'Without fishing this would be a much poorer place,' Malvinas British official

By Adrián Royo Caldiz

BuenosAiresHerald.com staff

John Barton, the Falkland Islands’ (Malvinas) Director of Natural Resources, stated in an exclusive interview with the BuenosAiresHerald.com that the fishing activity “has played a huge role” in the prosperity of the South Atlantic archipelago, and assured that without it the Malvinas would have been a much poorer place.

The prosperity of survival of any territory is intrinsically linked to its economic resources, and the Malvinas Islands are no exception, as Barton unveiled to the BuenosAiresHerald.com.

“It would have been a much poorer place,” the official explains, as he highlights that the British administration of the islands is going the extra mile to preserve its natural resources and ensure long term sustainability for future generations.

Barton believes that it would be “difficult” to agree on a joint exploitation of the area’s resources with Argentina, but also unfolds that “in an ideal world” the politics of the situation should “take a back seat.”

- What is the Islands’ fishing industry potential?

- Fish catches have a value to the fishing industry of some 200 million euros per year. The fishery provides the main revenue stream to the Falklands (Malvinas) Government, and the fishery is the largest sector of the economy. Resources are fully exploited so any growth needs to come through additional value on current products.

- How important was the fishing industry for the history of the Islands?

- The fishing industry and fishery has been crucial to the modern day development of the Falklands (Malvinas). In the aftermath of the 1982 war the British Government generously gave some funds to the Islands for development and rehabilitation. In the years immediately after the war the revenue to the Falklands (Malvinas) Government (FIG) from taxation and all other sources was about 6.76 million dollars per annum. The revenue to FIG from the sale of fishing licenses when the fisheries regime was introduced in 1987 averaged 42 million dollars per annum in the early years. That has fallen recently but the long term average remains around 42 million dollars per annum. This has been vital in terms of improving infrastructure, improving the quality of life; better medical, education, communication and transport facilities, and creating wealth generally.

There is currently activity in relation to hydrocarbons. However, for much of the 30 years since the war the fishery has played a huge role in the prosperity of the Falklands (Malvinas). It would have been a much poorer place without the fishery!

- Has so far the fishing industry been affected by the alleged “economic blockade”?

- Our understanding is that both Chile and Uruguay have clearly indicated that they do not want to be part of any economic blockade. They have indicated that they support the Argentine position on refusing port access to Falkland (Malvinas) vessels flying the Falklands (Malvinas) flag. However, our understanding is that providing the vessels fly the British flag they can have access to these ports as normal. It is perfectly legitimate for Falkland (Malvinas) vessels to use the British flag and some have always done so as a matter of course.

The statements on port access have caused some uncertainty. As a consequence most of the fishing vessels arriving in the Islands for current fishing activities have simply avoided calling at ports in South America. This has some ‘hassle’ factor and involves some additional costs for the industry but is not a ‘show stopper’.

- Do you have any contingency plans to reduce possible effects on the islands’ economy?

- As indicated we think it is a ‘non-blockade’. In any event the fishing industry is used to working in remote parts of the world. There are plans to improve port infrastructure in the Falklands (Malvinas) which would benefit the fishing industry.

- Can fishing industry in the area be sustained over time?

- Year 2012 marks the 25th anniversary of the Falkland’s fishery. This represents a significant period of time, particularly for some of our bigger fisheries which include two species of squid, both of which have one year life cycles. During those 25 years there have been adjustments and reductions in fishing effort as we learn more about the resources and to ensure conservation targets are met. Managing short lived species such as squid has its difficulties and stocks have a natural volatility. There may also be impacts from climate change or other factors. Our management is based on ensuring long term sustainability for future generations and we would argue that the record and results over the 25 years reflects reasonable success on this.

- Do you agree with those who say the area is being over exploited?

- The issues and complications in relation to any over exploitation generally relate to ‘shared stocks’, those shared between Argentina and the Falklands (Malvinas), and ‘straddling stocks’, those which occur in 200 mile conservation zones but extend out onto the high seas beyond 200 miles.

Most resources fished in the Islands might technically be regarded as shared stocks (shared with Argentina). The one exception might be the Loligo squid. Southern Blue Whiting is a typical shared stock and which has almost certainly been overfished. Catches have declined in both Argentina and here. This was one of the stocks which were on the agenda of the South Atlantic Fisheries Commission (SAFC). The advice in the SAFC was that catches should not exceed 50,000 tonnes so the Falklands (Malvinas) catch was limited to half that: 25,000 tonnes. However, Argentina continued to catch at a higher level so catches exceeded the 50,000 tonnes recommendation and the stock has declined significantly.

The South Atlantic Fisheries Commission (Argentina and Britain with Falklands participation) played a constructive role in regional fisheries conservation for 15 years from 1990 to 2005. Information on the main shared resources was exchanged. There were joint scientific cruises. There were also joint scientific assessments of stocks and coordinated conservation action. Things didn’t always work perfectly as in the Southern Blue Whiting example, but it was an awful lot better than no co-operation on fisheries conservation. Cooperation with the SAFC process was suspended by Argentina in 2005.

In terms of straddling stocks; the Illex squid resource can be the largest resource in the Southwest Atlantic in some years. It is caught in the Falklands (Malvinas), Argentina and on the high seas. Fishing effort is excessive in many years. As a consequence the fishery suffers from over exploitation in some years and over supply in other years. The resource is at risk and additionally the financial returns to fishermen here and in Argentina are a fraction of what they could be.

The SAFC could have been a stepping stone to some regional management organization for straddling stocks. The Southwest Atlantic is one of the few major ocean regions of the world which does not have such an organization.

- Could the Islands’ government ever consider a joint exploitation with Argentina?

- The Falkland (Malvinas) fishery is tied up with long term fishing arrangements matched to the productivity of resources, and I suspect the same applies to the Argentine fishery, which may prove difficult for some concepts of what might be involved in any joint exploitation.

The prospects for Argentine and Falkland (Malvinas) fisheries could of course be improved immeasurably by resurrecting the SAFC process and developing it. That process should ensure resources are managed on a sustainable basis for both Argentine and Falkland (Malvinas) fishermen which should improve returns and the stability of the respective industries. There should also be some common ground between Argentina and the Falklands (Malvinas) in addressing the issues of straddling stocks such as Illex squid.

That would not involve Argentine vessels fishing in our zone or our vessels fishing in Argentina but it might still have a lot of elements of joint exploitation.

In an ideal world the politics of the situation might take a ‘back seat’ and the ‘drivers’ might focus more on conservation issues of shared resources and on some of the economic benefits. Whilst it is difficult to envisage it happening in the current climate in other circumstances it might be possible for catches caught here by Falklands (Malvinas) vessels to be processed by fish processing factories in Argentina for example.