Are the Argies desperate to go to war with Britain again?
Argentina 'arrests' British squid trawler
Oliver Balch in Buenos Aires
(Filed: 26/02/2006)
Argentina has impounded a British trawler in a dramatic escalation of a dispute over squid fishing rights off the Falkland Islands, raising tensions between the two countries.
The high seas "arrest" of the trawler last week follows a low-level "squid war" that has been waged amid allegations of over-fishing and infringements of sovereignty. Argentina claims that the John Cheek was illegally fishing in the Argentine economic exclusion zone last Monday.
The British Embassy in Buenos Aires, however, believes that the trawler, now under Argentine coastguard control at the port of Comodoro Rivadavia, 945 miles south of Buenos Aires, was in neutral international waters.
Mario Domingo Daniele, an Argentine senator, recently branded the British fishing licences that are issued by the Falklands as "illegitimate" and declared the waters "part of what belongs by right to our country".
The Argentine Chamber of Fishing Industries (ACFI) has called for "strong penalties" for the John Cheek.
"We completely reject all fishing undertaken by the colonial British administration in the Malvinas, which contravenes the rights of Argentina over the islands," said Mariano Perez, the director of the ACFI.
Falkland Islanders argue that the real issue at stake is Argentina's renewed desire to threaten the existence of the islands as British territory. Meanwhile environmental groups say that over-fishing of the waters will devastate the squid population. The World Wildlife Fund recently released a satellite photograph taken by the University of Sienna that shows the extraordinary extent of night fishing around the Falklands.
Although several boats from the Far East have previously been detained for squid fishing without a licence, this is the first time that a British vessel has been seized. The 31 crew offered no resistance when the Argentine inspectors boarded the John Cheek. The boat's Spanish skipper, Jaime Cortizo, is still with the vessel in Argentina.
Jan Cheek, the co-owner of the impounded vessel, said that the Argentines themselves encouraged over-fishing in a calculated move by the Argentines to damage one of the Falklands' main sources of income. "The Argentines are quite happy to harm their own stock if it will harm our financial viability. They send their ships out at least a month earlier than we do," she said.
Javier Corcuera, the director of Vida Silvestre, an Argentine environmental group, said the two governments were using squid as a "sovereignty tool" in the tussle over the future of the Falklands.
"Argentina gives lots of permits to fish squid and the Falklands are doing the same because they both want to exert their presence in the region," he said. Emiliano Ezcurra, the campaign director for Greenpeace Argentina, added: "Many ships enter our waters and literally steal Argentine fish."
The John Cheek is also accused of operating with a Falklands flag, which Argentina does not recognise. Harriet Hall, the Falklands' acting governor, rejects this: "We have no doubt over our sovereignty and therefore the vessel has the right to fly the Falklands' ensign."
Argentina invaded the islands in 1982 but was forced out in a conflict that claimed the lives of 272 British servicemen and civilians and 649 Argentines.
Catches of Illex squid, the Falklands' most important fish stock, have plummeted in recent years. Last year, the Falklands registered 1,700 tons of squid, a 15-year low and a startling reduction on the 150,000-ton catch of 2001.
telegraph.co.uk
Argentina 'arrests' British squid trawler
Oliver Balch in Buenos Aires
(Filed: 26/02/2006)
Argentina has impounded a British trawler in a dramatic escalation of a dispute over squid fishing rights off the Falkland Islands, raising tensions between the two countries.
The high seas "arrest" of the trawler last week follows a low-level "squid war" that has been waged amid allegations of over-fishing and infringements of sovereignty. Argentina claims that the John Cheek was illegally fishing in the Argentine economic exclusion zone last Monday.
The British Embassy in Buenos Aires, however, believes that the trawler, now under Argentine coastguard control at the port of Comodoro Rivadavia, 945 miles south of Buenos Aires, was in neutral international waters.
Mario Domingo Daniele, an Argentine senator, recently branded the British fishing licences that are issued by the Falklands as "illegitimate" and declared the waters "part of what belongs by right to our country".
The Argentine Chamber of Fishing Industries (ACFI) has called for "strong penalties" for the John Cheek.
"We completely reject all fishing undertaken by the colonial British administration in the Malvinas, which contravenes the rights of Argentina over the islands," said Mariano Perez, the director of the ACFI.
Falkland Islanders argue that the real issue at stake is Argentina's renewed desire to threaten the existence of the islands as British territory. Meanwhile environmental groups say that over-fishing of the waters will devastate the squid population. The World Wildlife Fund recently released a satellite photograph taken by the University of Sienna that shows the extraordinary extent of night fishing around the Falklands.
Although several boats from the Far East have previously been detained for squid fishing without a licence, this is the first time that a British vessel has been seized. The 31 crew offered no resistance when the Argentine inspectors boarded the John Cheek. The boat's Spanish skipper, Jaime Cortizo, is still with the vessel in Argentina.
Jan Cheek, the co-owner of the impounded vessel, said that the Argentines themselves encouraged over-fishing in a calculated move by the Argentines to damage one of the Falklands' main sources of income. "The Argentines are quite happy to harm their own stock if it will harm our financial viability. They send their ships out at least a month earlier than we do," she said.
Javier Corcuera, the director of Vida Silvestre, an Argentine environmental group, said the two governments were using squid as a "sovereignty tool" in the tussle over the future of the Falklands.
"Argentina gives lots of permits to fish squid and the Falklands are doing the same because they both want to exert their presence in the region," he said. Emiliano Ezcurra, the campaign director for Greenpeace Argentina, added: "Many ships enter our waters and literally steal Argentine fish."
The John Cheek is also accused of operating with a Falklands flag, which Argentina does not recognise. Harriet Hall, the Falklands' acting governor, rejects this: "We have no doubt over our sovereignty and therefore the vessel has the right to fly the Falklands' ensign."
Argentina invaded the islands in 1982 but was forced out in a conflict that claimed the lives of 272 British servicemen and civilians and 649 Argentines.
Catches of Illex squid, the Falklands' most important fish stock, have plummeted in recent years. Last year, the Falklands registered 1,700 tons of squid, a 15-year low and a startling reduction on the 150,000-ton catch of 2001.
telegraph.co.uk
