Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Over-Fishing the Paraná River

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 12 2005 (IPS) - The Proteger Foundation of Argentina, which promotes sustainable development around the Paraná River, warns that artisanal fisherfolk in the region face “an unprecedented crisis” due to over-fishing. The rise in catches of sábalo, boga, surubí, dorado and bagre fish for export has caused a decline in these species, forcing national and provincial authorities to impose a total ban on fishing since November.

The fisherfolk who live off their catches are not responsible for the over-fishing, but are strongly affected by the measure, says Norberto Oldani, of the Proteger Foundation.

“Some are working in temporary jobs, but the truth is that fishing is what they should be doing,” he said.

Since 2002, the volume of fish taken from the Paraná annually grew from 2,700 to nearly 40,000 tons.