Falkland Is. Breaking News.

Wednesday, January 26th 2005 - 20:00 UTC

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Headlines:
Illex catches on high seas better than 2004; Wool label meets mixed reactions; Organic farm receives premium for wool.

Illex catches on high seas better than 2004

ILLEX catches on the high seas are variable but, have been "quite good", the Director of Fisheries has confirmed. Dr John Barton said catches are "definitely good" when compared to 2004, however, "...that would not be hard; they have not been exceptional when compared to normal years." Dr Barton said it is still too early to predict what the season in Falkland zones will be like. In 2002 catches were good early in the season on the high seas, butt the squid did not materialize in Falkland Island zones in any quantity. Dr Barton says it is likely to be the middle of February before indications of how the season might develop are determined and, "...analysis of samples of squid taken from the high seas will help determine which illex stock is currently being fished." So while he says there are "no great pointers" for the immediate future, having illex on the high seas at present is a lot more cheerful than not having illex."

Wool label meets mixed reactions.

FALKLAND Islands Development Corporation (FIDC) General Manager, Julian Morris's efforts to run a trial with labels targeting Falkland Island wool products was met with mixed reactions at Tuesday's Falkland Islands Development Board (FIDB) meeting. Mr Morris showed the labels to members of the board and explained that the idea was to build on Karen Lee's recent promotion of wool products at A&E Knitwear. He said the labels were a trial open to anyone who wanted to take part, that there had not been a lot of time and energy spent on researching a final look for the label, however the idea was to find out if it would work. Funded by FIDC and costing less than £1,000 the labels carry a Falkland Islands woolmark and designate how a product is made, whether in camp or bulk produced. Councillor Richard Cockwell said he was concerned that the woolmark used was very close to the Blended wool mark which would be contravening a trademark. Councillor Mike Summers expressed concern that, "...somebody might get sued," although Mr Morris said the graphic was being used as a symbol rather than a trademark. The Chief Executive, Chris Simpkins suggested that rather than take any risk, efforts should be made to contact those that own the wool mark and show what it is intended to be used for. Members of the board also felt that the Falkland Finest mark should be incorporated in the project. It was decided to discuss the issue at the next meeting.

Organic farm receives premium for wool.

AN update on Organic Certification in the Falklands shows that all but two of the nine farms initially certified have pulled out of the scheme. Port Louis and Port Edgar were the first farms to be certified as organic and are both enthusiastic to continue. Port Louis has branched out into cattle for local consumption which is sold as organic, however the farm does not make any premium at present. Port Edgar is a sheep farm generating 17,275 kilos of wool in 2003/04. The farm has sold 2,900 kilos of clean organic wool to China receiving a premium of 31.2p per kilo. The farm owners anticipate selling a further 4,400 kilos of organic wool this year. In a paper considered by FIDB the Organic Inspector pointed out that a factor in reduced participation is the ET and AI programmes as part of the Department of Agriculture scheme to upgrade wool and meat production. She said farmers may be interested in obtaining organic certification once they have completed their AI and ET programmes, with a view to receiving a premium meat price once upgraded animals become available to the abattoir.

Source: Penguin News.

Categories: Falkland Islands.

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