Editing Economy of the Falkland Islands (section)

==Fishing==
{{main|Fishing in the Falkland Islands}}
[[File:Chapkanov-Saint-Nicholas.jpg|thumb|right|Metal icon depicting [[Saint Nicholas|St Nicholas]], the patron saint of [[fishermen]].  The [[icon]] is located at the premises of the Falklands Legislative Assembly at Gilbert House in Stanley, Falkland Islands]]
[[File:FalklandEconomicZone.png|thumb|right|Map of the Falkland Islands economic zone in relation to her neighbours]]
Fishing is the largest part of the economy.{{r|herbert20070118}} Although Lord Shackleton's Report (1982) recommended the setting up of a {{convert|200|nmi|adj=on}} fisheries limit which gave an impetus to the fishing industry, the report did not go into much detail regarding the expansion of the industry.<ref>{{Cite web
|url = https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1982/dec/08/falkland-islands-shackleton-report
|title = Falkland Islands (Shackleton Report)
|publisher = Hansard - HC Deb 8 December 1982 vol 33 cc851-60
|access-date = 17 June 2010
|archive-date = 17 July 2009
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090717095554/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1982/dec/08/falkland-islands-shackleton-report
|work = [[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]
|date = 8 December 1982
|url-status = live
}}</ref> The Falkland Islands Development Corporation which formed as a result of the Shackleton Report provided the impetus for the Falkland Islands to exploit their marine environment.

===Fishing grounds===
The Falkland Islands' fishing waters form part of the 2.7 million square kilometre Patagonian Shelf large marine ecosystem and are located on a spur from the Patagonian Continental Shelf.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.eoearth.org/article/Patagonian_Shelf_large_marine_ecosystem 
 |title=Patagonian Shelf large marine ecosystem 
 |publisher=The encyclopedia of Earth 
 |access-date=21 December 2010 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612224612/https://eoearth.org/article/Patagonian_Shelf_large_marine_ecosystem 
 |archive-date=12 June 2010 
}}</ref>
Most of the fishing takes place in water up to {{convert|200|m}} deep on this spur or on the [[Burdwood Bank]] - another spur lying on an [[undersea ridge]] to the south of the Falkland Islands and separated from the islands by a deep channel known as the Falklands Trough. At its highest point, the Burdwood Bank is {{convert|46|m}} below sea level.

The principal ocean currents in the Falkland Island waters are the [[West Wind Drift]], a cold current from the Southern Pacific Ocean that flows westwards to the south of the Burdwood Bank<ref>{{cite web |author=Smith, Ryan |author2=Desflots, Melicie |author3=White, Sean |author4=Mariano, Arthur J. |author5=Ryan, Edward H. |title=The Antarctic CP Current |work=Ocean Surface Currents |url=http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/southern/antarctic-cp.html |access-date=21 December 2010 |archive-date=14 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614102611/http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/southern/antarctic-cp.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the north flowing cold Falklands current, an offshoot of the West Wind Drift that curls around the east of Falklands Plateau and along the Falklands and Patagonian escarpments.<ref>{{cite web
 |url          = http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/atlantic/malvinas.html
 |title        = The Malvinas Current
 |work         = Ocean Surface Currents
 |author       = Gyory, Joanna
 |author2      = Mariano, Arthur J.
 |author3      = Ryan, Edward H.
 |access-date  = 21 December 2010
 |archive-date = 8 October 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20141008025352/http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/atlantic/malvinas.html
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> It joins the saltier warm [[Brazil Current]] in the vicinity of the mouth of the [[Río de la Plata]] to form the [[South Atlantic Current]].<ref>{{cite web
 |url          = http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/atlantic/brazil.html
 |title        = The Brazil Current
 |author       = Bischof, Barbie
 |author2      = Rowe, Elizabeth
 |author3      = Mariano, Arthur J.
 |author4      = Ryan, Edward H.
 |work         = Ocean Surface Currents
 |year         = 2004
 |access-date  = 21 December 2010
 |archive-date = 11 November 2020
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20201111213519/http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/atlantic/brazil.html
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11867162
|title = Goce gravity mission traces ocean circulation
|publisher = BBC News - Science and Environment
|date = 21 December 2010
|access-date =21 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.globmaritime.com/technical-articles/marine-navigation/oceanography/171-about-atlantic-ocean-currents.html
|title = About Atlantic Ocean Currents
|author = Lại Trường Thọ
|publisher = Social Network GlobMaritime
|access-date = 21 December 2010
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110711113637/http://www.globmaritime.com/technical-articles/marine-navigation/oceanography/171-about-atlantic-ocean-currents.html
|archive-date = 11 July 2011
|url-status = dead
}}</ref>

