The Foreign Ministry of Argentina assesses the possibility of including new regulations in the Fisheries Act implementing heavy fines on companies that benefit economically from the simultaneous fishing in Argentine and South Atlantic waters, which are under dispute with the United Kingdom.
The Argentine government threatens to impose sanctions for fishing in the area around the Falkland Islands to fishing companies that catch fish in both seas, or have a dual corporate structure.
The measure is also directed to firms that have action triangulation allowing them to exploit fishery resources in Argentine and Falklands waters at the same time, La Nacion newspaper reported.
This warning adds up to the intention of Argentina to “punish” oil companies attempting to operate in the archipelago without official authorization, said the Secretary of Affairs Relating to Falkland, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, Daniel Filmus.
The idea is to strengthen controls patrolling the waters of the South and implementing a legal tracking to determine the corporate status of firms engaged in fishing resources.
“The pressure that we did on oil companies gave good results because the British government reacted nervously and this forces us to press on fishing,” a Ministry of Agriculture official told La Nacion.
The Falkland Islands receive USD 40 million annually just for fishing vessel licensing and over 150 ships with flags from around the world enter the 200 miles surrounding the Falklands to fish each year.
Filmus highlighted that one of the tasks of his administration will be “to take care of the riches of Argentina”, such as fish stocks and fuel in the Argentine Sea.
He is also planning to launch a new round of talks with Latin American and Caribbean countries to add support to the Falklands cause.
“The one who does not have permission not only will face administrative consequences, but also imprisonment,” he told the British newspaper The Guardian.
The Argentine official also said that whenever it is necessary, the country would assert its interests in international courts.
Meanwhile, Foreign Office spokesmen confirmed that Britain stated, “The laws of Argentina are not applicable to the Falkland Islands.”
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