o di U i. ^ i.

JPRS 81759

14 September 1982

«

Worldwide Report

LAW OF THE SEA

No. 208

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WORLDWIDE REPORT

LAW OF THE SEA

No. 208

JPRS 81759

14 September 1982

INTER-ASM AFFAIRS

Briefs

CONTENTS

ASIA

JSP Seeks To Negotiate Fishing Accord

AUSTRALIA

Editorials Lament U.S. Failure To Sign Law of Sea Treaty

(Editorial; THE WEST AUSTRALIAN, 19 Jul 82,

THE AGE, 22 Jul 82)

U.S. Policy Shift

'Short-Sighted' Step

Work of Bass Strait Offshore Oil Rigs Described

(Brendan Donohoe; THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN, 10-11 Jul 82)

Bass Strait Leads in Growing Offshore Oil Drilling

(Stephen Bartholomewzj THE COURIER-MAIL, 13 Jul 82)

Briefs

Offshore Oil Output

Japanese Ship Violation

Bass Strait Gas

Crayfish Catch

Taiwanese Boat Incident

h

8

8

8

9

9

- a - [III - WW - 136]
EAST EUROPE

BULGARIA

Briefs

Exploration of Bulgarian Shelf 10

LATIN AMERICA

ARGENTINA

Official Elaborates on Krill Project With USSR

(CONVICCION, 2$ Jul 82) 11

GUYANA

New Twin-Trawler Fishing Method Being Introduced

(GUYANA CHRONICLE, k Aug 82) 12

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

GUINEA-BISSAU

Fishing Agreement Contacts With EEC Resumed

(NO PINTCHA, 21 Jul 82) 13

MOZAMBIQUE

Briefs

S. African Trawler Impounded lit

WEST EUROPE

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Denmark Refuses to Halt Norway Shrimpers in Greenland Waters

(GRONLANDSPOSTEN, 28 Jul 82) 15

Fisheries Officer Wanted to Act

Action Demanded From MinistryIceland Concerned Over Faroes Fishing of Salmon

(NEWS FROM ICELAND, Sep 82) 18

Briefs

Schmidt, Jorgensen Discuss Fishing Quota 19

- b -
ICELAND

Whaling Ban by 1986 Spells Doom for Iceland Industry

(NEWS FROM ICELAND, Sep 82) 20

Experts Agree: Trawler Fleet Too Large for Fish Stocks

(NEWS FROM ICELAND, Sep 82) 22

- c,-
INTER-ASIAN AFFAIRS

BRIEFS

JSP SEEKS TO NEGOTIATE FISHING ACCORD—Yamaguchi, 28 Aug (KYODO)—Japan

Socialist Party Chief Ichio Asukata said here Saturday he will ask the

government to invite a North Korean negotiator to resume talks on a bilateral

fishery agreement that expired at the end of June. Speaking to reporters,

he also said he wants the 2-year private agreement elevated to the status

of a government agreement. The agreement expired after the Japanese Government rejected a planned visit of North Korea's chief negotiator Hyon Jun-guk

to Tokyo. Japan has no diplomatic relations with North Korea. Several

Japanese fishing boats have been seized in North Korea's exclusive fishing

zone since the agreement lapsed. [Text] [OW281111 Tokyo KYODO in English

1000 GMT 28 Aug 82]

CSO: 5200/2118
AUSTRALIA

EDITORIALS IAMENT U.S. FAILURE TO SIGN LAW OF SEA TREATY

U.S. Policy Shift

Perth THE WEST AUSTRALIAN in English 19 Jul 82 p 6

[Editorial]

[Excerpts] AmericaTs decision not to sign the law of the sea convention

comes as a blow after more than a decade of painstaking global negotiation.

But it does not mean that those historic talks have been in vain.

To those countries such as Australia that have worked as catalysts for

consensus, the vexing thing about America's refusal to sign the treaty is

that under the Carter administration agreement had been all but reached.

