MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Illex season to begin in Argentina/Uruguay common fishing zone

The Joint Technical Commission for the Argentine-Uruguay Maritime Front (CTMFM) agreed to open the squid (Illex argentinus) fishery in the bilateral Common Fishing Zone. The resolution was published in Argentina's Official Bulletin of 22 April, and is set to come into force once it is published in Uruguay's Official Bulletin

The season's closing date for 2008 will be set by the Commission in a plenary meeting scheduled for July, following a resource status assessment based on technical information given by both parties. Currently the 56 squid jiggers operating in the area are divided into two groups: one located at parallel 49º south, and the other at parallel 47º, near the 200 mile limit pertaining to the Argentine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). According to statistics released by Argentina's Fisheries Department between January first and April 21, squid landings at Argentina maritime ports totalled 67.965 tons, distributed as follows: Puerto Deseado, Santa Cruz, 27.212 tons; 18.888 tons in Puerto Madryn, Chubut; and 18.422 tons in Mar del Plata. Jiggers landed 57.099 tons of squid; trawler vessels, 9.913 tons; fresh fish vessels, 869.2 tons; surimi vessels, 59.2 tons and coastal vessels, 21.5 tons. Meanwhile, Argentina's National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development (INIDEP) announced that a scientific evaluation cruise on squid will not be carried out, which also effectively eliminates the possibility of using commercial fishing vessels to explore the state of the resource. The possibility of using commercial vessels for collecting scientific data on squid in order to improve the fishery's management had originally been suggested to INIDEP by the Federal Fisheries Council (CFP). However a long standing labour dispute with INIDEP unions has seriously limited all activities of Argentina's main fisheries research centre. (FIS/MP).-