MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fisheries News

Headlines:
Galicia dismisses British accusations; Controversy over fishing sector jobless; Investigation into contaminated Chilean salmon.

Galicia dismisses British accusations

The Galician Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Minister, Enrique López Veiga, has dismissed suggestions that the arrest of the Cangas based trawler "Playa de San Xiao" was simply a case of further harassment on the part of the British authorities towards the Gran Sol Galician fleet, or that episode has further fuelled the tension between the two EU countries. He is, however, concerned about the crewmembers of the "Playa de San Xiao", which was escorted by a British patrol boat to the English port of Falmouth late on Tuesday July 29, in the southernmost part of Great Britain. The incident followed the arrests of the longliners Siempre Terín, from Asturias, and Pellizar, based on Celeiro. Mr López Veiga told La Voz de Galicia that the detention by the British Armada "is surely supported by evidence, since the British do not take their inspection works or anything lightly. On the contrary, they are quite good at this". Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Fisheries announced that the Cangas-based trawler was arrested due to "a technical infraction". The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food added that the Playa de San Xiao situation was about to be solved. Although it is not known whether the owner of the vessel had to pay a fine or given any type of guarantee, according to the Spanish consular in the UK the British authorities are about to release the vessel. (FIS/MP).-

Controversy over fishing sector jobless

The recently reported improved unemployment figure of 26%, released by the Argentine Undersecretary of the Department of Fishery and Aquaculture, Gerardo Nieto, does not reflect the true situation on the ground, according to industry insiders. The latest unemployment figure was released by the National Institute for Statistics and Census (INDEC). Mr Nieto told Agencia DyN that the improved jobless figure is a result of an increase in exports and the "better exploitation of new resources and the processing of products with added value". The Fisheries Department expects this year's exports to reach a similar level to those of 2002, about USD 800 million. This goal can be achieved, says Nieto, by exporting more than 50% of the 300,000 tonnes of Argentine hake (Merluccius hubbsi) quota allotted for this term. In spite of the poor results from the squid campaign in Argentine waters the Department believes that the catch of Illex may surpass 200,000 tons in 2003. To assist in meeting this target, the government has allowed the Argentinean fleet to operate outside the national EEZ. However companies and unions based in Mar del Plata responded angrily to the Undersecretary's statements, disputing the alleged employment increase in the region arguing that there are less catches than in 2002. Darío Socrate, the CEO of the Deep Sea Fishing Vessel Owners, told La Capital that he has official information to contradict the statements from the undersecretary. The hake catch in the first half of 2003 was down 12,000 tons compared to the previous year, and it is therefore very difficult to create new jobs during this time in the port of Mar del Plata. "We are completely positive that hake catches declined in the first six months of the year and that is why we cannot say that the number of staff employed has increased", he said. Mr Socrate explained that not only did most of the companies not hire any more employees, but also "they had to make great efforts to avoid further redundancies". Mr. Socrate believes that it is "improbable" that fishing companies would need more labor before the end of the year, despite the 300,000 tons quota from the INDEC. It is also improbable that this quota will be fulfilled because the available resource will not provide this level of catch, he explained, adding that there is simply not enough hake for everyone. Consultants from the Fish Industry Workers Union, Patricia Comparada and María Demateis, said that there is not enough continuous work throughout the year and when companies hire temporary labor, "they tend to hire illegal workers" (FIS/MP).

Investigation into contaminated Chilean salmon

The investigation into the Chilean contaminated salmon consignment is drawing to a close, reported Chile's National Fisheries Service (Sernapesca). The results should be known in about two weeks. The investigation will determine the degree of responsibility of various companies involved in the case of a consignment of salmon that was contaminated with "leucomalachite", an illegal fungicide. The consignment is still in Holland. Sergio Mujica, Director of Sernapesca explained to El Diario that the results of the investigation would be presented to the Chilean court that is overseeing the case. Environmentalist groups began legal action on 10 July, which is primarily aimed at identifying the yet-to-be-determined company responsible for the contamination. Earlier this month, the Dutch Health Service found that three 180 ton containers of Chilean processed salmon, valued at USD 200,000, contained traces of leucomalachite. The substance is used as a fungicide by aquaculture industries worldwide. The contaminated consignment belongs to the French company Alice Chile although they have protested that the contamination must have entered the product during farming, and not during processing. The incident in Rotterdam resulted in an increase of controls in Chilean shipments to the EU. It also revived the controversy in Chile on whether local quality controls meet the demands of the international market. The director of the Oceana Foundation in South America, Marcel Claude, said that what happened in Holland proves that international supervision methods in Chile are not being taken seriously. Mr Claude told El Mercurio that even the director of Sernapesca had admitted that it would take at least seven months to become fully equipped. The biggest problem, he said, is "the political philosophy of ministers like Jorge Rodríguez Grossi (Economy)", for whom environmental supervision is an obstacle to progress. Mr Claude, who is a Doctor of Economy, a former leader of the Terram Foundation, and a former economist for Chile Bank, said that last year the Terram Foundation had denounced the use of malachite green in aquaculture, based on research conducted by the University of Los Lagos. The Fisheries undersecretary, Felipe Sandoval, had unfortunately disregarded this information and accused the organization of "ecological terrorism". The expert insisted that Chilean regulations are below international references and warned that if funds to substantiate supervision are not forthcoming, then "the business and the aquaculture industry will suffer the consequences". Mr Mujica said that since 1997 Chile has had a strict residue control programme that forbids certain substances, contaminants and pharmaceutical veterinary products, which are annually approved by the EU. "This control system is a permanent fixture to meet the new demands at the national (Aquaculture Health and Environmental Regulation) and international levels", he said. Sernapesca is also developing an activity supervision programme that has been considerably upgraded to include the most recent standards related to the health and environmental aspects. The government has appealed to the EU to define a system of detection that allows countries to apply rules equally and fairly, as it is important that there should be a standardization of control methods. "We can use the Dutch technology, but in three months there could well be another country with a more advanced method that would detect 0.02 ppb instead of 0,2 ppb. We have to play with clear rules", underlined Mr. Mujica. (FIS/MP).-