Comunidad Pesquera / November 2005

Natural reserves

Coastal Management in San Blas Bay
Artisanal Fishing should be banned… or shouldn’t it?

In southern Buenos Aires province, in a small coastal town called San Blas -with a population of about 600 inhabitants-, there is widespread concern over the future of its fishery resources. This concern has sparked off a heated debate which has already reached the court rooms.

cartel The town is located in Jabalí Island, part of a small archipelago situated south of Anegada Bay that shapes a relatively protected and shallow marine enclosed area which has strong tidal currents and is characterized by a rich biodiversity. It is quite a long time since such a place has become renowned as one of the paradises for inshore and offshore sport fishing, and it is visited by thousands of tourists each year.

Very near San Blas, there is a small community called Los Pocitos which strives to live on the scarce tourism in the area, the extraction of Japanese oyster –seeded in the region about 20 years ago- and artisanal fishing.

San Blas and Los Pocitos live on marine resources and, some years ago, the region was declared a Multiple Use Reserve by Buenos Aires province, thus restricting both sport and commercial fishing activities. As usual, the lack of a Management Plan and, therefore, the lack of informed debate and participation as well as a decrease in the available resources gradually induced the common belief that sport fishing is permissible and harmless while artisanal fishing is harmful and prohibited.

The granting of some artisanal fishing permits in the region by the provincial authorities a few months ago led a group of townspeople -gathered in the so-called Development Council- to issue an appeal for protection supported by environmental movements from across the country. Besides, they were also worried about the interaction of artisanal fishing with the population of a small long-beaked dolphin: the Franciscana.

After some hesitation within the very Judiciary, that at first had prohibited the entire fishing practices but then had permitted only sport fishing, the provincial Legislature finally reformed the Reserve Creation Act, allowing the restrictive performance of artisanal and sport fishing activities. This led to the lifting of the ban adopted as a cautionary measure.

According to environmentalists, such a reform is unconstitutional, so they are planning to make an appeal. However, during both the legal controversy and the reform of the law, a major deficiency stood out: there is a lack of serious and thorough studies of the fish populations inhabiting the Bay, of the ecological functions of such an environment as regards those populations and of the potential and real impact of sport and artisanal fishing on them.

Curiously, San Blas Municipal delegate Alberto Alzugaray told Fishing Community magazine (Comunidad Pesquera) that “the only recorded legal data in existence are about artisanal fishing. This kind of fishing is under double control: of the National Coast Guard on the one hand and of the Delegation on the other.” According to several sources, sport fishermen catch three times as much fish as artisanal fishermen. However, he added, “there is a lack of control on sport fishing and no research has been conducted into the ecosystem.”

From now onwards, those studies should form the basis for the formulation of a serious Management Plan that respects “the customary utilization of biological resources in compliance with the traditional cultural practices that are consistent with the requirements for sustainable conservation and utilization,” as required by the International Convention on Biodiversity, of which Argentina is a signatory.

As a sport fisherman told Fishing Community’s correspondent, the presence of artisanal vessels in the Bay represents a “psychological shock”; however, when considering matters calmly, it becomes evident that the accusations against artisanal fishermen are aimed at a weak target. Nevertheless, everybody knows at bottom that the underlying causes of resource depletion are many others: the impact of industrial fishing beyond the Bay, which recent measures such as the coastal species Management Plan approved by the Federal Fishing Council could start to reduce.

Report prepared by: Mariana Leiva

Direct Testimonies

Darío Ingelmo and his wife (Artisanal fishermen from Los Pocitos):
Artisanal fishing doesn’t influence sport fishing. I’ve lived on it for twenty years but I haven’t been able to fish for the last two years, so I sometimes go sport fishing or look for odd jobs. When we go fishing, the fishing season lasts 45 days, but we go out to sea half that time because of the weather. We are 16 artisanal fishermen together with 3 assistants –sailors-; that’s why as we cannot fish, we turn into “seasonal workers”.

Susana Castelnovo (San Blas Tourist Development Council –TDC-):
San Blas artisanal fishermen aren’t poor people at all –they cultivate oysters, are employed as filleting workers, work in the tourist sector and in farms-, so they can manage to live on one way or another. Artisanal fishermen have harvested 90 tons of smooth dogfish (sharks) and catch a high percentage of females coming here to spawn. They are causing serious damage to the ecosystem. The background is the entry of Mar del Plata city’s vessels. San Blas boats carry up to 150 boxes twice a day, that is to say some nine tons a day.

Manfred Relling (San Blas Sport Fisherman and TDC’s former member):
The problem is that San Blas lives on tourism and, before coming here, tourists ask if vessels are fishing, which is a “psychological shock”. Artisanal fishermen harvest in Culebra Canal and Banco Nordeste and they don’t really affect sport fishing. If fishing is allowed, it is feared that Mar del Plata’s vessels may start coming and artisanal fishermen may be used so that other fishermen could come to harvest. In my opinion, artisanal fishermen have rights of their own, especially those fishermen from Los Pocitos and Riacho Azul. I agree on it, but only if certain conditions are met: a place where they can fish should be created and they shouldn’t be seen during the sport season. Sport fishermen don’t have fishing quotas though they catch nearly four times as much fish as artisanal fishermen. The important thing is to implement the Management Plan.

Municipal Delegate Alberto Alzugaray (San Blas Bay Municipal Delegation):
The only recorded legal data in existence are about artisanal fishing. 2003 was the last year when fish were caught: in 45 days, 3,378 boxes were extracted, that is to say 111 tons in San Blas. There is a lack of control on sport fishing and no research has been conducted into the ecosystem.

Eduardo Malek Semprimi: Tourism Director (Patagones District City Hall):
Both activities –sport and artisanal- have coexisted for 50 years. Three years ago, artisanal fishermen started to be considered responsible for the lack of species. The formulation of a Management Plan is under way and it will be the conciliatory tool among the parties. There is a quota of 35 sport boats. The city hall fixed it because, otherwise, everybody would lose sometime in the near future. Quotas should also be allocated to artisanal fishermen. Everybody gave their opinion without any scientific research as a basis. No studies have been conducted so far.