Photo by Revista Puerto

Illex Squid bad weather complicates an irregular fishing start

ARGENTINA
Saturday, February 20, 2021, 00:00 (GMT + 9)

Yesterday the fleet sought refuge in the ports of Deseado and Comodoro Rivadavia due to winds of more than 45 knots in the fishing area. The fleet has been catching between 5 and 10 tons per day for a week.

The squid season started ten days later than last year to comply with the isolation period and prevent COVID infections on board.

But unfortunately, it was not the only change in the 2020 harvest. After an auspicious start, with average yields of between 20 and 30 tons, these fell sharply to less than half.

Yesterday 45 vessels of the jigging fleet sought refuge in Puerto de Deseado. Others bowed towards Comodoro Rivadavia due to the presence of strong winds in the fishing area, with gusts exceeding 45 knots.

“We have been with very weak catches for a week; some ship puts between 20 and 30 tons, but they are the least”, summed up Juan Redini, squid jigger shipowner and president of CAPA.

Marcela Ivanovic, head of the INIDEP Cephalopod Project, acknowledged the decline in daily yields, but only tomorrow will she have the current data reported by the fleet and they will be used for the report that will be analyzed at the next CFP (Federal Fisheries Council) meeting next week. For now, the next meeting of the Monitoring Commission for this resource has no date.

In the last days some boats were operating on the parallel 45 ° South, still looking for specimens of the summer spawning stock; while another group of vessels was located lower, at the height of parallel 46 ° 50 ’South, trying to locate the subpathogenic stock (SSP).

"To the south there are larger sizes, they can be specimens of the subpatagonic", recognized Redini, who as another distinctive fact of the 2021 season distinguished the size of the summer spawning catches.

"From the beginning, sizes S and M and little SS were caught, something that we were not used to in January and February," clarified Redini, who regretted the cancellation of the INIDEP research campaign on the subpathogenic stock after the vessel broke. of investigation Angelescu, moments before the set sail.

Photo: courtesy Revista Puerto

The official statistics as of February 3 show that 24,077 tons of squid have been landed. Of that total, the jigging fleet declared to fish 22,900 tons. Puerto Deseado accounts for most of the catches at the start of the season. 15,000 tons were unloaded at the Santa Cruz terminal. Then Mar del Plata and Puerto Madryn appear with 3,800 tons each and Comodoro, finally, received 14,000 tons.

Author: Roberto Garrone / Revista Puerto (article available only in spanish)

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