Table 1.-Statlsllcal dala on Argentina's major fishery slacks, 1980.

Foreign Fishery Developments

Argentina RevisesMarine Resources Forecast

squid one of the country's major fish­eries.

INIDEP indicated that three differ­ent systems were used by the Jap­anese, German, and Argentine scien­tists to calculate the MSY. Accordingto INIDEP, the German system tookinto account yields from distinctdepths, the Japanese system analyzeddistinct stocks, while the Argentinesystem attempted to measure theabundance of each species. INIDEPreports that all three systems gavesimilar results with the Argentineestimate, usually within a range be­tween the Japanese and Germanestimates.

The new INIDEP MSY estimatesdo not include krill, found in hugequantities in Antarctic waters but notyet successfully exploited commercial­ly. Argentina signed a cooperativeresearch agreement in 1980 with theSoviet Union to study Antarctic re­sources, especially krill. If results aresuccessful, the Argentines foresee apossible joint venture with the Sovietsto exploit that species.

INIDEP has acquired two new re­search vessels. The RV EduardoHolmberg was due to arrive fromJapan in September 1980 and the RVEolo was to be available to INIDEPby late 1980.

One unexpected result of thecooperative research program is thatJapanese fishing vessels have begun to

114

630

204048012

Catch'(1979)

'FAO refers to this species as southern pout­assou.'A report (No. D18-80-04-(07) describing theArgentine-Spanish joint venture can be purchas­ed for $5.00 from NTIS. Springfield. VA 22161.

sustainable yield (MSY) in Argentinewaters from 2.7 million metric tons (t)to 2.4 million t, based on the results ofthe cooperative research programs(Table 1). The most significantchanges were decreases in the MSY ofhake, Merluccius hubbsi, and Antarc­tic blue whiting, Micromesistius aus­tralis. J The hake MSY was reducedby 100,000 t and is of particular sig­nificance as it is the major speciescaught by Argentine fishermen. Ant­arctic blue whiting is not yet caught insignificant quantities. INIDEP didsignificantly increase its estimate ofthe MSY for squid from 38,000 t to250,000 t. Catches by Argentina'sjoint ventures with Spain' have made

Species MSY (l,ooOt)

English name Spanish name Scientific name Biomass Old New

Anchovy Anchoita Engraulis anchoita N/A' 1,000 1,000Hake Merlu,a Merluccius hubbsi 3,927 698 594Squid Calamares Loligo spp. and IIlex spp. 510 38 250Sharks and rays Tiburones y rayas Various species 942 26 150Grenadiers Granaderos Macruronus spp. 540 46 97Blue whiting' Polaca Micromesistius australis 532 523 88Long·tailed hake Merlu,e de cola Macroronus magellanicus 424 161 76Antarctic cod Bacalao auslral N/A 288 14 52Ling Abadejo Genypterus blacodes 246 27 44Native cod Bacalao criollo Salilota australis N/A 13 36Notothenla Nototenia Notothenia spp. 92 19 17Black hake Merlu,a negra Dissostichus eleginoides 89 11 12Other 91 NIA'

Total N/A 2,667 2,416

, Includes fish caught off Argentina by Uruguayan lishermen., N/A = Not available.'FAa relers to this species as southern poutassou. . .• For unexplained reasons, iNIDEP did not include an MSY calculation lor other species ,n the 1979 total.Source: Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones y Desarrollo Pesquero (INIDEP).

The Argentine National Institutefor Fisheries Research and Develop­ment (INIDEP) has revised its esti­mates of fishery stocks in Argentinewaters. The new estimates are, inmany cases, calculated from researchdata supplied by Japanese and Ger­man (FRG) scientists who cooperatedwith Argentine scientists during 1978and 1979. Those research programswere negotiated as part of the agree­ments with German and Japaneseconsortia which allowed fishing com­panies in those two countries to fishexperimentally. The research pro­grams included over 1,500 test trawlsby the RV Walter Herwig and the RVShinkzi Maru from Argentina'smarine frontier with Uruguay (lat.35"S) to Argentina's extreme southerncoast (lat. 55"S) (see map).

INIDEP has slightly reduced itsprevious estimate of the maximum

28 Marine Fisheries Review

fish squid off Argentina, outside thecountry's 200-mile zone. The Japan­ese consortia has not formed a jointventure in Argentina, probably be­cause Argentina has insisted that theJapanese finance industrial projects inexchange for permission to form ajoint venture. As a result, the Japan­ese fished for squid as a distant-waterfishery in 1980 instead of operatingout of Argentine ports. Argentine of­ficials were concerned about this de­velopment and reported that 17 Jap­anese factory trawlers were fishing offArgentina last year. Earlier in 1980,Argentine officials reported a fleet ofPolish vessels fishing off Argentina's2OO-mile limit.

