MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Tourism and fisheries turned successful for South Georgia in 2008

A slight change in sea-surface temperatures anticipate a poor krill season

Fisheries and tourism turned 2008 into a successful year for the South Georgia Government according to the address from HE the Commissioner Alan Huckle read out at the South Georgia Association (SGA) AGM. But 2009 could have surprises, he also anticipated.

The Commissioner said that in spite of the strong Krill fishing season, which helped 2008 turn out to be better financially than GSGSSI had expected, “it is unlikely to be repeated this year, which is already showing signs of being exceptionally poor”. Nevertheless other fisheries, for toothfish and ice-fish, continue to be successful.

Huckle mentioned that tourism had been a strong sector for South Georgia with around 8,500 passengers on over 70 ships visiting the Island last summer. Twenty-five yachts and 5 expeditions had also visited. Nevertheless the Commissioner said that passenger numbers next season are expected to fall following the departure from the region of two of the larger cruise ships.

In his address the Commissioner cautioned that sea-surface temperatures for January around the north of the Island show up as significantly warmer than in recent years and this has had a strong impact on the arrival of Krill from its spawning grounds around the Antarctic.

“An immediate and visible result has been last summer's poor breeding success of gentoo penguins along the north coast. Similar poor years occurred in the 1990s, most recently in 1998”.

Regarding outstanding events of a very busy 2008 for the South Georgia government, the Commissioner mentioned the first royal visit in over 50 years, when HRH the Princess Royal visited in her role as Patron of the South Georgia Heritage Trust.

GSGSSI were grateful to Princess Anne for formally opening the Hydro-electric scheme as well as for the time she spent looking round KEP and meeting the residents.

The hydro-electric power plant is a major achievement, and was a scheme that successfully combined the past and present, using the historical dam from the whaling era as a basis for a modern power generation plant.

The Commissioner also mentioned the new bio-security store at KEP which offers a facility where goods being imported –or field equipment is being moved from one part of the Island to another– can be cleaned and examined for seeds and insects in a secure environment.

Following discussions with members of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) GSGSSI have introduced a new tourism policy document which gives a firm endorsement of IAATO’s approach to tourism, whilst retaining GSGSSI's own freedom of action to permit and regulate visits.

One of the major achievements this year had been the inauguration of the South Georgia Geographic Information System (GIS) which is available on the web. ( http://www.sggis.gov.gs).

The Commissioner wrote that GSGSSI's collaboration with the EU and RSPB on work to counter invasive species in the South Atlantic draws to a close this year. This had included a comprehensive survey of flora and invertebrates by a team from Kew Gardens and Buglife International.

The Commissioner finished by saying that recently received results from blood tests of the chinstrap penguin colony at Cooper Bay, following the outbreak of avian cholera there in 2004, were negative, which means the site can be reopened to visitors in the 2009/10 season. ( Information from June 2009 South Georgia News and Events).-