MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine fishing industry presents its objections to the Protected Marine Area, Blue Hole

A map showing the extent of the Argentine Protected Marine Area, Blue Hole in the South Atlantic

The bill creating the Protected Marine Area, Blue Hole, in the South Atlantic and currently under consideration in the Argentine congress has received strong criticism from the Argentine fishing sector, united under the umbrella of Intercamaras.

 The thirty pages report enumerates a list of critical points in which the fishing industry objects to the creation of the so called Blue Hole. Among which are.

Distortion of the Marine Protected Areas (AMP) objectives; Insufficient scientific essentials; absence of consideration to sustainable fishing; absence of integration to the discussion of crucial actors; absence of integral solutions; absence of financial mechanisms and efficient fiscal surveillance; it will have an impact on the Argentine fleet and it will have an impact on international relations.

The Blue Hole covers an area of 164,000 square kilometers along the Argentine Continental Shelf, outside the Exclusive Economic Zone, with the following boundaries, to the north parallel 42°32“ S and to the South, parallel 47°30”S; to the East, Argentina's EEZ and to the West a 5,000 meters isobaths line, according to Argentine cartography.

The area is entirely located in the high seas, inside the limits of the extended Argentine Continental Shelf according to its new demarcation established in Law, 27557.

The complete document can be seen here.