Jigger vessel working at night with lights and machines with hooks.

Average daily catch of 25 tonnes of illex squid for jigger vessels at start of season

ARGENTINA
Monday, January 21, 2019, 10:00 (GMT + 9)

In what were the first hours of work south of the 44 ° S parallel, the jigger vessels fleet found certain resource responses. It was not an overwhelming volume, but it was better than what different actors expected from the previous data that came from the trawlers.

According to Pescare.com.ar, during the first two days of the season, the average daily catch per unit was around 25 tonnes, although some vessels were above that mark.

Jigging machines lifting squid during the night.

It is estimated that they are specimens belonging to the Summer Spawning Stock. The information collected by INIDEP researchers in recent years points to the usual presence of this cash between the 44th and 48th South parallels, west of the 62nd meridian.

The size of the captured individuals is dominated by the commercial categories double S and S, as well as at the beginning of the 2018 season. "There is a majority of double S and 30 percent of S", said one of the sources consulted.

The jigger vessel B/P Villarino belonging to Pesca Austral

Fleet in the fishing ground

Meanwhile, it is estimated that there are 40 vessels that are operating, while between 20 and 25 vessels are waiting at dock for the evolution of the fishery; although in the sector they project that they will be incorporated with the passing of the days.

In principle, taking into account the meager results obtained by the foreign fleet fishing outside the Exclusive Economic Zone of Argentina and the favorable market conditions for the Illex, there is room for a moderate level of optimism.

Argentine jigger anchored during the day.

The season also fuels expectations among service providers. On December 29, the last entry to Mar del Plata of the Maersk ship Paul Russ left empty containers available to cover the initial demand of the squid. From Container Terminal Dos (TC2) they informed that they were about 200 TEUS. 

During the past year, it is worth remembering, the local maritime station received 58,303 tonnes of this resource on a total discharged of 108,253; that is, 54 percent. The objective of the stowage and terminal operators is to keep that percentage as a floor for this year.

It should be remembered that the results of Illex squid fishing season during 2018 were:

• 68 vessels of the Argentine flag fleet made 225 trips that totalled 5,401 fishing days and 96,909 tonnes of catch (average 17.94 t/day).
• 90 percent of the catches (86,971 tonnes) were produced in the Southern Management Unit. Meanwhile, the remaining 9,938 tonnes were obtained to the north from April.
• The trawlers captured 11,399 tonnes, of which 88 percent (9,996 t) were obtained south of 44 ° S, mainly in January and February (8,491 t), on the intermediate platform between 45 ° S and 48 ° S.
• It was estimated that in the Adjacent Area to the Exclusive Economic Zone of Argentina (EEZ), south of 44 ° S between weeks 1 and 21, up to 300 jigger vessels operated which produced an approximate catch of 140 thousand tonnes.

Satellite photo sensitive to light where you can see the concentration of jiggers working with lights in the entire area between the Malvinas Islands and the limit of 200 Argentine miles.

• To the north of 44 ° S, up to week 20, the presence of up to 85 jiggers was detected, whose catch was estimated at 6,500 tonnes.
• Falkland Islands: Catches of the foreign fleet reached 53,000 tonnes until week 21 and operated up to 105 jigger vessels.
• Total area: In total, the catch of Illex argentinus reached in 2018 a total of 289,967 tonnes and 18,272 tonnes south and north of 44 ° S, respectively.

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