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Fisheries News.

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Brazil:Government proposes international committee to control South Atlantic fishery. Brussels seeks to extend drift net ban to cut dolphin deaths. US wraps up salmon dumping investigation. US wraps up salmon dumping investigation...more

Brazil:Government proposes international committee to control South Atlantic fishery

The government wants an international committee to establish a single policy for fishing in the South Atlantic, says Fisheries secretary José Fritsch. During a visit to Argentina at the end of June, Fritsch broached the subject with his Argentinian counterpart Miguel Campos. The committee would comprise representatives from Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay and also from African countries with fishing interests in the area. It would be responsible for identifying fishing possibilities and deciding who can fish, how much and when, he said. Fritsch pointed out that it was not a new idea, as it is based on the successful organisation formed by North Atlantic countries. The government also wants a second international committee to control fisheries in the Pantanal wetlands - the Paraguay-Parana river system - and La Plata River. This committee would also be formed by Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, plus Bolivia and Paraguay. Prior to his meeting with the Miguel Campos, Fritsch told Agencia Lusa that the Brazilian government's objective was to prevent the kind of predatory fishing, "which had already devastated hake stocks in Argentina and sardine stocks in Brazil". He said the creation of these international committees would help the member countries to maximise production and boost exports to third countries. The same proposal had already been put to Uruguay's Agriculture and Fisheries minister, Gonzalo Gonzalez, and Fritsch hopes Paraguay's new government will be ready in August, so that he can finalise his discussions with the main Mercosur member countries. During the 25th meeting of the FAO Fisheries International Committee in March, Fritsch broached the subject to African nations on the Atlantic coast. And Brazilian President Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva is planning to discuss the issue further during his trip to Africa in August.

Brussels seeks to extend drift net ban to cut dolphin deaths

The European Commission on Thursday (24 July) unveiled new measures designed to save some of the thousands of dolphins and porpoises accidentally killed each year by fishermen in EU waters. The European Union executive proposed new limits to the length of drift nets used for fishing in the Baltic Sea, as well as the gradual phasing out of the nets by 1 January 2007. A similar ban is already in force in the Mediterranean and Atlantic oceans. The commission said the ban would cover small fishing boats, as well as larger ships. Their contribution to the overall gillnet fisheries is significant, and porpoises are found near the shore where these vessels operate," it said in a statement. If approved by EU ministers and the European Parliament, the new rules would set a new maximum length of 2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles) for drift nets used in the Baltic. Brussels also plans to make it compulsory for fishermen to attach ultrasound "pingers" to their nets -acoustic devices that scare away dolphins and porpoises. In the longer term, the commission wants EU member states to put observers on fishing vessels to monitor the accidental killing of dolphins and porpoises, as well as other species that often end up as the collateral damage of intensive fishing. The Common Fisheries Policy must achieve sustainable fisheries without undermining marine biodiversity," said Franz Fischler, commissioner for Agriculture and Fisheries, welcoming the adoption of the proposals. The commission said patchy data collection by national governments currently made it impossible to estimate accurately the number of dolphins and porpoises killed each year.

Britain immediately hailed the new measures.

"I am extremely pleased that proposals are being brought forward which could play a big role in reducing the unnecessary death of dolphins and porpoises in the waters off Britain and mainland Europe," said the country's fisheries minister, Ben Bradshaw. US wraps up salmon dumping investigation The Salmon Industry Association (SalmonChile) confirmed 23 July that the US Department of Commerce (DOC) had dropped its investigation into allegations of dumping by Chilean producers, at the request of a group of US companies. The investigation began in mid-1997, as a result of an accusation by US producers from the state of Maine, who insisted that Chilean producers were selling their products at very low prices and received subsidies. Investigations carried out by the DOC revealed there were no such subsidies, but the US government decided to apply a 4.57 per cent tariff on imports of Chilean salmon, subject to five annual reviews. Having already cancelled the tariff for one company, the third review finished on 4 February when the DOC cancelled the tariff for four more companies that complied with all the necessary conditions. According to SalmonChile, the DOC decision means the Chilean salmon industry is now completely free from all allegations of dumping in the US and all exports to the US will be tariff free. In a statement, Salmon Chile says the removal of the tariff demonstrates the open and transparent workings of the salmon industry here, which has grown as a result of natural conditions. The industry has spent almost USD 22 million to clear its name. During January - May this year, salmon and trout exports earned USD 508 million - 32 per cent more than during the same period last year, although the export volume was down 24 per cent to 131,000 tonnes. The increase in revenue reflects the higher prices for salmon and trout prices, which averaged USD 3.88/kg during the first five months compared with USD 2.25 during the same periodlast year. Atlantic salmon accounted for 49 per cent of the export volume, coho salmon accounted for 24 per cent and trout accounted for 26 per cent. The US and Japan were the main markets with 42 per cent each - equivalent to USD 213 million.

