The latest statistics from the Undersecretariat of Fisheries Office show that between 1 January and 13 March, 2014, a total of 31,760.6 tonnes of squid (Illex argentinus) was landed in Argentinian ports.
Out of the total volume, in January 213.3 tonnes were landed; in February, total landings amounted to 26,391.9 tonnes and between 1 and 13 March, they were 5,155.3 tonnes.
By comparison, in the first three months of 2013 landings in national ports reached 69,119.6 tonnes of squid.
While the resource performance tended to fade, an acceptable catch level remains, noted several jigger owners consulted by Pescare.
The jigging fleet began capturing an average of 30 tonnes per day while catch rates now average 20 tonnes.
The Undersecretariat of Fisheries also reported that up to 13 March, Puerto Deseado received 13,289.5 tonnes of squid; landings in Mar del Plata amounted to 10,938.1 tonnes and those in Puerto Madryn reached 7516.6 tonnes, among other port terminals.
Industry participants estimate that the number of national jiggers ranges from 50 to 60 from a total of authorised 72 vessels, including the 10 permits recently granted by the Federal Fisheries Council (CFP) to Chinese flagged vessels.
The fisheries reports received indicate that catches are still better beyond the 200-miles of the Argentinean EEZ.
For his part, the Director of Natural Resources of the Government of the Falkland Islands, John Barton, reported that until mid-February 51 licenses had been taken out of a total of 100 available.
In order to have more information on the fishery, the National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development (Inidep) last week finished the assessment on the squid in the area bounded by the parallels 44º and 51º south latitude, between the isobaths 100 and 500 metres.
For 22 days, Inidep scientists aboard the ship Eduardo Holmberg evaluated the resource and confirmed the distribution and areas of summer concentration.
In addition, they estimated the biomass and abundance in number of fish, and collected key environmental data for the fishery.
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