MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Squid fishery kicks off to the south of parallel 44º

With apprehensive expectations, Argentine shortfin squid (Illex argentinus) fishery is slated to open Wednesday 1 February in Argentine waters located to the south of parallel 44º, the fishery ground's most important area for the national squid fleet.

Although vessel owners expect to improve on last year's catches, the eratic behaviour observed in the fishery beyond the exclusive economic zone's 200 miles and in the argentine waters between parallels 44º S and 46º 30' (where fishery kicked off last 16 January), demand a mild optimism.

The national Undersecretary of Fishery explained that the early opening of the fishery to the north of parallel 44ºS was aimed at exploiting the summer spawning stock (SDV), allowing a rational exploitation of the resource without affecting the South-Patagonian stock (SSP) sustainability.

Temporary figures by the Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Secretariat (SAGPyA) demonstrate that 2005 squid catches were 95.6 per cent higher than in 2004, with a total landing of 145,066 tonnes.

In comparison to the best catches of the last five years (2001), 2005 figure is 28.9 per cent below.

Sources for the Argentine Naval Prefecture and the Marines reported that they continue to carry out intense surveillance activities, with naval as well as air units, in the vicinity of the EEZ boundary, to prevent foreign vessels to fish illegally in the Argentinean waters.

Meanwhile, in the Falkland Islands the illex fishery will kick off 15 February, according to local authorities. The sector operating in this zone is also slightly optimistic, given that it is hard to predict the season's results due to the unpredictable nature of the resource's fisheries. (FIS)