Remedial action has to be taken, says minister

Unless remedial action is taken immediately, there is a very real danger that line fishing will have to stop completely, says South African Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister, Valli Moosa. "If we do not manage our fish resources carefully, there will be no fish for local fishing communities to catch in the very near future." Mr Moosa was reacting to recent protests by fishermen in Kalk Bay and Hout Bay, who were upset by the recent fishing allocations, reports BuaNews. The environmental and tourism department recently awarded 376 fishing permits to fishermen in the Western Cape, in an attempt to streamline the industry and manage fish resources more efficiently. Many fishermen have now lost the right to fish, and face ruin. Rights holders can only use one vessel each, to allow more South Africans living in coastal communities to benefit from the industry. The minister urged the fishing communities to ensure that fish stocks are harvested in a sustainable way, particularly line fish, which are currently dangerously over exploited and near to collapse. "Should my department's management plan be followed there is every possibility that our line fish stocks will recover sufficiently, allowing me to increase the number of fishing rights in the sector, which will result in more jobs being created." Minister Moosa said that he recognised the importance of traditional fishing communities such as those in Kalk Bay and Hout Bay, as well as others in the province. He said that senior officials from his department are in contact with affected communities and stakeholders on a regular basis, in an attempt to address some of their concerns. Anyone who is dissatisfied with the allocation process for linefish fishery rights have until 20 August at 5 pm to lodge a complaint with the department.

Algeria opens waters to Spanish vessels >

The Algerian government is drafting an agreement allowing Spanish vessels to fish in its waters, either through joint ventures or under other conditions, says Algerian Fisheries Minister Smail Momoune. During his visit to Almería, the minister said the new conditions for fisheries collaboration could not be defined until the Fishing Law had been fully developed and would therefore not be applicable until 2004. He also said appropriate financial systems would have to be put in place so that Spanish fishermen could pay a set fee per vessel plus an additional fee based on the catch volume. Momoune told Europa Press that more than 80 per cent of Algeria's joint ventures involved Spanish interests and a specific agreement would help to improve conditions for Spanish vessels fishing in Algerian waters. Almería's mayor, Luis Rogelio Rodríguez, said access to Algerian waters was important for the sector and 13 vessels from his province - 10 from Adra and three from the capital - were already fishing there under a joint venture. He said the relationship between the two countries was excellent and the current arrangement had helped the local sector to thrive after the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement expired. The government's delegate in Almería, Francisco Lainez, vessel owners representative Pedro Maza, and José Luis Sánchez of the Fisheries Department also attended the meeting in Almería

US wraps up salmon dumping investigation

The Argentine Supreme Court has ordered Santa Cruz province to suspend its Embarkation Law, following a legal appeal by the companies Pescasur and Arbumasa claiming the law was unconstitutional. The Embarkation Law states that 50% of crewmembers on board all fishing vessels in the province must be Santa Cruz residents. Pescasur and Arbumasa had been fined by Santa Cruz Department of Employment for ignoring this crew quota rule on the vessels Kaigel, Courages and Goueleo. The companies subsequently lodged an appeal and the court ruled in their favour. But Santa Cruz MP Hugo Muratore told Tiempo Sur that the court's decision did not automatically mean that the Embarkation Law was unconstitutional and that so far the ruling had only called for it to be suspended. Mr. Muratore said the Santa Cruz government had not yet responded because it had only received official notification of the matter on Thursday July 17 and it would be up to the Director of Public Prosecutions to take up the case. He added the province would appeal the decision and initiate proceedings for it to be revoked. Mr. Muratone added that the ruling actually did not modify regulations governing employment on fishing vessels in any of the province's ports and said "there have been no applications for exemptions". Fishermen in Santa Cruz dismissed any suggestion that the court's ruling could affect local employment. They said the response from companies had already been favourable and following meetings between employers and the local workforce an agreement was reached for hiring to continue as normal. According to Santa Cruz Employment Secretary Daniel Peralta, any assessment of the potential impact on employment would depend on the attitude of companies belonging to the Patagonian Shrimp Chamber (Calapa) - which employed the majority of crewmembers under the terms of the Embarkation Law - along with the companies Argenova, Conarpesa and Barilari which also hold provincial fishing permits. Argentina's current president Nestor Kirchner is a former governor of the province of Santa Cruz.

