John Barton, director of natural resources of Falkland Islands. (Photo: Mercopress)
Fishery hits 25th anniversary
(FALKLAND ISLANDS, 4/23/2012)
The recent announcement that the catches for the first loligo season for the year totalled 34,900 tonnes -- more than the entire catch for 2011 -- coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Falklands fishery. Director of Natural Resources John Barton called the fishery’s success after 25 years a “rip-roaring success.”
The fishery has moved from a licence brokerage system to joint-venture ships with foreign companies and locally owned and operated vessels. The single most important progress was the establishment in 2007 of a transferable system of property rights (ITQ) in certain fisheries.
Cheryl Roberts, current Chair of the Falkland Islands Fisheries Association, believes this shift has made local companies better able to effectively manage and control fishing.
“It has allowed us to work better and have a more equal relationship with our joint-venture partners,” she said, Mercopress reports.
Barton concurs.
“Giving companies the security to invest in added value, fleet renewal, marketing strategies and so on will lead to economic efficiency and ultimately, greater tax revenues. […] the transition went well and the new system creates more incentive for investment in the industry,” he commented.
He considers one of the most significant advances was the transfer of fisheries science from Imperial College in London to the local Fisheries Department’s multi-national team. A report published in 2009 in the online Biology Journal of the Public Library of Science stated that the Faeroe and Falkland Islands had the best overall rankings in fisheries management and were in the top quarter for all three indicators of scientific robustness, policy making transparency and implementation capability.
However, Barton and Roberts note the lack of regional fisheries management and co-operation.
While the South Atlantic Fisheries Commission (SAFC), established in 1989, was a forum for joint stock assessments and data exchange between Argentina and the Falklands, Argentina left in 2005 because sovereignty of the Islands was not being placed on the agenda.
“There is an on-going concern in the industry” said Roberts, “that the SAFC has never been resurrected and the industry would like to see it back in place without political interference.”
Barton noted the difference between the ongoing success of the loligo squid fishery -- wholly within Falklands control -- and the illex squid fishery, representing the biggest fishery resource in the South West Atlantic -- and under strain due to lack of joint management.
“Illex could have been a similar success to loligo with better co-operation,” said Barton.
Other stocks shared with Argentina, such as southern blue whiting and the hake fishery, are also under some strain, although Barton acknowledged that despite overfishing, climate change might be playing a part.
Another concern is the lack of good working practices and safety conditions on board certain vessels that operate intermittently out of the Islands.
Related article:
- First loligo squid season of the year brings generous
By Natalia Real
[email protected]
www.seafood.media
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