VALERIA DELATLANTICO

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Trawler suspected of exceeding toothfish quota

In the midst of the controversy over toothfish fishing in the Argentine Sea, the 'San Arawa 2' was being investigated for having captured more than 40 tons of this protected species off the coast of Tierra del Fuego, in Patagonia, greatly exceeding the allowed quota. The vessel, which is operated by the Estremar company, captured more than 40 tons of juvenile toothfish in a single haul on March 22, 2024, which poses a serious danger to marine fauna. The amount of juvenile toothfish captured greatly exceeds the limits of “bycatch” that can occur when using the trawling technique, which would demonstrate that there was a manifest intention to capture this protected species. The opeaators of the 'San Arawa 2', the Norwegians Ingvar Johannesson and Idar Rekkedal, are named as those most responsible within the framework of the investigation into this case of illegal fishing of juvenile hake. The quota of toothfish in Argentina is monopolized by three large companies: Argenova, Estremar and Pesantar, which got the Federal Fisheries Council (CFP) to issue an act in 2019 that left out the Prodesur company and officially enabled the cartelization of the activity, which yields annual profits of US$ 150 million. On March 5, 2021, the CFP automatically renewed the authorizations to catch toothfish for the same three companies until 2025 inclusive.