In 1986 the Falklands opened up their fishing industry to outsiders with the declaration of a {{convert|160|nmi|adj=on}} radius Fisheries Conservation & Management Zone centered on the [[Falkland Sound]].  This zone was later to become the Falklands Inner Conservation Zone (FICZ). Apart from the Falkland Trough, this zone lies within the continental shelf. In 1990 the Falklands Outer Conservation Zone (FOCZ) was declared – a zone that lay between the perimeter of the FICZ and the Falklands 200-nautical-mile economic zone boundary.  The FOCZ includes part of the Burdwood Bank, borders on the confines of the continental shelf and includes part of the Falklands Escarpment - a {{convert|2000|m|adj=on}} undersea escarpment running east–west.

At the same time that the FOCZ was declared, the Argentine declared its 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and together with the British Government (acting on behalf of the Falkland Islands) set up the South Atlantic Fisheries Commission (SAFC) to coordinate the management of fishing stocks in the area.<ref>{{Cite web
|url = http://www.fis.com/falklandfish/html/management.html
|title = Management
|publisher = Falkland Islands Government Fisheries Department
|access-date = 14 June 2010
|archive-date = 12 May 2010
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100512160018/http://www.fis.com/falklandfish/html/management.html
|url-status = dead
}}</ref>

===Fish stocks===
{| class="infobox" style="padding: 0; text-align: center; width: 0" 
! colspan="2" style="background:#ccf;" collapse="yes"|{{nowrap|Tonne / ton conversion}}
|-
|
{| style="border: 1px #aaa solid" 
|align="right"| 1&nbsp;tonne
|align="left"|= 1000&nbsp;kg
|-
|align="right"|1&nbsp;tonne
|align="left"|= 0.984&nbsp;long&nbsp;tons
|-
|align="right"|1&nbsp;tonne
|align="left"|=&nbsp;1.102&nbsp;short&nbsp;tons
|-
|align="right"| 1&nbsp;tonne
|align="left"|= 2204&nbsp;lbs
|}
|}
Most of the fish that are harvested in the Falkland Islands waters are either squid or finfish. Other types of fish form an insignificant part of the Falkland Islands' catch. A significant number of the fish that are taken are migratory with the spawning grounds and feeding grounds of some species being highly dependent on the water temperature.

====Squid====
The [[Argentine Shortfin Squid|Illex squid]] (''Illex argentinus'') which typically has a mantle length of {{convert|20|to|28|cm|in|0}} and a weight of {{convert|150|to|500|g|oz|0}} is the most important fish to the Falklands economy followed by its smaller cousin, the [[Doryteuthis gahi|Patagonian squid]] (''Doryteuthis gahi'') which typically has a mantle length of {{convert|10|to|15|cm|in|0}} and a weight of {{convert|75|to|150|g|oz|0}}.<ref name=FishReport/> Neither species was discovered in substantial numbers near the Falklands until the late 1980s.<ref name="herbert20070118">{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/wanted-holiday-rep-to-sell-joys-of-falklands-tourism-432581.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903223832/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/wanted-holiday-rep-to-sell-joys-of-falklands-tourism-432581.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=3 September 2015 | title=Wanted: holiday rep to sell joys of Falklands tourism | work=[[The Independent]]| date=18 January 2007 | access-date=10 August 2012 | author=Herbert, Ian}}</ref>

