MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fisheries: Breaking News

Headlines:
Australia leads campaign to prevent whaling increase; Jumbo flying squid invasion threatens hake; South Pacific fisheries organization in the making ; Argentina begins hake juvenile survey; Shrimp survey in South Atlantic yields negative results;

Australia leads campaign to prevent whaling increase

A bid to stop Japan from increasing whaling depends on just a few votes, said Australian Environment Minister Ian Campbell. Members of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) are due to vote on the issue on 20 June. Japan wants to resume commercial whaling and double the number of whales it catches for scientific purposes. But Australia opposes the plan, and Mr Campbell has spent the last few weeks lobbying other nations for support. Under a current international agreement, there is a moratorium on the commercial hunting of whales, although some can be killed for scientific research. But the main whaling nations - Norway, Iceland and Japan - now want the ban partially lifted, arguing that stocks of some species have recovered enough to make hunting sustainable. In addition, Japan wants to increase the number of whales it kills for scientific purposes - whales which can also then be consumed. Under its research quota, Japan wants to start hunting fin and humpback whales and to raise its annual intake of minke whales. Both issues are on the agenda of the IWC annual conference, which is currently taking place in Ulsan, South Korea. Delegates are set to discuss a scheme to model how many whales can be killed without damaging overall numbers - the Revised Management System (RMS). Mr Campbell is heading Australia's push to retain the status quo. He wants, instead, to persuade the IWC to create a Southern Ocean whale sanctuary. The environment minister has spent the last few weeks travelling to various South Pacific island nations, hoping to gain their support. "I think the cold, hard reality is that there are still one or two votes in this... We won't really know the answer until we get to Korea next week," Mr Campbell told ABC radio. Japan has threatened to leave the IWC if the body votes against its plans. Whale meat is seen as a delicacy in Japan, and officials in Tokyo maintain that the tradition is an important part of the nation's cultural heritage. (BBC).-

Jumbo flying squid invasion threatens hake

Chilean Fisheries Undersecretary Felipe Sandoval warned about the massive presence of jumbo flying squids -one of the most aggressive giant squid predators- in the southern area of the country, between the Regions X and XI, from Port Montt and Guafo Island. "We deeply regret having to confirm this bit of information" announced the Undersecretary after reviewing the results of the hydro-acoustic surveys carried out by the Southern University of Chile (UACH) on jumbo flying squid concentrations in waters off the Chiloé Isle. Researchers estimate the presence of this resource surpasses 330,000 tonnes, which is deemed a "clear indicator the magnitude of the grouping in the area and of its predatory potential capacity over the regional species of fishery interest". According to sources from the Undersecretariat of Fisheries (SUBPESCA), jumbo flying squid is moving south from the north of the country, thus invading the whole Chilean littoral. So far local artisanal fishing sector is the most affected by the massive presence of the jumbo flying squid because the only resource they are catching is southern hake on which the giant squid feeds exclusively. The head of SUBPESCAs Management Division Wilma Correa said that giant squid live around one year and a half on average. "It has been estimated that the 300,000 tonnes of squid in the area can consume between one million tonnes and one and a half million tonnes of southern hake in one year." Although SUBPESCA authorities have proposed that foreign factory vessels equipped with sophisticated technology come to Chile to selectively catch the squids, the Senate had decided to suspend the discussion of the law including this initiative, indefinitely. "More things could have been done, but the delay of the Fishery Law has legally tied our hands. Jumbo flying squid has to be fought, across the board, and if it is not stopped, our catches will be markedly reduced, as it has occurred in other parts of the world", said Mr. Sandoval. However, Marcel Claude executive director of Fundación Océana explanations given by authorities are "politically irresponsible and scientifically incompetent." "There is no scientific data to support what has been said, rather political reasons and that is to hide and dilute SUBPESCA and the Ministry of Economy responsibilities, by supporting a fishery law that "clearly prevents fisheries resource conservation and artisanal fishers socio-economic sustainability", Claude told El Llanquihue newspaper. He also mentioned that two years ago fishermen from Chaitén took advantage of another jumbo flying squid invasion in the area catching them to use as bait to fish for the skate species. (FIS/MP)

