MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Kirchner, South Atlantic fisheries tough sheriff

Since taking office in 2003 the Argentine administration of president Nestor Kirchner has arrested more vessels illegally fishing in the South Atlantic than in the previous thirteen years points out the Buenos Aires daily Clarin in its Saturday edition.

"This has enabled to increase money collected from fines and seizures seven fold", adds the article saying that the policy is clearly geared by two purposes: to defend Argentine Patagonia's fisheries and to set "clear rules to the British authorities in Malvinas".

According to Fisheries Under Secretary Gerardo Nieto, originally from Santa Cruz and a close aide of President Kirchner (a former governor of that Patagonian province) the Argentine Navy and Coast Guard have under the current administration arrested twelve foreign fishing vessels operating in the country's EEZ with revenue from those operations jumping to 14 million pesos, approximately 4.6 million US dollars.

Clarin points out that this compares most favourably with the previous thirteen years (1990/2003) when only nine vessels illegally fishing were arrested with fines and seizures amounting to less than a million US dollars at current exchange rate.

The Argentine patrolling intensification is a warning for the "huge" foreign jigger fleet of 100 to 200 vessels which every season operates in the 200 miles plus zone and on occasions stealthily follows the squid into Argentine waters.

"And worse still, a percentage of those jiggers then move and catch in waters under Falklands' management, for which they pay huge licences that enable the Islanders to live comfortably", stresses Clarin.

Of the 21 illegal vessels captured in the last fifteen years most of them are Asian flagged: seven from Korea; five from Taiwan; three from China, plus one from Uruguay, Russia, Spain and the "jewel" of the netting, the "John Cheek" from Petrel Trawling captured last February 20 "when operating in Argentine waters with a non existent flag of the Falklands".

The incident cost the company a 1.2 million pesos fine (approx 400.000 US dollars) plus an Argentine complaint to British authorities, writes Clarin.

However the article admits worst cases: the Korean company Doo-AnFisheries which has had three vessels captured since 2004, one per season, the last of which had to pay a fine of 1.3 million US dollars, plus a warning that the next vessel will suffer an outright seizure.

On the bright side the Clarin piece points out that the current squid catch by Argentine jiggers has reached 133.588 tons, up 70% from the same period last year, reflecting the recovery of the fishery, which together with shrimp are vital for Patagonian ports.

With just over two months into the season (which extends from February to July) the approximately one hundred jiggers with Argentine licences have almost reached the total squid catch of 2005 which was 146.000 tones.

However the encouraging side of the season has been shadowed by a significant drop in the international price for squid. Argentina's Ilex squid exports net an average 200 million US dollars annually.