Brazil supports idea of joint ventures

Brazilian president, Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva is very interested in the creation of joint ventures with Spanish companies and for the Brazilian fleet to benefit from the experience and technology of the Spanish fleet. Mr. Lula da Silva believes joint ventures could help to revive Brazil's fishing industry which at the moment relies heavily on the coastal sector. President Lula da Silva expressed his keen interest during a meeting with the Spanish Federation of Fisheries Organization Feope, representatives on 15 July. Following the meeting, Feope secretary Javier Garat said president Lula had detailed his government's intention to develop "the surface longline fishery and other fisheries for large species such as swordfish". The government also wants to revive Brazilian shipyards, which would open up a new channel for cooperation with the Spanish shipbuilding industry. Mr. Garat admitted these proposals were "very interesting for the Spanish fishing sector too, as long there is a safe legal framework," according to a report in La Opinión de La Coruña. He added that currently 25 Spanish vessels are authorised to fish within the Brazilian EEZ under a chartering system, although there could be as many as 45 given those that were already fishing there before the chartering contract was suspended. Spanish vessel owners requested the Brazilian head of state to authorise the 100 surface long-liners operating outside the Brazilian 200 mile EEZ to land and transfer in the ports of Cabadelo and Vitoria, located in the north and centre of the country, respectively. Vessel owners argue that this would save them the five days it takes to reach the landing ports of Montevideo, Uruguay, and the African ports of Cape Verde or Sao Tomé. Quoted by Faro de Vigo, José Antonio Suárez-Llanos, deputy manager for the Vigo Vessel Owners Cooperative ARVI, said that if Brazil agrees to this request, additional port activities would benefit the local economy and the country's coffers. Vessel owners also put forward a proposal - through the Economic and Social Council of Spain (CES) president Jaime Montalvo - to study in the medium term the bases for negotiating a fishing agreement between the European Union and Brazil. President Lula promised to analyse Spanish proposals.

Controversial fishing in Gibraltar Strait

Southern Spain Andalusia fishermen from Algeciras and Tarifa are up in arms over the imminent arrival of 15 Basque fishing boats to take part in the Straits of Gibraltar tuna fishery which starts in a few days. Local fishermen say too many Basque vessels have been authorised to participate in the fishery. The Basque vessels are larger with greater capacity and many fishermen from Andalusia want them driven out of the fishery altogether. This tuna fishery is particularly profitable, with good catches, and there are increasing numbers of vessel owners from Andalusia who want to take advantage of this and they don't want the Basque vessels moving in. A meeting was held in Madrid a few days ago for sector representatives and officials from both provincial governments to discuss the issue with central government officials. There were attempts to amend the agreement signed last year, which authorised 15 Basque vessels to fish in the Straits of Gibraltar. The Andalusia Fishermen's Unions Federation president, Manuel Peinado, proposed a gradual reduction of the Basque fleet. But the Federation of Fishing Associations (FAAPE) president, Pedro Maza, said the Basque vessels should be expelled. Algeciras fishermen's union chief skipper, Manuel Crujeiras, agreed that the sector would prefer to have no Basque vessels in the area. But he said they couldn't all suddenly be refused entry because there were some Andalusia vessels fishing in Catalonia. On closing the meeting no agreement was reached but Basque authorities have promised Andalusia fishermen an answer.

Labour dispute with Uruguayan fishermen solved

Fishing activity in La Paloma, eastern Uruguay is returning to normal following an agreement between the National Union of Sea Workers (Sutma) and the fishing company Ulfimar. The dispute was over working conditions and wages and during the two weeks conflict, no vessels could leave the port of La Paloma, reports El País. Union representative Ramón Banegas said the dispute was resolved when the fishermen accepted a pay offer giving them a "minimum (wage) of USD 20 daily". As work returns to normal the four twin 34 metre long fishing boats operating from the port - Mercedes, María Inés, Isabel and Tutti ? and targeting mainly largehead hairtail, but also catching papamoscas, anchovy and red porgy, were out in sea. The outcome will also be welcomed by the company Ibramar S.A. that supplies the new Argentinian anchovy processing plant in La Paloma. The plant currently employs 90 workers but this figure could increase considerably over the next few months said businessman Francisco Pick. The La Paloma anchovy processing plant is operating in the former Astra fish factory which was auctioned by the Uruguayan government to a company made up of Norwegian, Chilean and Uruguayan associates. Ibramar S.A. supplies the raw material from its annual 200,000 tonne Argentinian anchovy catch quota granted by the Uruguayan government. Actually Ibramar and Ulfimar respond to the same associates.

Source: FIS/MP.-