Under Mr Reagan!s presidency the U.S. suddenly took fright.

The main threat posed by America's reluctance to come to the party is that

other countries may develop doubts about the viability of the proposed

international mining corporation—known simply as PThe Enterprise." It

will cost about $2000 million to set up and without an American contribution

there will be a sizeable gap in the fund-raising.

But there is a long way to go. Even for the most advanced countries

commercial mining of manganese, nickel, copper and cobalt from the ocean

floor is several years off and many people who have been close to the

negotiations including the leader of the Australian delegation, Mr Keith

Brennan are confident that American support will be forthcoming in that time.

There is little doubt that with Japan and European nations taking part, the

international corporation would get the technology it required. And it is

un ikely the argument goes, that American mining companies and investors

would be happy to see their country go on being the odd man out in such a

major international co-operative effort.

Disappointment, as expressed by the Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Street,

may be too weak a word to sum up Australia's feelings about the Reagan

administration's stance. And doubtless Canberra will continue trying to

persuade Washington to change its mind. But with or without U.S. involvement,

the degree of international co-operation achieved makes the law of the sea

convention an enormously significant development.
'Short-Sighted* Step

Melbourne THE AGE in English 22 Jul 82 p 11

[Editorial]

tlext] President Reagan's decision to reject the Law of the Sea treaty due

to be signed by 130 nations at the end of this year is greatly to be

regretted. It has taken nearly a decade of concerted international effort

to produce this document of understanding designed to determine, once and

for all, the future of the oceans and what lies in them. American diplomacy

helped to initiate the process leading to this rare accommodation of

interests and ideologies. Every nation involved, has had to make concessions

and accept compromises. No one has pretended that the arrangements are

perfect. But most nations have pursued the common goal in the knowledge

that much wider concerns are in force than the narrow dictates of nationalism.

The spirit in which negotiations have been conducted is an example of how

much can be achieved on a global scale.

Yet the United States, it is now apparent, is not prepared to recognise the

concept of the oceans as the heritage of all mankind. It argues that any

nation with the money and technology required for mining the seabed is

entitled to do so for,its own benefit alone even in international waters.

In purely economic terms this reasoning may seem to make sense. But

American mining companies will need the safeguards of the international

seabed law. Without them the companies may be unable to procure insurance

protection, rendering enterprise on the high seas an even riskier and more

expensive procedure.

But there is much more than money at stake both in the scope of the treaty

and in the implications of rejecting it. The United States will also be

declining to accept territorial provisions which could settle hundreds of

international disputes, some of them violent, and make two-thirds of the

Earth's surface safer for trade and travel. Washington's decision may,

indeed, create a few new disputes as the United States tests its own understanding of the law against the tenets of the treaty. Moreover, the United

States will put at risk its standing in the international community and

encourage the belief that Washington is not interested in seeking a more

equitable distribution of wealth in a world where, if the rich are not

getting much richer, the poor are certainly getting poorer.

The Law of the Sea treaty is, in effect, the first real trial in the

great North-South debate about which so many brave words are being spoken.

If the Reagan Administration is really concerned about American economic

interests, it should consider further that the United States now sells more

goods to developing countries than to Western Europe and Japan combined.

It is in the light of all this that Mr Reagan's judgment must be seen: as

a short-sighted and counterproductive step that Americans will come to

regret.

GSO: 5200/7555
AUSTRALIA

WORK OF BASS STRAIT OFFSHORE OIL RIGS DESCRIBED

Canberra THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN in English 10-11 Jul 82 p 5

[Article by Brendan Donohoe]

[Excerpts] ABOUT 250km south-east

of Melbourne, 10 offshore oil

and gas platforms are operating 24 hours a day, year

round, supplying crude oil

for 90 per cent of the nation's

petrol, and producing more

natural and liquified petroleum gas than demand

can handle.

The figures for the EssoBHP Bass Strait operation are

staggering. If it shut down for

just one day, the Federal Government would lose $10 million

in taxes, royalties and excise

duties.

