Falkland Islands fishing company representatives led by Stuart Wallace of Fortuna Ltd condemned the 50% rise in toothfish and calamari fishery fees at the Fisheries Committee meeting.
The announcement by the Falkland Islands Executive Council referred to ITQ fees, particularly toothfish and calamari, which would represent an annual £3.9 million additional income for government coffers, was contrasted by a release from the Falklands' seafood sector pointing out that “to increase quota access fees paid by local fishing companies by 50% will increase costs to the industry by £4 million per annum”
Despite a dismal last season for Illex fishing in the Falkland Islands, with very low catches, interest in licenses for the coming season is holding up and the process is likely to be oversubscribed, confirmed MLA Phyl Rendell last week.
The Falkland Islands economy has witnessed impressive, although volatile, growth in recent years with unemployment rates low enough to be the envy of most countries in the world and the government is free of debt, according to the latest State of the Economy released by the Falklands Policy Unit.
Argentina's Tierra del Fuego provincial government decided on Wednesday to preventatively suspend Pesantar's fishing license following claims that the company is associated with another group operating in the South Atlantic but with a Falklands' government license.