MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Judge upholds Argentine government in hake dispute.

An Argentine Federal Court Judge from Rawson, José Eduardo Pinsker turned down legal appeals which would have allowed 11 vessels belonging to five companies to continue catching common hake (Merluccius hubbsi).

continue catching common hake (Merluccius hubbsi). The decision is based on the fact that all vessels have exceeded the total allowable catch, TAC, for the period August-December established by the Argentine Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food (SAGPyA).

The ruling favors the Patagonian province of Chubut which appealed two weeks ago for the fishing quotas to remain unchanged and ensure that processing plants based in that province may operate until the end of the year. This ruling is "most important and sets a very important precedent", said Chubut Governor Mario Das Neves, stating that "it clearly established how the activity must be carried out".

Last September 30, Chubut's Attorney General Jorge Miquelarena filed an appeal on behalf of the Provincial Government "requesting urgent repeal of "cautionary measures" which have allowed a group of freezer vessels to exceed the hake quota established by national authorities, reported La Jornada.

"The risk posed by this measure was that the total annual 405,000 tons quota for all jurisdictions could have been exhausted before the end of the year, damaging on land plants which would run out of raw material" argued the Attorney.

Mr. Miquelarena insisted that vessels involved "will have to re-adapt their operations to what the Federal government has established for the rest of the ships". He added that there is evidence "those vessels have caught in excess of 17,000 tonnes of the volume that they would have been allowed to fish had they not filed an appeal". However private sources indicate that freezer vessels have actually extracted around 25,000 tonnes in excess of SAGPyAs August Resolution 675/04.

Freezer vessels affected by the judge's repeal include: María Eugenia, María Liliana, Stella Maris I, Itxas Lur, Géminis, Ceres and María Alejandra, owned by Grupo Valastro and Moscuzza; Navegantes, Ponte de Rande and Estreito de Rande, owned by Grupo Solimeno; Antártida, Api II y Api IV, belonging to Iberconsa; and Fonseca. Companies are mostly Spanish-Argentine joint ventures.

The Argentine federal government earlier this week had ordered the Argentine Naval Prefecture (PNA) (Coast Guard) to recall these vessels to port immediately, for having exceeded hake's TAC.

However Chubut fisheries companies are lobbying for an additional 24,500 tons of common hake that the Argentine Fisheries Under Secretariat has been holding on stand by. According to Buenos Aires sources the volume will be allocated among those companies which are in an "emergency" situation or undergoing specific problems and have been unable to operate normally. (FIS-MP)