Overall, the Government receives an estimated 10 per cent

of its annual revenue from

Bass Strait and remains

thankful that the rigs in the

treacherous ocean promise to

be active well into the next

century.J

While that may be comforting to the nation. Government

and Esso-BHP, there is a constant threat hanging over this

essential industry.

Industrial relations with the

"iron men of the sea" are always troublesome. The company has to walk a firie line

between the effect union

demands have on the national

interest and its own profits.

On the Mackerel platform,

65km offshore from Sale, up to

56 men work in tight conditions. Accommodation is clean

but small. The comforts of

home include color television.

a movie cassette recorder and

billiards.

But the drawbacks are many.

In the average shift of two

weeks on, -two weeks off. the

men. (there have been no successful female applicants yet).

work from 6am to 6pm, 14 days

in a row. No alcohol is permitted and strict safety procedures apply when working in

the open. .

Jobs on the platforms can be

very specialised. Wayne McGraith, for instance, is one of

the six-man diving crew on

Mackerel. Working a seven

davs on. seven days off. 12

hour a day shift, Mr McGraith

can spend up to six days in the

pressurised diving bell. --. He becomes a virtual prisoner in the steel shell, apart

from when he is diving to a

depth of about 70m in the

rough seas to check pipelines

and inspect new welds.

At the end of the week, the

divers spend about 24 hours

decompressing before they are

given the "freedom" of walking around the decks.

Each platform in Bass Strait

has a diving crew of five and

one supervisor. The divers are

members of the Professional

Divers Association and can

earn up to $45,000 a year.

CSO: 5200/7552

U
AUSTRALIA

BASS STRAIT LEADS IN GROWING OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING

Brisbane THE COURIER-MAIL in English 13 Jul 82 pp 23, 25

[Article by Stephen Bartholomeusz]

[Text] ' THE collapse of the muchyaunted resources boom may*

have left the sharemarket and

mining industry in tatters, but

Üss Strait retains its special

States in the Australian econoW'f

J-^yiile other projects are being downgraded, mothballed, or abandoned, the.

tempestuous Strait is the scene of the

most intense activity it has experienced

in the 17 years since gas was first discovered in Victoria's offshore Gippsland

Basin. ;.....

7- The activity in the Strait will become

more frenzied next year, when the newcomers to enter Esso-BHP's traditional

preserves get fully into their still-infant

jjrograms.

_Bass Strait activity has been protected

fron*the impact of flat crude oil prices

and the effect of tumbling commodity.

prices and high interest rates of the minmg industry because of its peculiar sig- -

juficance to Australia.

. -Respite hectic drilling activity

tWraghout its short production history,

theStrait remains the dominant supplier

«^Australian crude oil.

"* About 94 percent of domestic crude

production comes from a relatively small

area offthe Victorian coast.

•

:

J>espite fluctuations in world crude oil

prices, oil remains a finite resource.

; ;,With Esso-BHP production forecast

to fäll from its present level of about 140

inSKon barrels a year to about 8-3 million

by 1990 a sense of urgency has been bred

in ihe search for new reserves.

»,_In July last year, when the cracks had

already started to widen in the facade of

euphoria which coated anything to do

with resources, Esso-BHP unveiled plans,;

to'.spend SI 60 million on Bass Strait 6Ü'

exploration.

The massive program called for the

drilling of 30 exploration wells in the

bitjshore Gippsland Basin over three

years, the most concerted program ever

envisaged for the region.

The scale ofthe plans is highlighted by

comparison with the 75 wells drilled at a

cost of $123 million over the past 17

years in the Strait.

Although there have been recent occasions when ,oil flows have been announced and the company's share price

has fallen, and although resource companies of all shapes and sizes have come

under increasing pressure from the

downturn in the international economy,

the program goes ahead as planned.

"The program hasn't changed, it is

still going ahead. It's not in the boom

and gloom and doom thing," an Esso

spokesman said.

