Chile earthquake 2010

Flawed science on fisheries

Faroe Islands Dungeness crab fishery overview

FAO adviser Menakhem Ben-Yami talks to FNI. Pages 14-15

North Atlantic islands rely on international links. Pages 16-23

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Oregon’s successful management leads to sustainability. Pages 24-27

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Ruined!

Chile’s fishing industry tries to pick up the pieces – see page 12

The ulTimaTe Trawl for every pelagic fisherman www.vonin.com

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May 2010

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COVER STORY

shock: Coastal communities were devastated by the tsunami that followed the earthquake that rocked Chile on the 27 February. The government has pledged

Communities in turmoil as Chile st Ian Emmett in Tomé

C

hile’s Bío-Bío region was the area hardest hit by the 8.80 Richter scale earthquake that struck on the 27 February last.

Just a few hours later a tsunami hit the coast that compounded the damage already done by the earthquake.

The fishing industry along an extensive stretch of coast has been battered, leaving vessels and villages destroyed and with significant loss of life.

On a visit to the devastated area, Subsecretary of Fisheries Pablo Galilea and Minister of Economy Juan Andrés Fontaine assessed for themselves the extent of the devastation and the minister stated that priority is being given to artisanal fishermen by replacing boats, engines and other materials, while other immediate aid is being channelled into backing credits for rebuilding lost capital.

He also commented that some of the damaged fishing bays could be reconverted for tourism. Over 60% of Chile’s industrial fishing activity is in the Bío-Bío region, generating 12,000 direct and a

fACT fILE

and knowledge of the sea of Isla Mocha’s inhabitants prompted them to climb a hill and set up a

further 35,000 indirect jobs.

In spite of the extensive and widespread damage, some of the artisanal fleet is already back at sea and Luis Burgos Velásquez, Talcahuano’s Maritime Governor, reported that these boats have been landing much needed catches. “Good fish, good sizes and high amounts of catch,” he said.

Ten of the Bío-Bío region’s artisanal fishing bays were damaged in varying degrees

‘Houses, ships, boats and fishing gear were all lost. Now we just look at each other with nothing to do’ by the tsunami. Initial figures estimate around 5000 victims among fishermen nationwide, a third of whom are in the centralsouth region of Chile. These bays are Coliumo, Dichato, Tumbes, Candelaria, Moro, Rocuant, Isla Mocha, Isla Santa María, Llico, Tubul and part of Lebu.

The mixed fishing bay of Coliumo, which had a fleet ranging from small launches to

■ Chile’s artisanal fleet supplies processors with up to 1,000,000t of raw material every year ■ The Association of Fishery Companies (ASIPES) in Chile had called for a $300m fleet investment even before the earthquake devastated the fishing industry Loss: Many people have lost homes, relatives and livelihoods in the disaster an 18m vessel for fishing anchovy and sardine, was completely devastated by the tsunami.

“Houses, ships, boats and fishing gear were all lost. Now we just look at each other with nothing to do,” said Juan Carlos Garrido, Chairman of the Coliumo Fishermen’s Union.

As well as the mainland, offshore islands have also been badly hit and, after being

evacuated by air, forest warden Alejandro Gajardo on the Isla Mocha on the border between Araucanía and the Bío-Bío Region commented: “Fifteen minutes after the earthquake, a wave hurtled 300 to 400 metres inland. This is why the fishermen in the area lost everything – boats, engines, everything.”

The island covers 5000 hectares, but the experience

camp there before the tsunami hit.

“Once there, they set up tents to spend the night and organised a soup kitchen”, he added. The two supply ships between the isle and mainland, as well as a row of ten houses were swallowed up by the tsunami, but there were only two casualties, who were last seen on the island’s beach.

In the 8th Region’s coastal towns of Dichato and Coliumo, both of which are heavily

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May 2010

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of nine fish freezing plants remains in operation after the diaster

2

years before the authorities expect the fishing fleet to be back on its feet

Above: This trawler came to rest far above the highwater line after being swept away in the tidal wave Left: A group of fishermen from Dichato who lost everything in the tsunami beLow And Left: These boats were carried far inland. A number of boats that have survived were able to return to fishing within a week of the disaster, but have been hampered by extensive damage to landing facilities and shore processing plants

aid to rebuild fisheries, with the artisanal sector seen as a priority

arts to rebuild

dependent on fisheries and tourism, the tsunami destroyed vessels and flattened buildings.

One fisherman told FNI that he had been keeping 12m pesos (€17,000) in savings in his house.

“My wife had been telling me to put it in the bank,” he said.

“But now the tsunami has swept away the house and the money as well,” he said.

Another local added that a bag with a million pesos had been found next to the remains of a

destroyed fishing boat.

The area around these two villages resembles a war zone and only pales in comparison to the desolation of Tomé’s artisanal fishing bay of Los Bagres where a rockfall triggered by the earthquake killed one fisherman’s two year old son as the houses built on the steep hillside around the bay collapsed.

Most of Los Bagres’ fishing community has now shifted up the hill to a makeshift camp on

the town’s football pitch.

The Association of Fishing Companies (ASIPES) has already called for a $300 minvestment to reconstruct processing companies and landing facilities. ASIPES represents a dozen companies that supply around two thirds of industrial and artisanal catches.

ASIPES director Luis Moncova told FNI that of the 12 landing stations for industrial catches, six are in need of extensive repair, three are operational and three are virtually destroyed.

“Four of fourteen fishmeal processing plants have been wiped out and will need up to 18 months to be rebuilt. Two have serious damage that will require up to six months work and six plants have only minor damage,” he said. “Only one of the nine freezing plants is operational at the moment. Five have sustained

serious damage and the others have minor damage,” he said and commented that the industrial fleet should be able to start fishing again by early April and the outlook is for the industry to be fully back on its feet within two years.

Damage to Chile’s industrial sector has a direct bearing on the artisanal sector, which depends on this infrastructure to land its catches of sardine and anchovy.

While the season opened on the 5 March, artisanal purse seiners that were not damaged by the tsunami currently are not able to rely on their main landing point, which is Talcahuano, although they can land smaller amounts in nearby Coronel and San Vicente.

There is a close relationship between the artisanal and industrial sectors, with the artisanal catching fleet supplying proces-

sors with around as much as a million tonnes of raw material every year, amounting to 50% of the total input for the industry.

The artisanal fleet relies on the industrial sector for landing, buying and processing its catch, as well as some fishermen working as crew in both areas.

In Talcahuano the ASMAR shipyard has been extensively damaged and a spokesman said that shipyard had “serious structural damage entailing considerable costs.”

The oceanographic research vessel Cabo de Hornos AGS-61, which was due to be launched in early March, is reported to have sustained 80% damage, while the yard has launched its own staged emergency clean-up plan that is initially aimed at restoring minimum operational capacity and a longer-term schedule of restructuring.