The lllex squid has its spawning grounds at the mouth of the [[Río de la Plata]] and a migratory pattern that takes it southwards along the Patagonian Shelf as far as the FICZ to its feeding grounds.  It then returns to its spawning grounds via a route that lies off the continental shelf.<ref>{{Cite web
 |url          = http://www.falklands.gov.fk/forum2007_new//documents/w280d320.ppt
 |title        = The Offshore Fishery; balancing commercial activities & conservation
 |publisher    = Falklands Fisheries
 |last       = Barton
 |first       = John
 |date         = 18 April 2007
 |access-date   = 17 June 2010
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110419093332/http://www.falklands.gov.fk/forum2007_new/documents/w280d320.ppt
 |archive-date = 19 April 2011
 |url-status     = dead
}}</ref> In some years, such as 2007, it enters the FICZ with a resultant good harvest, it other years, such as 2009, it does not migrate as far south as the FICZ at all.<ref name=FishReport>{{Cite web
|url = http://fis.com/falklandfish/FisheriesBulletin14.pdf
|title = Fisheries Department Fisheries Statistics, Volume 14, 2009
|publisher = Falkland Islands Government
|year = 2010
|access-date = 14 June 2010
|archive-date = 23 December 2010
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101223211237/http://www.fis.com/falklandfish/FisheriesBulletin14.pdf
|url-status = dead
}}</ref> The catch for the 2010 season in the Falklands recovered to 12105&nbsp;tonnes, but still the fourth lowest since the beginning of the licensing system.  This has been attributed to the lower than usual sea temperatures during the feeding season in February–May.<ref>{{Cite web
|url=http://fis.com/fis/people/index.asp?article_id=35&l=e
|title=Illex 2010: the case for improved conservation
|author=Dr. Alexander Arkhipkin
|publisher=Fisheries Information & Services
|access-date=5 July 2010
|archive-date=22 September 2010
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100922142352/http://fis.com/fis/people/index.asp?l=e&article_id=35
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>

The Patagonian squid, unlike the Illex, remain in Falkland Island waters all year and are concentrated in the ''Loloigo box''—an area within the Falklands Plateau to the east and south-east of the islands and are harvested during both the austral spring and autumn.

====Finfish====
In the 1970s many fin fish, particularly the rock cod, a high volume low value fish<ref>{{Cite web
|url = http://www.sartma.com/art_7746.html
|title = B17. Southern Ocean
|last = Shotton
|first = Ross
|publisher = FAO
|access-date = 18 June 2010
|archive-date = 16 July 2011
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110716065328/http://www.sartma.com/art_7746.html
|url-status = dead
}}</ref> were exploited to near-extinction.  The levels of rock cod taken in the whole of the South Atlantic dropped by 99.3% in the space of two years between the 1969–70 and 1971–72 seasons.<ref name=figures>399,700&nbsp;tonnes in 1969–70, 101,560&nbsp;tonnes in 1970–71, 2,740&nbsp;tonnes in 1971–72.</ref><ref name=lighthouse>{{Cite web
 |url        = ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/007/y5852e/Y5852E17.pdf
 |title      = Regional Reviews: B17 - Southern Oceans
 |publisher  = FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 457
 |access-date = 18 June 2010
}}{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> while the patagonian rockcod was fished to near-extinction in the Shag Rock area.<ref>{{Cite web
 |url          = http://www.alternative-solution.org/index.php?id=90&L=1
 |title        = Large-scale commercial marine harvesting
 |publisher    = Lighthouse Foundation - Foundation for the seas and oceans
 |access-date   = 30 June 2010
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110725000703/http://www.alternative-solution.org/index.php?id=90&L=1
 |archive-date = 25 July 2011
 |url-status     = dead
}}</ref> This resulted in a ban on fishing which was lifted in 2005.  Following the collapse of the Illex industry in 2008/9, the rock cod has become, by weight, the most heavily harvested species in the area.

In 2006, a Spanish vessel on an exploratory trawl found commercial quantities of grenadiers (''Macrourus spp., Coelorhynchus spp.'') to the south and east of the Falkland Islands at depths between {{convert|750|and|830|m}} depths in the eastern part of FICZ. It has been estimated that this species needs a stock biomass of 40000&nbsp;tonnes to produce a sustainable harvest of 3000&nbsp;tonnes per annum and is now reflected as a separate entry in the tables below.<ref>{{Cite web
|url = http://fis.com/falklandfish/FisheriesBulletin11.pdf
|title = Fisheries Department Fisheries Statistics, Volume 11, 2006
|publisher = Falkland Islands Government
|year = 2007
|access-date = 15 June 2010
|archive-date = 11 July 2011
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110711005347/http://fis.com/falklandfish/FisheriesBulletin11.pdf
|url-status = dead
}}</ref>

