MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine Illex landings doubled but not enough “to compensate”

The Argentine Illex squid season was over before the calendar date but “it was far better than in 2004, almost double catches and with a real tempting commercial price increase close to 100%”, said Hugo Stecconi, vice-president of the Argentine Jiggers Chamber and head of Pesquera Madryn.

"The end of the squid season was a couple of weeks before August 31, because if there's no squid there's none for nobody", added Mr. Stecconi.

However in spite of the greater volume and better prices Mr. Stecconi cautioned that "it's not enough to compensate the poor seasons we've been having for several years running, and certainly it does not mean the companies have recovered".

As to the future Mr. Stecconi "first of all we must assess the biomass and at different moments the escape percentage, and from then on determine how much can be fished and a season timetable to ensure jiggers can operate as much time as possible".

"We must know what is underwater, and we still don't know. Be it with surveys or mobile bans we must keep a sustained squid biomass which will also help companies balance budgets, ensure employment".

However Mr. Stecconi was critical of the Argentine Fisheries Research and Development Institute arguing that "they blame of us for the collapse of the squid fisheries, that's the word INIDEP used, but we kept strictly to what they said. So it means every thing we did was useless".

Furthermore Mr. Stecconi complained that the "only ones who are banned from fishing are the jiggers, because we concentrate on one species, but this does not impede the trawlers (squid) incidental catch or an increase in the tolerance percentage. When it's no squid, it must be for everybody no squid".

Illex landings in Argentina of the ended 2005 season totalled over 136.000 tons, a considerable advance from the almost 70.000 of 2004.

Until last May Spain figured as the main destination of Argentine Illex squid with 38.278 tons equivalent to 78 million US dollars.

Korean-Argentine fisheries cooperation program

Argentina's Fisheries Research and Development Institute and Korea's Maritime and Fisheries Affairs Office will be signing a bilateral fisheries cooperation agreement.

The purpose of the agreement is to establish a framework for the exchange of information, technical assistance and joint research is specific areas such as: aquiculture; marine biotechnology and fisheries resources management.

The exchange of scientific information will include exchange of scientists and joint research cruises or any other area both sides agree on.

The agreement will extend for three years following the signing.