"If you don't explore you don't find

the rotten stuff. You've got to keep finding it because you take out more every

day."

The need to keep finding the "rotten

stuff' is growing more urgent

Initial recoverable liquid reserves in

the Gippsland Basin amount to about

3800 million barrels.

Cumulative production totals about

1500 million barrels and is running at an

annual rateW about 135 million barrels

a year.

Unless new reserves are found, the ex-'

isting reserves will be exhausted by the

turn of the century.

The Esso-BHP activity is notjust con?

fined to its exploration program. -

Bass Strait production expenditure

has also been stepped up as the joint venture seeks to offset declining production

from the large older fields with develop-
ment ofthe newer and smaller fields. *

:

"Topping up the barrel," was a phrase

used by one BHP executive.

The motivation for bringing the.

smaller fields into production is not just

the maintenance of volume.

Under the import parity pricing arrangements Esso-BHP gets a bigger percentage, of revenue from the small and

medium-sized fields.

The pricing arrangements are a major

factor in the program to develop the Fortescue Field, classified as "new" oil

(post-1975) and therefore atracting a

full import parity price.

Fortescue will be the next major field

developed in Bass Strait, with the"platforin due to be launched next month, although full production won't be reached

until 1984 at the earliest.

Fortescue is part of a $1000 million

production program investment running,

concurrently with the exploration drive.

The West Kingfish platform is in

place and production wells, are being

drilled-, Cobia's wells will start to be

drilled in about three months and Flounder is at the launching stage.

• Fortescue will complete the program

and the joint venture will take a breather

before deciding future production development.

Despite the activity Bass Strait opera-'

tions will move into a depletion phase after 1985 unless there are significant discoveries.

Without new finds, production is expected to fall to about 100,000 barrels a

day by the mid 1990s.

World and domestic pricing structures

will then become the key to Bass Strait's'

contribution to Australian energy requirements. > . The Strait has a less visible importance than its contribution to the national energy equation.'

• It is also Victoria's major resource

project.

More than ^000 people work on the

fabrication ofthe platforms at the Barry

beach facility in Sale and each drilling

unit employs another 60 people.

The Strait also provides massive royalties to the state government which, as

the introduction of Fortescue approaches, will increase.

The government takes 12.5 percent at

wellhead from primary licences and 10

percent from secondary licences.

This year the state government take

will amount to about $180 million.

The government also gains another

$20 million a year through the recently

introduced pipeline fee, a sore point with

the joint venture which is contesting the

ability of the government to levy the licence fee.

In the federal sphere, the levy arrangements constitute a major proportion of government revenues.

In 1980 the federal government's total

offtake of Bass Strait revenue amounted'

to just over $3000 million.

Last year it totalled about $3700 million.

Despite the gloomy prognostications

Bass Strait remains one ofthe most prospective areas for new oil discoveries in

Australia.

Its potential was first seen by Dr Lewis Weeks, the ageing US geologist who •

persuaded BHP to abandon its permits

in the offshore Sydney Basin and search

the inhospitable Strait, an area he had

not even seen.

It should be noted that Dr Weeks'

faith in the Strait won him the nickname

"two and a half percent," for the royalty

he extracted from BHP.

There is still great faith in Bass Strait,

particularly the Gippsland Basin.

Last year 154 companies in 28 groups

scrambled to tender for three of the four

areas of the Strait relinquished by EssoBHP.

Details' of the tenders have not been

disclosed and the winning consortia are

reluctant to talk about their plans, but

one of the losing tenderers for V80-2

planned to spend more than $128 million

over the six-year life of the permit, drilling more than 10 wells and shooting

more than 400 km ofseismic.

Other losers said they had bid higher

comparatively than for any other acreage in Australia.

The losing tenderers included several

world oil majors.

The list of those who won is an interesting comment on the state of the resources boom at the time ofthe tender.

TiVic 80-1 is held by a consortium of the

French-owned Australian Acquitaine, Australian Occidental (US-owned), Alliance Resources, Australian Gas Light Company and

CluffOil(thenoftheUK).

