Editing Economy of the Falkland Islands (section)

===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>