One of the Falkland Islands leading fishing companies, Fortuna Limited has launched a shore-based safety training course for the crew of illex jiggers set to operate in the Islands in the illex squid season. Some 900 crew-members are expected to undergo the course, which is being held every day over a two week period.
The Spanish trawler “Pesca Vaqueiro” arrived in Montevideo on Wednesday with the thirty crew members rescued from the Chinese jigger which was involved in a collision incident with the Spanish vessel last Friday.
Raids have been carried out at several salmon farming sites in Scotland in connection with an EU-wide probe into alleged illegal cartels. Officials visited offices in Shetland, Stirling and Fife amid concerns they may have violated anti-trust rules. The European Commission (EC) has said the investigation is at a preliminary stage.
Seventeen Filipino crew members have arrived safe and sound to Montevideo, following the 11 February fire and loss of their Taiwanese flagged jigger in Falkland Islands waters last week. “Jun Rong” had a total crew of 69, and 64 were rescued and taken to the capital of Uruguay where they underwent medical attention, and are waiting to fly back to their homes.
A Chinese flagged jigger sank after colliding with a Spanish flagged trawler on Friday morning to the northwest of the Falkland Islands. All thirty crew members have been rescued by other fishing vessels, and are heading for Montevideo, according to the latest reports from the Argentine Coast Guard. The collision involved the jigger V Zhong Yuan Yu 11 and the trawler Pesca Vaqueiro, which went undamaged.
The Illex squid fishery season starts on February 14 and 105 licenses have been offered confirmed Director of Natural Resources John Barton. He added: “Not all vessels which applied received licenses. The number of licenses offered is the same as the last few years.”
The impact of Brexit on the Falkland Islands has been raised in the UK’s House of Lords, with Lib Dem Lord Nigel Jones tabling questions to the Foreign Office. Lord Jones asked the government what assessment they had made of the Falklands’ EU exports, and the impact of World Trade Organization tariffs on Islands fisheries.
The Falkland Islands Government has confirmed that a Taiwanese jigger by the name of Jung Ron has caught fire approximately 60 nautical miles north of Stanley.
A South Korean flagged trawler allegedly operating in Argentine waters was caught on Thursday red-handed with its nets in the sea and is being escorted to Comodoro Rivadavia.
The Galicia, Spain-based boat-builder Nodosa Shipyard has received orders for a pair of new Spanish trawlers during the past month. In its most recent order, Nodosa signed a contract with the Spanish harvester Pescapuerta Group to build a new freezer stern trawler for fishing in the South Atlantic. It aims to have delivered the vessel by the end of 2020, ready to enter full operations for the spring 2021 season.