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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/06/squid-argentina-coast-guard-overfishing-ecosystems-animal-cruelty-human-rights-china>
"In a monitoring room in Buenos Aires, a dozen members of the Argentinian coast
guard watch giant industrial-fishing ships moving in real time across a set of
screens. “Every year, for five or six months, the foreign fleet comes from
across the Indian Ocean, from Asian countries, and from the North Atlantic,”
says Cdr Mauricio López, of the monitoring department. “It’s creating a serious
environmental problem.”
Just beyond Argentina’s maritime frontier, hundreds of foreign vessels – known
as the distant-water fishing fleet – are descending on Mile 201, a largely
ungoverned strip of the high seas in the South Atlantic, to plunder its rich
marine life. The fleet regularly becomes so big it can be seen from space,
looking like a city floating on the sea.
The charity Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) has described it as one of
the largest unregulated squid fisheries in the world, warning that the scale of
activities could destabilise an entire ecosystem.
“With so many ships constantly fishing without any form of oversight, the
squid’s short, one-year life cycle simply is not being respected,” says Lt
Magalí Bobinac, a marine biologist with the Argentinian coast guard.
There are no internationally agreed catch limits in the region covering squid,
and distant-water fleets take advantage of this regulatory vacuum.
Steve Trent, founder of the EJF, describes the fishery as a “free for all” and
says squid could eventually disappear from the area as a result of “this mad
fishing effort”.
The consequences extend far beyond squid. Whales, dolphins, seals, sea birds
and commercially important fish species such as hake and tuna depend on the
cephalopod. A collapse in the squid population could trigger a cascade of
ecological disruption, with profound social and economic costs for coastal
communities and key markets such as Spain, experts warn.
“If this species is affected, the whole ecosystem is affected,” Bobinac says.
“It is the food for other species. It has a huge impact on the ecosystem and
biodiversity.”
She says the “vulnerable marine ecosystems” beneath the fleet, such as deep-sea
corals, are also at risk of physical damage and pollution."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
