Without effective enforcement at sea, impunity and associated unlawful activities in the waters around the Falkland Islands threaten not just wider ocean conservation but the responsible management and value of the natural resources.
Higher fines to those illegally fishing in Argentine waters, including around the Malvinas Islands, is directed to discourage poachers, indicated Argentine foreign minister Felipe Solá who also defended the decision to interrupt the exchange of fisheries information on the South Atlantic bio-mass with the United Kingdom and the Falklands.
Argentine foreign minister Felipe Solá anticipated that the Falklands/Malvinas Islands will be the priority in relations with the United Kingdom, and to protect the South Atlantic fisheries, fines have to be much harsher since now they are ridiculous low.
The Kirchnerite government headed by president Alberto Fernandez announced on Sunday, at the opening of the 138th congressional session, the new focus of the Malvinas Islands/Antarctica policy which will emphasize the sovereignty claim over the South Atlantic Islands, particularly the Falklands, and sanction those fishing companies operating in the area.
A UK/Falklands-Argentina meeting of the South Atlantic Scientific Sub-Committee scheduled for January is “unlikely” to take place, the Falklands lawmaker MLA Teslyn Barkman told Penguin News. The prospect of this happening and “taking Britain out of the comfort zone enjoyed” until now, had been advanced by Mercopress.
Foreign minister Jorge Faurie strongly denied in Congress on Wednesday that the Argentine government was ready to “handover” the disputed Malvinas Islands to the British, and likewise defended the current proximity policy of president Mauricio Macri administration towards the South Atlantic issue.
Galicia's Rampesca and the Falkland Islands RBC have ordered a new 63.7 meters long and 1.500 gross tonnage freezer trawler from Nodosa Shipyard, according to shipbuilding sources in Vigo. The new vessel is expected to replace the Castelao, and construction will begin this January. It will replicate much of the recently delivered Monteferro.
The Falkland Islands has decided to hold fee levels across all fishing licenses for 2017 as part of a long term policy focus and in view of certain circumstances emerging from the volatility of annual catches. The Executive Council (ExCo) agreed on the decision by a majority at its last meeting extensive to all license types, including Illex, the Islands main catch.
China is interested in investing in Argentine port infrastructure and in setting up companies with access to the South Atlantic fisheries, according to reports from Shanghai where an Argentine top level delegation is currently negotiating in the framework of the China-Argentina cooperation agreement.
Argentina is preparing a battery of instruments to attack the Falklands fisheries and involved fishing companies with the purpose of 'strangling the economy' of the Islands thus forcing the UK to sit and dialogue on South Atlantic Islands sovereignty, according to a piece by La Nacion columnist Martín Dinatale.