MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falkland Islands: Weekly Penguin News update

Jake Downing and his family the new FITB General Manager.

Headlines:
Tongan fisherman is lucky South Georgia tagger; Kiwi nabs tourism job; Weekly Lan drops Puerto Montt stop; Tamar awaiting repair; Inside Penguin News.

Kiwi nabs tourism jobTHINGS are looking up for the Falkland Islands Tourist Board (FITB) following the appointment of New Zealander Jake Downing as General Manager. When Mr Downing takes up his new post in early November, it will mark the end of more than a year of uncertainty and controversy for the Tourist Board. In October 2006, a British applicant was offered the job but turned it down after he visited the Islands. The second round of recruitment resulted in the appointment of a Canadian man over a local candidate and his application for a work permit was subsequently refused by the Principal Immigration Officer meaning recruitment for the post had to begin again. Mr Downing will move to the Falklands with his wife and daughter from New Zealand, where he is currently responsible for the management and development of eight visitor information centres across Auckland and surrounding islands. The information centres receive in excess of one million international visitors each year, and, the Tourist Board says, Mr Downing has been instrumental in tripling their profits during his three and a half year tenure. With 10 years experience in the tourism industry, Mr Downing's previous roles have included Sales Manager for a niche travel agent/tour operator in the UK, where he led his department to become the fastest growing division of the company. Looking forward to his new job, Mr Downing commented, "I can see a lot of potential for the Falkland Islands tourism industry, and am very excited about arriving and working together with local and international businesses to build and develop the tourism figures." FITB Chairman, Councillor Ian Hansen, said he is, "â€Ã‚¦very pleased," that the Board has finally appointed a General Manager and, "...looking forward to the continued growth and development of the Falkland Islands tourism industry, led by Mr Downing." Tongan fisherman is lucky South Georgia taggerTHE end of the season for the South Georgia toothfish fishery last month has led to the annual arrival in Stanley of a small fleet of longliners. All of the licensed vessels in the fishery are required by the South Georgia Government to undertake end of season catch verification inspections as well as Marine Stewardship Council chain of custody inspections. This provided the opportunity for a presentation to one lucky fisherman. South Georgia Government's Executive Officer, Richard McKee, explains: "During the course of the season, fisheries observers tag and return live fish on every vessel. "This is a key element of the stock assessment for the fishery and therefore every fisherman who subsequently returns a tag from a re-captured fish is rewarded with $10 and the opportunity to win $1,000 from an annual prize draw." The 2006 season's winner of the prize draw was Feliti Kami from Tonga, a fisherman on the New Zealand flagged longliner San Aspiring.First Secretary, Paul Martinez, visited Feliti on the ship to present him with his prize money and thank him on behalf of the South Georgia Government for his "diligence". Weekly Lan drops Puerto Montt stopTHE weekly Lan flight to the Falklands will no longer stop in Puerto Montt. The flight will continue to operate every week via Punta Arenas and also via Rio Gallegos once a month in each direction. For the month of September only the flight will operate to the Falklands at the slightly later times of arrival at 5.55pm and departure at 7:05pm. From October 6 Lan will depart Santiago at 8.20am and arrive in the Falklands at 2.05pm. The return flight will depart the Falklands at 3.05pm and arrive into Santiago at 9.05pm. Jennie Forrest of Lan agents International Tours and Travel commented, "Passengers will notice variations of one hour on these flight times during the period until mid-October when we have a time difference (+1 hour) with Chile." Passengers travelling to and from Puerto Montt can connect with other flights in Punta Arenas but same day connections will not be available every Saturday, she added. Mrs Forrest said Lan had made the change to the flight for, "operational reasons. Tamar awaiting repairTHE coastal shipping vessel Tamar FIis temporarily out of action. While departing from Stanley on August 30 she suffered a mechanical breakdown as she crossed the Harbour but managed to return to the East Jetty. Replacement parts and an engineer are due to arrive in the Islands tomorrow and it is hoped the repairs will be completed by early next week. The vessel will then carry out some urgent deliveries before heading to Chile for routine dry dock. Meanwhile the Ministry of Defence-chartered St Brandonis helping with the delivery of fuel. Inside Penguin NewsPage 11: Conservation clean up Page 8: Kite Surfer crosses the sound Page 4: Agriculture news Page 2: Education restructure