MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Ups and downs of Falkland Islands squid fisheries
At the Falkland Islands Government Fisheries Committee meeting on Wednesday April 4th, Director of Fisheries, John Barton, reported that the Loligo squid fishery had a slow start. Catches to date had totalled 11,000 metric tonnes as compared to 16,500 metric tonnes for the same period last year.
Mr.Barton predicted that catches could amount to 13,000 metric tonnes by the end of the season. The Director reported that there was some concern over biomass levels in the fishery. A pre-recruit survey had been undertaken which had shown very low quantities of Loligo. However, the depletion model was difficult to apply due to ongoing migration in the fishery. It was apparent that Loligo were in shallow water during the survey and early part of the fishery. They had been entering the fishery from late February. By way of contrast, the meeting was informed that the Illex fishery had seen a total of 26000 metric tonnes to date, which was similar to last year. There had been some very good catches, but also a shortage of the refrigerated vessels necessary to sustain the pace of the fishing effort. An influx of warm water into the northwest of the zone had brought the squid in and there had also been good catches on the High Seas.John Fowler (Mercopress) Stanley
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