MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile Fisheries Council sets catch quotas for 2008

The National Fisheries Council established global catch quotas for 2008 at a meeting held at the offices of the Subsecretariat of Fisheries (SUBPESCA) in Valparaiso in mid-December.

Common hake ( Merluccius gayi gayi) quota was reduced by 7,000 tonnes from 2007 and fixed at 55,000 tonnes for the current year. In 2007, the quota had been fixed at 62,100 tonnes. Jorge Chocair, head of SUBPESCA, pointed out: "We have maintained a trend of reducing [quotas] in acknowledgment of the fact that the fishery is a vulnerable resource for both the industrial and artisanal sectors, making better management necessary." Regarding the yellownose skate ( Dipturus chilensis) fishery located in the coastal waters of Region VIII at parallel 41°28,6" S, the 2008 annual global catch quota was fixed at 260 tonnes. Last year, the quota for the fishery had been pegged at 370 tonnes. The annual quota for golden kingclip ( Genypterus blacodes) last year was kept at 5,700 tonnes for 2008. Of this total, 80 per cent will be allocated to the industrial sector and the remainder going to the artisanal sector. The hoki ( Macruronus magellanicus) catch quota also remains the same as last year, at 154,000 tonnes. An annual quota of 28,000 tonnes was established for southern hake ( Merluccuis australis) -- of this, 50 per cent will pertain to the industrial sector with the rest going to the artisanal sector. The annual quota for anchovy ( Engraulis ringens) and common sardine (Strangomera bentincki) for Regions V to X was fixed at 385,000 tonnes. The industrial sector was allocated 44 per cent of the quota with the remaining 56 per cent going to the artisanal sector. The 2008 quota for jack mackerel was maintained at 1.6 million tonnes, the resource's quota for 2007. Of this total, 95 per cent will be destined to the industrial sector, and the remaining 5 per cent to the artisanal sector. SUBPESCA authorities expressed satisfaction with the decisions taken by the Fisheries Council. "It has been a full day's work of intense assessment and debate, but we are satisfied that responsible choices have been made that will not affect the resource's sustainability," Chocair stated. He added: "We received a positive response as we have managed to adequately manage the situation, not just from a biological point of view, but from a social, economic and political point of view as well." "We have met with complex sectors that each maintain conflicting interests, which all are legitimate; we came to a fair and equal resolution for all those involved in the activity. This will allow for responsible resource management and administration," said the subsecretariat of Fisheries. Among the challenges SUBPESCA faces in the year ahead are the implementation of new fisheries management and administration tools concerning biological bans, or their extensions, and the modernisation of the oceanographic research fleet. (FIS)