South Pacific fisheries organization in the making

The Chilean Government has been invited by New Zealand and Australian authorities to participate in the creation of a regional fisheries management organization in the South Pacific Ocean. This agreement, which according to the president of the National Fisheries Society (SONAPESCA), Roberto Izquierdo, could come into effect as of next year, would partially replace the goals of the Galapagos Agreement, whose implementation remains delayed. The Galapagos Agreement was established in 2000 by Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia, in order to boost offshore fisheries conservation, but it is still pending ratification by Peruvian authorities in order to come into effect. Undersecretary of Fisheries, Felipe Sandoval, said that next August delegations from Chile, Australia, and New Zealand will hold a preliminary meeting in Canberra to begin debate on the achievement of a protection agreement for the entire South Pacific. Then, there will be another meeting in Wellington, New Zealand, in February 2006. The aim is that the three countries be the founders of the new agreement, to which other South Pacific island states may adhere later. If the Chilean Government goes through with the new agreement, it could strengthen international cooperation to ensure the conservation of offshore marine biodiversity, regulate fisheries operations by Asian and European fleets in this area, and fight illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing activities. In August 2004, Chilean authorities issued a decree denying access to the country's ports to foreign vessels that do not cooperate with fisheries regulations. The lack of a favourable response from China led the Chilean Government to reduce licenses for Chinese vessels from 11 to only five. The move prompted Beijing to recently agree with Chilean authorities to begin negotiating in August on fisheries quotas in the offshore region adjacent to the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), conservation, and the rational exploitation of horse mackerel. The process initiated by Chile, New Zealand and Australia is expected to help conserve and manage sustainably some species such as horse mackerel, swordfish, deep-water cod, orange roughy, alfonsino, and cardinal fish. Christian Maquieira head of the Department of Environment, Antarctica and Maritime Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that they are trying to achieve "an agreement through which offshore fishing becomes compatible with conservation measures adopted inside the EEZ. Basically, in order to preserve the resource". "We will favour [regional fisheries management organisations] that comply with the International Law of the Sea, so that we can rationally manage the resource" insisted Mr. Maquieira to Ecoceanos News. (FIS/MP)

Argentina begins hake juvenile survey

The Argentine National Institute of Fisheries Research and Development (INIDEP) began last week a scientific survey on small hake juveniles (Merluccius hubbsi) - or pre-recruits- off the Patagonian coasts undertaken with the research vessel "Eduardo Holmberg".. The survey includes the area between Mazarredo (south of the Gulf of San Jorge) and Escondida Island, from the coast up to 100-meter deep, reported Pesca y Puertos. Scientists will take samples using various fishing gear and conventional hauls during a 23-day period, to determine the state of pre-recruits and estimate the future of the fishery. "Although the hake situation has not worsened in recent years, we cannot say that it has improved either. Levels have been stable so far" said Laura Machinandiarena, a biologist responsible for the INIDEP evaluation campaign. Non-official reports indicate that so far this year, some 142,000 tonnes of common hake have been caught. Some vessel owners are hopeful that once Buenos Aires has all the latest scientific information studies it will increase the 380,000-tonne preliminary total allowable catch, set last January for the whole of 2005. (FIS/MP).-

Shrimp survey in South Atlantic yields negative results

Results from the Argentine Federal Fisheries Council (CFP) survey campaign on shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri) in the South Atlantic indicate the resource is practically nonexistent, thus threatening this season's kick-off. The National Institute of Fisheries Research and Development (INIDEP) research vessel OCA Balda, along with 12 commercial vessels, took part in the survey, which gathered the data casting a shadow on this season's harvest for the south of the country. Vessels that plied waters off the Patagonian Provinces of Chubut and Santa Cruz have reported insignificant catches. "According to the information I have catches were insignificant", said Jorge Frías from f the Association of Fisheries Skippers, in a statement quoted by Pescare. Additionally, it has been reported that the weather has not contributed in a positive way since during most of the survey there were strong winds generating adverse navigation conditions. Scientists with INIDEP will now focus on drafting the technical report to be submitted to the CFP, based on this preliminary data, and the complementary information they have gathered. Once the report's evaluation is complete members of the CFP will decide whether conditions are adequate to enable shrimp fishing in the area demarcated by parallels 45º and 47º S, meridian 64º W and the provincial boundary. Last year the shrimp harvest began mid-June and according to the National Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 1,300 tonnes were caught, with peaks in August and September. (FIS/MP).-