Argentina is increasingly worried about a large Spanish fishing fleet heading to the South Atlantic, near the Falkland Islands.
Officials in Argentina have voiced concerns about overfishing, especially in squid harvesting.
The fleet, sent by Spanish ship owners and agreed upon with the Falkland government, comprises over twenty freezer ships.
They aim to start one of their two yearly fishing campaigns in February, focusing on squid.
Despite Argentina’s objections and conservation issues, signs of overfishing are emerging in the Atlantic’s main fishing grounds.
Last winter, the same fleet experienced lower fish quality and quantity due to dwindling resources.
The crews, over fifteen hundred men, mostly Spanish and some Asians, are working under permits issued by the UK to Spain.
These permits allow fishing for another twenty years. The fleet plans to start fishing in assigned areas when they arrive in February.
Although they hope to catch around a hundred thousand tons of squid, there’s no guarantee the southern zone has recovered from past fishing.
It’s notable that these figures only represent the Spanish fleet’s catch.
There’s no data on other fleets, like the Chinese, which have more than two hundred ships in the South Atlantic and are subject to little fisheries control.
The previous Argentine government, despite diplomatic efforts, did not invest in necessary resources for maritime patrol and control.
Argentina’s four new OPV patrol ships stayed mostly at their base in Mar del Plata, lacking funds for deployment.
The current government has pledged to increase maritime surveillance in the southern seas.
Beyond trade issues, unregulated fishing harms fish stocks in both quality and quantity. It ignores fish breeding and growth cycles, damaging the ecosystem.