MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fisheries News.

Headlines:
Processing plant opens in Puerto Deseado
Census shows 5,607 Galician vessels authorised to fish
Chilean industry targets hoki.

Processing plant opens in Puerto Deseado

With the presence of Argentine president Nestor Kirchner and provincial Fisheries Undersecretary Juan Carlos Braccalenti, Copromar SRL opened a new freezing plant in Puerto Deseado, northern Santa Cruz province last September 5. The USD 2 million plant is one of the most modern of its kind and was designed to the highest specifications.

The plant will process species such as Argentinean hake, Patagonian grenadier, crab, pollack, skate, squid and shrimp and will employ 80 people from the city of Puerto Deseado. Mr. Braccalenti confirmed that the provincial government was granting the company fishing permits for three fresh fish vessels to supply the raw material needed to keep the plant fully operational.

Company manager Alberto Paz told local media that President Kirchner seemed pleased with the company's decision to hire personnel directly and not through the cooperative system.

Mr. Paz said Copromar had made a commitment to the country, the province and its people and promised to provide the city of Puerto Deseado with "a permanent and constant source of employment".

The 1,700 m2 factory incorporates both cold storage and processing areas. The plant also has a planning room, a fresh product chamber, a raw material cleaning area, a filleting room, a primary and secondary packaging room with a 24 tonnes per day capacity, a tray and tunnel freezing system, and a 400-tonne cold storage chamber.

The plant was designed to produce various processed products such as fillets, mince, sausage, skate wings, tubes, tentacles, sliced squid, or any other product required by international markets. The plant will support local development providing space for coastal fishermen to work on their own catches. (FIS/MP).

Jumbo flying squid fishery recovers in Talara

Jumbo flying squid (Dosidicus gigas) landings at Talara fishing terminal have recovered considerably since the beginning of this week, according to Peruvian authorities. After fifteen days of poor catches, around 70 tonnes of squid were landed in Talara Tuesday September 2, which is a substantial improvement on the 20 tonnes landed during the past two weeks.

The Peruvian Institute of the Sea believes the squid moved away from the coast because of several reasons, mating season; warm water currents near Talara caused by Kelvin waves or simply the approaching spring

El Tiempo reports that fishermen have to travel four to six hours out to sea to locate shoals according to Talara's port manager. However in spite of the lengthy trips, fishermen are satisfied with the increase in catches of squid, hake, eel, and other species that have now become abundant. (FIS/MP).-

Census shows 5,607 Galician vessels authorised to fish

The latest vessel census reveals that Galicia has a fleet of 5,607 vessels plus another 734 auxiliary boats used in aquaculture. The official figures have been obtained by the Fisheries Department to compile a new register of all deep-sea and coastal vessels, as the previous version was obsolete.

The census excludes fishing vessels that are no longer based at a Galician port, those not included in the Fisheries General Secretariat list and others that are inactive, being scrapped or about to be permanently decommissioned. Government officials said the new fleet register will be continually updated with new information as changes occur.

The coastal fleet's records have not been updated yet, but the authorities want owners to report the current status of their vessels. Authorities will accept information for the census during the next three months. (FIS/MP).-

Chilean industry targets hoki

The Chilean fisheries industry is improving the added value component of its products, as shown by the 20% increase in export revenue despite a 15% drop in catch volume in the Centre-South region, represented by the Fishing Industrialists Association (Asipes).

The sector generates almost 12% of the country's exports and provides 13,000 direct jobs. But its strategy now is to focus more on manufacturing end products with a higher added value instead of continuing to process only raw material or intermediate products. This qualitative leap is aimed at improving the sector's international standing, boosting revenue and generating more employment

USD 20 million has been invested in this strategy over the last two and a half years. The latest project being the frozen hake plant that was inaugurated in Talcahuano, at a cost of 5 million US dollars.

The introduction of legislation setting maximum catches has also influenced this process. During the 1990s some fishery resources were almost exhausted, but harvesting is now more carefully managed through the annual catch quota system.

One of the sector's main challenges now is turning hoki - or Patagonian grenadier ? used for manufacturing fishmeal during the last three years, and into human consumption products to meet increasing demand from European and American markets, says recently appointed Asipes president Rodrigo Sarquis.

Almost 35% of the 125,000 tonnes regional quota is destined for export, and the aim is for the whole volume to reach foreign markets within 5 years.

"Having signed trade agreements with the European Union and the United States, which buy 16 and 27% of Chile's fisheries and aquaculture products, we have high hopes of achieving this objective", said Mr. Sarquis. (FIS/MP).-