(;'Theconsortium defeated seven other tender comprising 54 companies.

Vic 80-2 went to Phillips Australian Oil

(US), Lend Lease and MIM.

ViVic 80-3 was the most sought after area,

attracting 13 tenders from 57 companies.

Headed by Shell, the winning tender included News Corporation, TNT, Crusader

OH and Mincorp Offshore.

•-'Vic 80-4 was passed in due to an unexplained lack of interest.

fj!.The Vic 80-3 consortium particularly tells

its.own story-about the resources boom.

,oThe euphoria which the term "resources"

generated saw a number of industrial companies, too big to devote their entire energies to

the mining and energy business (as some of-
the smaller industrial companies did), decide

they wanted to have at least some stake in the

action. .... ,;•.

'•Those winning consortia are how starting

to drill in the Strait, after a lengthy period of:

evaluation.

"Although the excitement in the energy industry has abated in the last 12 months, the

number of weHdrilled in Bass Strait is unlikely!to taper off.

One senior exploration manager with a

winning consortium said the obligations under the permit agreement with the Victorian ' Government meant that there could be no tapering off of the programs, although it was

now unlikely that any of the groups would

commit themselves above their obligations.

The Shell-let group has drilled its first well

in the Strait, the Hammerhead One well.

It was plugged and abandoned last month

after failing to find any indications of hydrocarbons.

Despite the disappointment Shell is

chartering a- new rig for its Bass Strait program. _____

Another exploration well will be drilled in

the permit area before the end of the year and

between two and six wells next year. • " ;

Phillips is expected to drill its first well next.

month/ '- . /

The activity starting to swell from the ten- \

der last year carries no guarantee of success,

although mining analysts and geologists believe there is still potential for large finds; - ;.

The success ratio for Bass Strait is historic

cally about one in four.

The newcomers to the Strait are seeking

smaller and more subtle structures than those

. uncovered by Esso-BHP in the earlier scrutinies of the area, almost halving the chances

ofsuccess.

Shell and Phillips are considered to have

the best chances offinding large structures — -

fields of more than 500 million barrels.

Acquitaine is seeking the smaller 20 million or 50 million barrel structures.

Bass Strait is no Exmouth Plateau, but the

cost of drilling is still high. Industry experts

say the cost of qnce-off wells in the Strait

. ranges between $8 million and $12 million.

For Esso-BHP, which tends to drill wells;

back to back, the cost ranges between S5 mil"

lion and $8 million.

Just to charter a drill ship costs about.

$150,000 a day.

The other consortium active in the Gippsland Basin is the Hudbay-Gas and Fuel Corporation-Beach Petroleum group.

Last year the group caused a few chuckles

-when its first well in its Bic P-ll permit

struck oil.

. The chuckles related to Beach, an oil exploration company which for 20 years before the

West Seashorse 1 well had not struck oil.

The consortium has now drilled the four

wells of its initial program with some small

success, including minor hydrocarbon shows

and a gas flow.

It is not expected to do anything more in

the Strait this year, having met its drilling

commitments.

CSO: 5200/7552
AUSTRALIA

BRIEFS

OFFSHORE OIL OUTPUT—Melbourne—Gas shows had been encountered in the Seahorse No 2 well in Bass Strait, Esso-BHP said yesterday. Two cores were

cut from the well which is being drilled to test an oil discovery made in

Seahorse No 1 in 1978. The well is at its total depth of 2021 metres.

[Text] [Sydney THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD in English 22 Jul 82 p 17]

JAPANESE SHIP VIOLATION—A Japanese fishing ship captain was convicted in

the Brisbane Magistrate's Court yesterday of having been in charge of the

ship inside an Australian fishing zone. Norio Oyama of Kesenüma Ski,

Miyati Ken, captain of the Yahata Maru No 58 on May 8 last year has pleaded

not guilty. Oyama was fined $2000 and ordered to pay costs. Mr Evans, SM

said he believed the ship was not fishing when it was sighted by the Lake

Hume off the northern New South Wales coast. He accepted the evidence of

the Lake Hume^s second mate, Graham David Edgley of the Japanese ship's

position. Oyama had agreed he might have wandered into the 12 nautical

mile limit off South Solitary Island while recovering a broken line.