INIDEP has revised Argentina'sdevelopment plans, based on the newfindings and current economic prob­lems encountered by Argentine fish­ermen and processing companies. IN­IDEP had originally projected a 1980catch of 1 million t. The 1979 catch,however, was only about 550,000 tand INIDEP now doesn't believe 1million t will be reached until 1982.INIDEP estimates that 2.4 million tof fish and shellfish (excluding krill)could be caught in Argentine waters.The largest single resource is a smallanchovy, Engraulis anchoita, whichINIDEP estimates has a MSY of 1million t. INIDEP doesn't believe,however, that a significant commer­cial fishery on anchovy is possiblebecause there is no demand for such alarge quantity of that species. Thus,the development of the Argentinefishing industry has to be based on theremaining 1.4 million t which IN­IDEP estimates can be caught annual­ly. (Source: IFR-80/138.)

Indonesian FishingIndustry Progresses

Indonesian fishermen reported acatch of 1.7 million metric tons (t) in1978, a 9 percent increase over the1977 catch. There has been a steadyincrease in Indonesia's fishery pro­duction for more than a decade and aconcurrent climb in the quantity and

April 1981, 43(4)

value of exports.Indonesia's 1978 exports totaled

64,000 t of fishery products valued at$190 million. Shrimp is the most im­portant fisheries export product, andduring the 1970's accounted for 85percent of the quantity and 90 percentof the value of all fishery exports.Japan is Indonesia's largest customerfor both shrimp and other fisheryproducts taking about 85 percent ofIndonesia's exports.

Shrimp is likely to continue to beIndonesia's most valuable exportcommodity; Indonesia's current fiveyear plan (1979-1983) projects that ex­ports of shrimp will increase from32,600 t in 1978 to 35,200 t in 1983.Foreign participation in the shrimpfishery is generally closed, but par­ticipation is possible in other fisheries,notably tuna.

Elizabeth Bollman at the U.S. Em­bassy in Jakarta has prepared a23-page report on Indonesian fishingdevelopments during the 1970's. Acopy of that report can be purchasedfor $5.00 by ordering report numberDIB-8Q-05-004 from the NationalTechnical Information Service,Springfield, VA 22161. (Source:IFR-80/146.)

Japan Fishing CompanyAids Modernization ofChina's Fish Industry

Resource protection, increased fishbreeding, and refrigeration im­provements are reported to be thethree main fishery policy componentsin China's drive to modernize itsfishing industry. Still observers reportthat it may take 5-7 years for modern­ization to permeate the Chinese fish­ing industry.

Taiyo Fishing Company', a majorJapanese fishing firm, sent a 7-mem­ber team to China last year to observeShandong's Yantai Ocean Fishing

'Mention of trade names or commercial firmsdoes not imply endorsement by the NationalMarine Fisheries Service, NOAA.

Company, and other regional facili­ties, to assist China in modernizingtheir fishing industry. The team,headed by Managing Director K.Nakashima, studied Chinese manage­ment processes, fishing vessel con­struction, wharf facilities, and freez­ing equipment and processes.

In particular China's General Bur­eau of Aquatic Products DirectorXiao Peng had requested aid in mod­ernizing refrigeration techniques forthe export of yellow sea shrimp,Penaeus orientalis, in the Bohai Gulf.The Bureau wants to set up the YantaiOcean Fishing Company as a modelfor other fishing companies in Chinaand intends to manage it directly. Thiscompany possesses 97 large dragnetvessels-40 with more than 400 horse­power (20 pairs) - and 10 purse sein­ing vessels. It lands 450,000 tons offish per year, has a 1O,000-ton coldstorage capacity, and operates nettingfactories and shipyards.

By assisting in the modernizationprogram, Taiyo will reportedly re­ceive orders for refrigeration and net­ting equipment and a China NationalCereals, Oils, and Food StuffsImporting and Exporting Corpora­tion (CEROILS) center, to beestablished in Bohai with eight 50-tonprefabricated cold stores.

The Japanese group inspected fish­ing industries in Liaoning and Hebeiprovinces to study and encourageconcrete modernization measures.They also observed Dairen's LiaoningOcean Fishing Corporation and theQuingzhou Gulf, Zhimiao Gulf, andQinghuangdao fishery-related facil­ities. The wharf and freezingequipment, and the treatment factor­ies were considered far behind thepreservation capabilities of Japan.

Some problems observed includedlack of understanding of the proce­dure for handling the fish catch onboard vessels and icing with excessive­ly large ice particles, thus halvingpreservation capabilities.

From these observations, Taiyomade the following recommenda­tions: 1) Introduce resource protec­tion methods for yellow sea shrimp toincrease reproduction; 2) teach

29

methods of refrigeration, transporta­tion, processing, and packaging; and3) effectively prepare yellow seashrimp, globe fish, angler fish, andsquid for export.

