Horse mackerel processing. (Photo: El Pescador, Asipes)

Horse mackerel good catches would exhaust annual quotas

CHILE
Thursday, May 17, 2012, 04:10 (GMT + 9)

In the first two months of this year over 60 per cent of the horse mackerel (Trachurus murphyi) quota set for this year for the fishing industry was caught and it is estimated that by late May the annual quota of 232,000 tonnes might be exhausted, said Luis Felipe Moncada, manager of the Association of Industrial Fishing Vessels in the Region of Bio Bio AG (Asipes).

According to the leader, this year the sector has recovered the “usual pace” and “a large part of the annual quota of horse mackerel set for 2012 was captured before the expected time.”

"At the beginning of the year there was a great availability of horse mackerel in the south central area," and in recent years it was only "in fairly remote areas: 600 to 700 miles," he explained.

In 2012, fishermen have been able to capture the pelagic resource "in the exclusive economic zone and in areas close to ports, which has led to the capture of very important numbers," Diario Financiero reported.

The leader highlighted that up to 9 May there remained 38,200 tonnes of the 2012 annual quota of horse mackerel.

In 2011, the fishing quota was 268,849 tonnes but only 215,440 tonnes were unloaded, that is to say, 80 per cent of the total. And in 2010, the quota was 1,300,000 tonnes but 446,711 tonnes were caught, 66 per cent less.

"Quotas have always been completed, except for 2010 and 2011 and this year the usual pace has been retaken, keeping in mind that the quotas are extremely meager in order to conserve the resource," Moncada pointed out.

Last March, Asipes President, Roberto Izquierdo, said: "Companies in the south central area are operating with the highest possible recess as to horse mackerel so as to destine the resource for human consumption and thus preserve as many jobs as possible, with the limited raw material available considering the quotas."

Izquierdo also noted that the reduction in annual quotas recorded during the past few years was due to conservation issues.

According to statistics of the Undersecretariat of Fisheries (Subpesca), in 2011 only 9.3 per cent of the caught resources was horse mackerel. In 2010, the percentage reached 20 per cent, and in 2009, it was 30 per cent, El Mercurio reported.

Related article:

- 70 pc of horse mackerel in central-southern area captured

By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

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