MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falkland Islands: Record harvest in Illex squid fishery

A catch of 161,500 tonnes of <i>Illex</i> was recorded this season.

Wide fluctuations in Falkland Illex squid numbers in the last 20 years have been linked to an increased environmental variability in the Southwest Atlantic along with heavy commercial fishing.

The fishery peaked in 1999 with a record catch of 266,000 tonnes but later plummeted to a nadir harvest of 2,000 tonnes in 2004. This year a catch 161,500 tonnes was recorded - the highest annual catch since 2000, and in terms of catch per vessel day, season 2007 was the best season ever. The sale of Illexfishing licences to companies source a significant proportion of government revenue, which heightens the problem of the fishery's stock fluctuations for the islands' economy. The most important fishery in terms of licence fee value, this year the fishery hauled in some FKP 6.1 million (USD 12.5 million) in fees for the government. In 2001, the fishery hauled in FKP 16 million (USD 32.9 million) in fees, according to a recent government report published by Penguin News An Illexsquid haul of 82,000 tonnes by only 43 licensed jiggers in 2006 raised hopes of the fishery's recovery. A fleet totalling 58 jiggers received licenses to fish in 2007. Several trawlers reported between 20 and 40 tonnes of Illexcaught in January on the high seas. Their small size and immaturity linked the catch to the South Patagonian Stock (SPS) that usually later migrates to Falkland waters. However, oceanographic temperature conditions in the Southwest Atlantic in January-February appeared to be unfavourable for the SPS squid and caused a delay in southbound squid migrations. As a result, squid stayed for longer on the high seas, providing stable catches of 20-25 tonnes per day both for trawlers and jiggers, adds the report. The Falkland's Illexseason began as usual on 15 February with only 1-2 jiggers fishing. By the end of February, 53 jiggers were operating, all of them in the northwest of Falkland Inner Conservation Zone (FICZ). Dense aggregations of Illexon the high seas attracted many jiggers to the area to fish, and only a couple remained in the northwest part of the Falkland Outer Conservation Zone (FOCZ) to later tranship their catches in Berkeley Sound. After a jigger on 13 March came across an area that yielded about 70 tonnes of Illexper night, the whole fleet, minus 22 vessels, moved to Falkland waters form the high seas. In April, oceanographic temperatures in the Southwest Atlantic returned back to normal and favoured the concentration of Illex squid on its borders to a level of 60 tonnes of squid per night until mid-May. The high abundance of SPS squid this year made it an outstanding Illexfishery for the Falklands. Transhipment activity in Berkeley Sound from both licensed vessels and vessels from the High Seas and involved fees amounting to some FKP 569,000 (USD 1.17 million), which is more than double that of the previous year. The Falklands squid fishing season ended on 15 June with a total cach of 161,500 tonnes - the highest level in the last seven years. While the government welcomes the squid fishery's recovery following two dramatic years of low abundance in 2004 and 2005, it remains concerned over the abundant season's effect on market prices.(MP/FIS)