|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ARGENTINA:
Activists Fear
Return of Spanish Fishing
Vessels
Marcela
Valente*
BUENOS AIRES, (Tierramérica) -
Argentine groups fighting for
sustainable fishing are
denouncing the pressure from
Spain for a new cooperation
agreement, which they say could
have lethal impacts on the South
Atlantic fish stocks, already
over-exploited by the Spanish
fishing fleet in the 1990s.
The warning signal, they said,
came in May during the visit to
Argentina by Spain's Fisheries
Minister Elena Espinosa, who
tried to intercede in an ongoing
conflict between Spanish fishing
companies and their workers, who
are demanding better work
conditions.
Espinosa also met with
Argentina's Economy Minister
Roberto Lavagna, and with Deputy
Secretary for Fisheries Gerardo
Nieto. She told a press
conference that they spoke about
''future collaboration
agreements between the two
countries on research issues''
related to fishing.
The mere mention of the word
''agreement'' sounded the alarm
among the non-governmental
organisations (NGOs), still
rattled by the negative impacts
on the Argentine hake, or
merluza (Merluccius hubbsi)
stocks of a cooperation
agreement signed in 1994 by
Argentina and the European
Union, but utilised mostly by
Spain.
Nieto had to step up and state
that there was ''no kind of
agreement or new proposal of aid
between the two countries,'' but
his brief explanations did not
allay the doubts of the NGOs and
some government officials.
Ernesto Godelman, director of
Cedepesca, an NGO specialising
in protecting the fisheries in
Argentine waters, told
Tierramérica that Spain has had
a very aggressive policy on
fishing for more than 40 years.
''The problem begins when you
find countries vulnerable to its
siren song, as was the case of
Argentina. As a result, we have
to give the warning cry,'' he
said.
Cedepesca expressed in a
statement its ''fear'' in
regards to Espinosa's
declarations. ''Wasn't the
disaster caused by the agreement
signed in the 1990s enough? Do
we have to keep pursuing
self-destructive experiences
until there is nothing left in
the Argentine sea?''
In the 1990s, to reduce the
pressure of fishing on its own
fish stocks, the EU subsidised
the destruction of Spanish
fishing boats, or facilitated
their permits to operate in
other parts of the world. It was
in that context that the
agreement was reached with
Argentina, and denounced by
Buenos Aires in 1998 due to the
rapid acceleration of fish
resource destruction in the
South Atlantic.
Numerous mixed partnerships were
formed in Argentina to fish for
merluza in the South Atlantic,
taking in huge catches --
multiplying the volume 10-fold
during the years of the accord.
The merluza population fell
below the level considered
critical for species survival.
When the agreement expired in
1998, Argentina's National
Institute of Fisheries Research
and Development allowed annual
merluza catches of 400,000
tonnes, and in 2002 it allowed
just 280,000 tonnes. The limits
imposed to help the species
recover took its toll on the
local fishing industry.
The limit has since returned to
400,000 tonnes of merluza a
year.
The Argentine case is an
unfortunate mirror, and those
who have been tempted to sign
accords to transfer their
fishing capacity should take a
look at themselves, said the
Worldwide Fund for Nature in a
2003 report.
According to that text,
developing countries are
particularly affected in that
they face the over-capacity for
fishing that richer countries
export from their own reduced
fisheries.
According to Godelman, Madrid
would never accept fishing
restrictions, and Spain even
expresses doubts about the
reports from scientific
institutions that at the
beginning of each season
calculate the volumes of the
catches that should be
authorised for each species.
In any case, he believes it
unlikely there will be progress
on a new fishing accord because
''it would be scandalous.''
Guillermo Cañete, coordinator of
the Argentine NGO Fundación Vida
Silvestre's sustainable fishing
programme, also told
Tierramérica that although there
is pressure from Spain, the
political conditions and the
status of the fisheries ''have
changed a great deal'' since the
1990s, and that stands in the
way of history repeating itself.
A year ago, in the negotiations
for a free trade agreement
between the EU and Mercosur
(Southern Common Market,
comprising Argentina, Brazil,
Paraguay and Uruguay), Buenos
Aires refused outright to sign a
new fishing accord with the
European bloc, because of the
over-exploitation caused by the
1994 deal.
Besides merluza, two other local
species of great economic value
are in an even worse situation:
squid (Illex argentinus) and
shrimp (Penaeus kerathurus).
''This year could see heavy
pressure on the merluza
population because of the great
number of boats that are not
going to catch any of those two
other species,'' and that is why
the NGOs have to remain alert,
said activist Cañete.
(* Marcela Valente is an IPS
correspondent. Originally
published Jun. 11 by Latin
American newspapers that are
part of the Tierramérica
network. Tierramérica is a
specialised news service
produced by IPS with the backing
of the United Nations
Development Programme and the
United Nations Environment
Programme.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
