MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Weekly Penguin News Update - Falkland Islands

Headlines: Saluting Her Majesty the Queen on her birthday; Dr Doyle’s visit to bring hope for greater certainty in relations between FIG and C&W; Weighty Argentine seabed claim; Ilex still absent; Action on dead pigs at dairy not in the public interest; New advice for use of Bonjela.

Saluting Her Majesty the Queen on her birthday

HE the Governor Mr Alan Huckle and the Commander British Forces South Atlantic Islands, Air Commodore, Gordon Moulds, with his Aide de Camp, Flt Lt Nicola Hammond, during the annual parade to celebrate the birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. (See Page 5 for more pictures)

Dr Doyle’s visit to bring hope for greater certainty in relations between FIG and C&W

THE cost of telecommunications and the laws governing them are to be put under the spotlight by the government’s consultant when he visits later this month.

Dr Chris Doyle arrives in the Islands this weekend, for a week long visit .

According to the Terms of Reference for his visit, the government is seeking Dr Doyle’s advice on regulatory framework that, “builds in greater certainty for both government and Cable and Wireless (C&W) and moves away from the current ad hoc approach.”

It has been widely recognised that the legislation on telecommunications needs to be modernised as it pre-dates the internet and mobile telephones and Dr Doyle will focus on regulations which are currently poorly defined.

Also under scrutiny will be the tariffs charged by Cable and Wireless and the way they are implemented. Dr Doyle will propose a “structured coherent approach that sits with the principles of transparency and accountability on the part of government,” the Terms of Reference state.

Short term broadband packages

Costly tariffs advertised by Cable and Wireless for seasonal broadband packages have been raising eyebrows locally: the seasonal Gold package has been advertised at a cost of £191.99 per month (offered to those who spend periods of less than 12 months in the Islands), compared to £119.99 per month for the annual Gold package.

No approval from FIG in relation to these charges was required or sought, the Attorney General, David Pickup, told Penguin News. The government was in support of such packages for seasonal or short term visitors and had not sought to regulate the pricing of them. However, further consideration would be given to this as part of Dr Doyle’s review.

Weighty Argentine seabed claim

FORTY volumes of documentation, claimed to represent eleven years of technical and scientific work and weighing in at an incredible 840 kilos, were presented to the United Nations by Argentine Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Victor Taccetti in support of his country’s claim to a vast area of the South Atlantic, including Falkland Islands waters, according to the BBC’s Buenos Aires correspondent.

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) currently provides that each coastal state possesses a continental shelf which extends to 200 nautical miles from the shoreline (regardless of whether or not a geological continental shelf exists that far) as a matter of international law.

The Argentine 1,700.000 sq km (650,000 square mile) claim includes waters around the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and adds considerably to this provision.

Article 76 of UNCLOS provides for coastal states to seek to establish an extended outer limit to the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles, up to 350 nautical miles from its coastline, or 100 miles from where the sea reaches a depth of 2,500 metres, and where specified geological conditions exist.

The deadline for submitting evidence for this purpose to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) falls next month and it is not yet known whether the British government has made a conflicting claim.

Ilex still absent

THE Ilex squid, which for more than twenty years has been a major contributor to the Falkland Islands economy, has still to make an appearance this season.

Director of Fisheries, John Barton, said that there appeared at present to be no fishing for Ilex on the high seas, where catches so far this season had been, “not that great.”

Looking at the season overall, Mr Barton concluded that it was beginning to look as if there had been “a migration distribution issue.” While he conceded that this could partly be due to oceanographic conditions, a more worrying possibility was that this had been “a poor year” with lower than usual abundance.

While the ability of squid stocks to bounce back from lean years had been observed on several occasions, Mr Barton said that this could take some time to happen. The present uncertainty over the future of Ilex made more important the necessity for regional management and conservation effort in the South West Atlantic, the Director of Fisheries emphasised.

Action on dead pigs at dairy not in the public interest

CALLS for the prosecution of the former managers of Stanley Dairy, Kevin and Leone Reynolds, for cruelty to animals, following the discovery of dead pigs in a container at the dairy (PN, February13) will not be acted upon.

Chief of Police, Paul Elliott told Penguin News that there would be no further police action in this case, either here or in Australia. The offence would have to be dealt with in the Falkland Islands and in view of the cost and the limited sanctions available should they be found guilty, it was not thought to be in the public interest to bring either suspect back to the Islands.

As reported last week, Mr and Mrs Reynolds have been charged with the importation of stolen goods into Australia and are due to appear in court in Fremantle, Western Australia, on Friday May 1, to face further charges regarding breaches of Australian quarantine regulations.

New advice for use of Bonjela

THE Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has issued precautionary advice for topical oral pain relief gels containing salicylate salts.

The main products affected are Bonjela and Bonjela Cool Mint Gel. The new advice recommends that these products should not be used in those under 16-years-of-age due to salicylate salts having the same effect on the body as aspirin.

Dr Roger Diggle assured that there was no need for concern if the products had been used with no ill effects in the past, adding that if parents do have these products in the home, to either dispose of them or simply ensure that they are only used by people over the age of 16.