===License quota policy and revenue===
With the establishment of the FICZ, the Falklands Fisheries Department issued licences that enable foreign vessels to fish in Falklands waters.  Initially there were seven classes of licence, but as of the 2009 season, this was increased to ten classes of licence.  Each class of licence has its own characteristics – species or combination of species that may be taken, net sizes that may be used and seasons when the licence is valid. The main fishing areas are in waters that are up to {{convert|200|m}} deep with principal concentrations close to the confluence of the FOCZ, FICZ and EEZ to the north west of the Islands and also on the Burwood Bank – a shallow water to the south of the Islands.<ref name=FishReport/> Initially licences were issued on a total allowable effort (TAE) but in 2007, the toothfish longline fishery became the first fishery in the Falkland Islands to be issued on a total allowable catch (TAC) basis.<ref name=FishReport/>
Apart from the Islander's own fleet, the principal fishing fleets come from [[Spain]], [[South Korea|Korea]] and [[Taiwan]].  When the Falkland Islands first opened up her waters, the [[Poland|Polish]] fishing fleet had a presence as did the [[Japan]]ese, but the Poles stopped fishing in the area in the mid-1990s and the Japanese in the middle of the first decade of the twenty-first century.<ref name=FishReport/> By 2002 the license revenue was so great that the island government had no debt and had built up more than £80 million in savings.{{r|browne20020317}}

Since 1993, the principal licence classes have been:
*A licence – Permits the taking of unrestricted fin fish during the first season
*B licence – Permits the taking of ''Illex'' squid.
*X licence – Permits the taking of Patagonian squid during the second season (''Loligo'').
*Y licence – Permits the taking of unrestricted fin fish during the second season (The Southern blue whitting and the Hoki in particular are classed as restricted finship).

'''Revenue from licence fees (£ millions)'''<ref name=FishReport/>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
!Licence type
!1989–1993<br>(Average)
!1994–1998<br>(Average)
!1999–2003<br>(Average)
!2004–2008<br>(Average)
!2009
!Average<br>1989–2009
|-
|B
|19.91
|12.45
|13.60
|4.09
|0.00
|11.92
|-
|X
|3.77
|3.58
|3.67
|1.70
|1.94
|3.12
|-
|Y
|0.80
|2.08
|1.80
|3.07
|4.24
|2.05
|-
|Others
|1.70
|3.67
|4.87
|4.65
|4.67
|3.76
|-
|Total
|26.18
|21.78
|23.93
|13.51
|10.85
|20.85
|}

===International cooperation===
The [[Antarctic Treaty System|Antarctic Treaty]] was signed by both the United Kingdom and Argentina in 1959.  In its wake, the [[Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources|Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)]], a treaty signed by 24 nations and covering the area that includes most of the Falkland Islands waters, came into force in 1982,<ref>{{Cite web
 |url=http://www.ccamlr.org/pu/e/gen-intro.htm 
 |title=General Introduction 
 |publisher=Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) Secretariat 
 |access-date=5 July 2010 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222175430/http://www.ccamlr.org/pu/e/gen-intro.htm 
 |archive-date=22 February 2012 
}}</ref> having been signed by the United Kingdom on 31 August 1981 and Argentina on 28 May 1982.<ref>{{Cite web
|url = http://www.unep.org/regionalseas/programmes/independent/antarctic/instruments/r_profile_antic.pdf
|title = Antarctic Region
|publisher = United Nations Environment Protection
|access-date = 30 June 2010
|archive-date = 31 December 2010
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101231180915/http://www.unep.org/regionalseas/programmes/independent/antarctic/instruments/r_profile_antic.pdf
|url-status = dead
}}</ref> The convention covers Southern Ocean ecosystem which is generally accepted as being south of approximately 50° to 55°S. The CCAMLR provides a forum for exchanging information regarding marine life in the Antarctic region and has the authority to ban the harvesting of certain type of fish and also to ban or put restrictions on the use of certain methods of harvesting. The convention requires that member states who are not parties to the Antarctic Treaty accept certain provisions of that treaty.<ref>{{Cite web
 |url=http://www.ccamlr.org/pu/e/e_pubs/bd/pt1.pdf 
 |title=Text of the convention on the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources 
 |date=20 May 1980 
 |access-date=5 July 2010 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505214806/http://www.ccamlr.org/pu/E/e_pubs/bd/pt1.pdf 
 |archive-date=5 May 2010 
}}</ref>

