MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina: hake landings down, Illex squid double

Common hake (Merluccius hubbsi) landings in Argentina during the first half of this year dropped 26,5% compared to the same period last year, totalling 156,596.9 tonnes. Last year's first half was 213,078.30 tonnes.

Catches north of parallel 41 amounted to slightly more than 34,600 tonnes, and south of the parallel to some 120,000 tonnes, according to a report by the Argentine Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, which depends from the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food (SAGPyA).

However the Fisheries Department also reports that squid (Illex argentinus) catches reached 136,899.40 tonnes between January and June 2005, almost doubling last year's same period 69,827.5 tonnes. Squid-jiggers registered landings of 121,000 tonnes, beating the 11,950 tonnes, landed by trawlers.

As for Argentine fisheries total catch in the first half of the year, it reached 467,647.2 tonnes, of which 259,000 tonnes were landed by the freezer fleet.

The report also indicates that, out of the 244,000 tonnes of fish and mollusks landed in ports of the Buenos Aires Province in the first six months of 2005, some 233,762.6 tonnes correspond to Mar del Plata. Hake and squid figures show Mar del Plata attracted 101,078.9 and 51,232.2 tonnes. In the same Atlantic port fresh fish vessels landed 123,530.7 tonnes and squid-jiggers some 45,006 tonnes.

Bahia Blanca and Necochea reported 3,104.6 and 2,054.2 tonnes; in Rio Negro province, landings at San Antonio Este and San Antonio Oeste totalled 10,088.20 tonnes, and in Chubut, 100,875 tonnes of fish and mollusks.

Comodoro Rivadavia, 15,047.8 tonnes; Puerto Madryn 82,314.2 tonnes of which 37,655.3 tonnes were landed by squid jiggers and 31,308.6 tonnes by the trawler fleet.

Ports in the province of Santa Cruz received in the first half of 2005, 61,637.5 tonnes of seafood, of which 50,958 tonnes were landed in Puerto Deseado, with 31,740.6 tonnes contributed by squid-jiggers, and 11,301.6 tonnes, by the trawler fleet.

In Tierra del Fuego, specifically Ushuaia, 51,017.7 tonnes were landed; 26,690.10 tonnes provided by the surimi fleet, and 23,908 tonnes by the trawler fleet. Lastly of the nearly 6,500 tonnes of mollusks landed during the first six months, 5,915.1 tonnes were made up of shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri). (FIS/MP).-