China reportedly has good facilitiesand machines for domestic refrigera­tion, but needs additional technical

, skills in order to export fish. How­ever, the understanding about theneed for good refrigeration amongfishing crews is limited and this mustparallel modernization of the in­dustry, according to the Japaneseteam. (Source: LSB 80-20.)

Brazil Promulgates NewMarine Resource Policy

Brazilian President Joao BatistaFigueiredo issued a new nationalmarine resource policy in 1980 whichappears to strengthen the role of theInterministerial Commission on Ma­rine Resources (CIRM). The growingimportance of CIRM as a key agencyin determining marine resource policywas first apparent when a high rank­ing naval officer, Orlando AmaralAlfonso, was named CIRM's Ex­ecutive Secretary.

Brazil's new national policy formarine resources aims to promote theintegration of Brazilian-claimedwaters, continental shelf, and space,and the rational exploitation ofmarine resources for the economicand social development of the coun­try. The objectives of the new policyare:

1) Facilitate the development ofeducation, research, and rational ex­ploitation and exploration of Brazil­ian marine resources.

2) Stimulate the development ofnational technology and equipment.

3) Guarantee effective Brazilianparticipation in all phases of foreignresearch, exploration, and exploita­tion in Brazilian-claimed waters.

4) Bring Brazilian marineresource legislation up to date.

5) Improve the use and formationof Brazilian marine resource technicaland scientific personnel at all levels.

6) Enhance the exchange ofscientific and technical information,both internally and externally, related

30

to training, research, exploration, andexploitation of marine resources.

7) Stimulate the creation of a na­tional center of research and trainingdedicated to marine study.

8) Participate in regional ex­ploitation of marine resources beyondnational jurisdictions.

The Government of Brazil reservesfor itself the exclusive right to direct,coordinate, and control research, ex­ploration, and exploitation of living,mineral, or energy resources in Bra­zilian-claimed waters and on the con­tinental shelf, including the respectiveocean floor, subsoil, and the watercolumn. The President, in consult­ation with the National SecurityCouncil, will determine national pol­icies on marine resources as proposedand assisted by the InterministerialCommission for Marine Resources(CIRM). The Minister of the Navywill exercise the role of President ofaRM. Other members of CIRM willbe representatives from Ministries ofExternal Relations, Transportation,Agriculture, Education, Industry andCommerce, Mines and Energy, In­terior, and the Planning Secretariatand the National Council for Scien­tific and Technological Development(CNPQ). Each of these agencies hasspecific responsibilities related tomarine resources.

The CIRM, as direct adviser to thePresident, must: 1) Make policy re­commendations to the President; 2)monitor the results of the nationalpolicy for marine resources and topropose alterations to the Presidentwhen necessary; 3) provide opinionsand suggestions related to marine re­sources when needed by the Presi­dent; 4) evaluate the planning and theprograms of activities concerningmarine resources and make annualsuggestions to the President on pro­ject priorities; and 5) establish con­tacts with the ministries not repre­sented on the Commission and alsowith the state governments andprivate companies, and promote andsupport national marine resourcesplans and programs.(Source: U.S. Embassy and IFR­80/158.)

NORWAY, RUSSIA OKAYFISHERY QUOTAS

Norway and the Soviet Union havereached agreement on proposedquotas for fisheries in the Norwegianand Soviet zones in 1981, the Nor­wegian Information Service reports.The proposed allocations are shownin the table below.

The parties agreed that 35,000 t ofthe quota for Arcto-Norwegian cod isto be allocated to a third country and6,000 t of this amount is to be fishedin the Svalbard zone. Of the remain­ing 29,000 t, 17,500 t is to be licensedoff to a third country in the Norwe­gian zone and 11 ,500 t in the Sovietzone.

No progress was made in the ne­gotiations on mesh width. This will bethe subject of joint Soviet/Norwegianresearch, and the results will be sub­mitted to a commission. As regardscapelin fishing, the right to transferlandings from summer and autumnfisheries to winter fisheries will bemaintained. It has also beenstipulated that by 25 January the oneparty must have made a decision totransfer the winter capelin quota tothe other party. This means that theSoviets can transfer part of the winterquota to Norway. In this connection acatch of 50,000 t was intimated fromthe Soviet side. Whether or not a thirdparty will share in the quotas men­tioned here, was to be the subject ofnegotiations with the respective coun­tries.

Quotas of the most important types 01 fish in thou·sands 01 metric tons.

OtherTotal Total Nor· coun·

Fish 1980 1981 way USSR tries

Areto·Nor-wegian cod 350 260 112.5 112.5 35

Norwegiancoastal cod 40

Murmanskcod 40

Haddock 75 110 65 35 10Redfish 100 89Redfish inNorw. E.Z. 71.5 28.5 47Wintercapel in 1,000 1,200 720 480

Summercapelln 700 700 420 280

Bluewhiting 100 150 150

Marine Fisheries Review