MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Discouraging Illex 2005 season forecast

The poor results of this year's Illex squid season in the South Atlantic could extend to the coming 2005 season, according to a scientist from the Falkland Islands Fisheries Department.

Dr Sasha Arkhipkin has concurred with a report submitted by the Mar del Plant based Argentine Fisheries Research and Development Institute (INIDEP) to the Argentine Federal Fisheries Council (CFP) which contains the final assessment of this year's squid fisheries development and states that there is a high probability that squid recruitment could be, "...nil or very low," in 2005.

Dr Arkhipkin commented, "...there is quite high probability that Illex recruitment in the next season will be low ".

Nevertheless he cautioned "of course, it is impossible to predict this at the moment, as we don't have any information from the Illex spawning grounds located on the continental slope of southern Brazil."

Dr Arkhipkin said that, given the high fertility of illex females (each female carries, on average, about 200,000 eggs) and quite favourable environmental conditions at the moment (cold and windy weather is good for this species), "...I cannot exclude the possibility that squid will come back, but of course not at those quantities which we observed in 1999-2001."

The INIDEP assessment was performed between January and June this year in Falkland Islands waters and Argentina's EEZ, where scientists observed that, "...the 2004 season's recruitment was almost nil".

However INIDEP in two weeks time is scheduled to begin another scientific research cruise with the purpose of estimating squid abundance and summer spawning stocks. Research vessel "Dr. Eduardo Holmberg" will be sailing the area between parallels 41 and 44 south.

Since estimates forecast a similar situation for 2005 the report defines strategies for resource conservation

Dr Arkhipkin commented, "All precautionary measures proposed by INIDEP are reasonable and they will be discussed also at the next meeting of the South Atlantic Fisheries Council in Mar del Plata at the end of this year".

Among the strategies suggested by INIDEP are a squid ban between December 15 and January 31 in the Southern Unit of Management, highlighting the importance of starting the 2005 season working on the summer spawning stock and waiting for February results to begin efforts with the South Patagonian stock.

North of parallel 45 special attention should be given to the pre recruit assessments in the first fortnight of January which will help accurately determine the north Patagonian stock. (PN/MP).-