MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina: Squid fishing season extended

Squid fishing vessels will now have an extra 20 days to fish

The Federal Fisheries Council (CFP) has unanimously decided to extend the squid (Illex argentinus) fishing season taking place north of latitude 44º by 20 days. The closing date was originally scheduled for 31 August.

The fishing of the Cephalopod will now continue until 20 September. The extension of the season, which had been requested by employees in the sector, was established after evaluating technical reports submitted by the National Institute for Fish Research and Development (Inidep).

Moreover, the decision to delay the closure of the season was adopted “with the condition to carry out monitoring of the fish to ensure that a minimum of 40 per cent of the original stock remains, which at present, according to estimates made by Inidep, it is estimated at around 60 per cent,” said the CFP.

”We must also avoid capturing juveniles and pre-adults of other Patagonian squid groups in the south (SSP), SBNP and summer spawning stocks (SDV)“ and ”they should also catch those which are at a more advanced degree of maturity than those previously caught,” the council members added.

Scientists have found that these days, squid vessels are said to be operating with with good results, as well as not damaging spawning stocks.

The House of Argentine Squid Vessels (CAPA), the Council of Argentinian Fishing Companies (CEPA), the Chamber of Argentine Fisheries (Caipa) and the Chamber of Freezer Vessel Owners of Argentina (Capece) had requested the extension of the season to complete another tide.

In the Common Fishing Zone (CFZ) shared between Argentina and Uruguay, where there are around 40 boats fishing at any one time, the fishing season closed yesterday, as established by the Joint Technical Commission of the Maritime Front (CTMFM).

Statistics produced by the Secretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture indicated that between 1 January and 27 August 2010, 43,551.8 tonnes of squid were landed in national ports.

This figure shows a decrease of 34.3 per cent compared to figures recorded up until 31 August 2009, when it amounted to 66,188.7 tonnes of squid.

By Analia Murias - FIS