MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Penguin News Update.

Headlines:
Gambler joins Falklands register; Disappointing first month of Illex season; No deaths at Onion; Falklands in music; Cruise season slows; Fire enquiry continues.

Gambler joins Falklands register

FISHING Company Consolidated Fisheries Limited has added a new long line fishing vessel to the Falklands register of ships. CFL Gambleris a 51.46 metre purpose made Spanish long liner, originally built in 1990 and rebuilt and lengthened in 2000. She carries a total crew of 40. A spokesperson from Consolidated Fisheries Ltd said the company purchased the vessel in September last year, "...after many months of searching for a suitable replacement for CFL Pioneer." She has been in Cape Town, South Africa for the past five months being refitted to United Kingdom Marine Coastguard standards under the supervision of Captain George Betts, Vessels Operations Manager for Consolidated Fisheries Ltd. CFL Gambler, formerly Virgin of Carmenarrived in Stanley on March 9 and a renaming ceremony was held yesterday (Thursday) morning. Invited guests from the public and private sector were addressed by the Chairman of Consolidated Fisheries Limited, Stuart Wallace, and His Excellency the Governor before being given a guided tour of the vessel. Mr Wallace told guests, "I would like to express our appreciation of the friendly cooperation we have received throughout the project from all the officials involved. "Generally when we talk about a ?Falklands factor' we mean the additional difficulties sometimes encountered, but we find too, often, that there is also a Falklands factor which results in valuable advice, guidance and people working together to make things possible. "Fishing is a high risk, complex business and a spirit of co-operativeness, a ?can do' approach, is a pre-requisite for the success of the industry."

Disappointing first month of Illex season

UNUSUAL weather conditions may be to blame for poor catches of Illex squid in the Falklands zone. The season officially opened on February 15 and catches to date are in the region of only 40 tonnes, a figure the Director of Fisheries, Dr John Barton, describes as, "really low." He explained that, in an average year with normal catches, by the end of February catches in the region of 20,000 tonnes could usually be expected. However he added, "...there have been previous years where the Falklands Illex season doesn't start until 8-10 March. "Hence, whilst the Falklands season is now beginning to look late, the fact that there were hardly any catches here in February was not necessarily unusual." Catches have also been low on the high seas, which Dr Barton says is, "...exacerbating the situation for the fishing companies. "By comparison in 2002, which was a very poor year for the Falklands Illex fishery, catches on the high seas were reasonable." A joint cruise with Argentine scientists which took place last month looked at the pre-recruit abundance of Illex, which is the number of Illex which will enter the fishery. The cruise has taken place most years since 1995. Dr Barton said, "The 2004 cruise proceeded well with two Fisheries Department scientists on board, although unfortunately, it found the lowest abundance of Illex on record." Dr Barton said the reasons for the poor season so far appear to be primarily to do with oceanography. He explained, "December was unusually cold, whereas February was warmer than usual. In some areas surface water temperatures were almost 2°C warmer in February. The Falklands current appears to have become very weak at present." While the causes do largely appear to be oceanographic, Dr Barton said there have been longer term concerns relating to the Illex fishery. He said, "The Falklands have long advocated a conservation arrangement which would include the high seas and provide additional conservation measures for Illex. "In particular such an agreement might include delaying the start of fishing to allow the Illex to grow, and greater protection at the end of the season for spawning squid. "This has been pursued in the South Atlantic Fisheries Commission." Dr Barton said there is a view that the Illex season may simply be late, possibly by up to two months. "This could be the effect of the colder than normal temperatures earlier in the season." However he added, "...if that is the case things will need to pick up soon if there is to be any sort of season. "Consideration is already being given to whether additional conservation measures should be introduced, and this will depend on developments over the next few days."

Briefly

No deaths at Onion

A MILITARY spokesperson has confirmed that no fatal incident occurred on Onion Range two weeks ago. Captain Jill Hamlin of British Forces Falkland Islands was responding to rumours that an incident at the range caused the deaths of two service personnel. She said, "Safety of our soldiers on the range is always of paramount importance and we maintain an excellent safety record."

Falklands in music

A PIECE of music created especially for the Falkland Islands is to be composed next year. The Falklands Suite, inspired by the many aspects of the Falkland Islands, is a unique collaboration between the Music Department of the Falkland Islands Community School and composer Craig Vear. Full story next week.

Cruise season slows

AS THE cruise ship season winds down, only three ships will call into the Islands this week. Tomorrow (Saturday) Grigoriy Mikheev(carrying 30 passengers) will spend the day in Stanley. On Monday Amsterdam (1380) and Profesor Multanovskiy (49) will be in Stanley. On Tuesday, Profesor Molchanov (52) will be in Stanley.

Fire enquiry continues

THE police investigation into a fire which destroyed Bombilla House continues. A spokesperson for the Royal Falkland Islands Police said the investigation is expected to take a number of months