "In the past we have been concerned about the low price of Argentine Illex licences. In terms of licence fee per tonne of catch, Argentine fees have some times been about 50% of Falkland fees."
The last fishing meeting between Great Britain and Argentina took place on July 4 in London, at the 23rd annual meeting of the South Atlantic Fisheries Commission. In the release regarding the meeting both countries defended their position although they agreed on the importance of the South Atlantic fishery resources and pledged to take joint measures to monitor and control factory vessels more effectively.
Source: Penguin News
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