The South Atlantic Fisheries Commission (SAFC) was set up in 1990 between the Argentine and the United Kingdom (acting on behalf of the Falkland Islands) to exchange information and to coordinate fishing activities in the South Atlantic.  One of their prime activities was the monitoring of the Illex spawning stock biomass (SSB). If the SSB drops below a threshold of 40000&nbsp;tonnes the SAFC recommend will early closure of the fishing season.<ref name="Dr. Alexander Arkhipkin">{{Cite web
|url = http://fis.com/fis/people/index.asp?article_id=35&l=e
|title = Illex 2010: the case for improved conservation
|author = Dr. Alexander Arkhipkin
|publisher = Fish Information and Services
|date = 8 June 2010
|access-date = 16 June 2010
|archive-date = 22 September 2010
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100922142352/http://fis.com/fis/people/index.asp?l=e&article_id=35
|url-status = dead
}}</ref> Since 2005 the SAFC has been largely moribund as the Argentine Government reduced co-operation, declining to continue the routine joint meeting process and suspending joint scientific activities.<ref name="Dr. Alexander Arkhipkin"/> She has since extended her claim to all of the Falkland Island waters.<ref>{{Cite web
|url=http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/ibru/south_atlantic_maritime_claims.pdf
|title = Claims and potential claims to maritime jurisdiction in the South Atlantic and Southern Oceans by Argentina and the UK
|publisher = International Boundaries Research Unit, Durham University
|date = 10 June 2010
|access-date =26 June 2010}}</ref>

===Catch statistics===
The table below shows the average catch in tonnes of various species (as categorised by FIFD - Falkland Island Fisheries Department) for successive five-year periods.<ref name=FishReport/>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
!Common Name
!Scientific name
!Type
!Season
!1989–1993 <br> (Average)
!1994–1998 <br> (Average)
!1999–2003 <br> (Average)
!2004–2008 <br> (Average)
!2009
|-
|[[Pseudophycis|Red cod]]
|''Salilota australis''
|Fin
|Feb–Nov
|4350
|6564
|4932
|3598
|5079
|-
|[[Southern blue whiting]]
|''Micromesistius australis''
|Fin
|Sep–Mar
|45053
|31834
|24675
|20309
|10395
|-
|[[Illex argentinus|Argentine shortfin squid]]
|''Illex argentinus''
|Squid
|Mar–Jun
|161277
|89120
|144665
|72656
|44
|-
|[[Genypterus capensis|Kingklip]]
|''Genypterus blacodes''
|Fin
|Feb–Nov
|1274
|1635
|1720
|2483
|3395
|-
|[[Loligo|Patagonian squid]]
|''Loligo gahi''
|Squid
|Feb–Apr<br>Jul–Sep
|78238
|60646
|44811
|44595
|31475
|-
|[[Martialia hyadesii|Sevenstar flying squid]]
|''Martialia hyadesii''
|Squid
|
|36
|2003
|52
|5
|0
|-
|[[Argentine hake]]<br>[[Merluccius australis|Southern hake]] (or austral hake)<ref>Between 1990 and 2005, common hake and austral hake were categorised as ''Merluccius spp''.  From 2006 onwards they have been categorised as separate species -  ''Merluccius hubbsi'' and ''Merluccius Australis''</ref>
|''Merluccius hubbsi''<br>''Merluccius australis''
|Fin
|Mar–Oct
|8448
|2003
|2583
|7763<br>690
|13051<br>0
|-
|[[Skate (fish)|Skates and rays]]
|''Rajidae''
|Skate & ray
|Apr–Dec
|5361
|3769
|4060
|5009
|5865
|-
|[[Patagonian toothfish]]
|''Dissostichus eleginoides''
|Fin
|All year
|546
|1806
|2112
|1640
|1419
|-
|[[Macruronus|Patagonian grenadier]]
|''Macruronus magellanicus''
|Fin
|Feb–Nov
|9612
|14973
|21770
|18992
|23170
|-
|[[Macrouridae|Grenadier]]<ref name=others>Was categorised as "others" until the end of 2005.</ref>
|''Macrouridae''
|Fin
|
|
|
|
|787
|958
|-
|[[Patagonotothen|Patagonian rockcod]]<ref name=others/>
|''Patagonotothen brevicauda brevicauda''
|Fin
|
|
|
|
|46986
|58149
|-
|[[Scallop]]
|''Zygochlamys patagonica''
|Mollusc
|
|
|
|273
|764
|13
|-
|Other
|
|
|All year
|2285
|1662
|2749
|3706
|246
|-
|Total
|
|
|
|316479
|215632
|254284
|203182
|153258
|}