Mr Evans said the onus was on the captain to ensure he did not breach the

terms of his license. [Text] Brisbane THE COURIER-MAIL in English

27 Jul 82 p-8] .

BASS STRAIT GAS—Chronic shipping problems in Bass Strait were a major

factor in a 4 percent decline to 69.4 million barrels in Australia's June

half-year production of crude oil and condensate compared with a year ago.

The preliminary output figures compiled by the Australian Petroleum Exploration Association show that a 9.2 percent decline to 34.5 million barrels in

March quarter production was followed by a 1.7 percent recovery to 34.9

million barrels in the June quarter. Despite a two million barrel decline

to 65.4 million barrels partly due to the protracted tug boat dispute, EssoBHP's offshore Gippsland fields accounted for 94 percent of Australia's total

crude oil and condensate output for the June half-year. The overall decline

meant that Bass Strait's average daily output tapered off from about 372,000

to 361,000 barrels. At the same time, output from Barrow Island dropped

from 4.54 million barrels to 3,76 million barrels (5.4 percent of the

Australian total) and production from the third largest field—Moonie—

tapered off from 151,873 to 139,500 barrels (0.2 percent of the| total).

There was a partial offset from the Boxleigh-Silver Springs-Thomby Creek

group which lifted its half-year figure from 61,915 barrels to 85,803

barrels. Contrasting with the fall-off in crude oil flows sales of natural
gas expanded by 8.1 percent to 189,897 million cubic feet from 175,742

million cubic feet in the first half of 1981. The major boost came from an

increase from 69,498 million to 78,491 million cubic feet in sales from the

Cooper Basin which is still six months off its debut as a commercial

producer of liquids. [Text] [Brisbane THE COURIER-MAIL in English 23 Jul 82

p 17]

CRAYFISH CATCH—THE State's crayfishing season has ended with one of the biggest catches on record. Figures provided by the Department of Fisheries and

Wildlife show a catch of 11,000 tonnes—the second highest on record and an 11

per cent increase on last year's catch. Fishermen at Jurien Bay had a particularly good season with a 22 per cent increase on last year. The Geraldton

area recorded a nine per cent increase and the yield from the area between

Fremantle and Lancelin was up seven per cent. Fishermen operating south of

Fremantle did not have such a good year and the catch deteriorated as the season went on. [Perth THE WEST AUSTRALIAN in English 15 Jul 82 p 21] -

TAIWANESE BOAT INCIDENT—A TAIWANESE fishing vessel arrived in Cairns yesterday

with an RAN crew of three aboard after being arrested off Fredrickton Reef

within Australia's fishing zone. The vessel, with 14 Taiwanese fishermen aboard,

is now lying under police guard beside a wharf in Cairns Harbor. The boat

was sighted a week ago near the reef by an RAAF patrol aircraft. The HMAS

Warrnambool immediately put to sea with an officer of the Commonwealth Fisheries

on board. The Warrnambool surprised the craft fishing on the Frederickton

Reef which is east of Rockhampton in the early hours of Monday morning. A

navy boarding party led by Lieutenant Peter Gillan, of Grafton, NSW, went aboard

with Commonwealth Fisheries officer Mr Greg Burnege. At Cairns wharf the fishing boat was met by armed police, customs officers, quarantine officers, Queensland Department of Agriculture officials and a Crown Prosecutor, Mr Ken Bates,

who is with the Commonwealth Crown Solicitor's office in Brisbane. Mr Bates

and Mr Ted Collins, the senior investigation officer for the Commonwealth Department of Fisheries, took two bags containing evidence from the vessel. Mr

Bates said later that any resultant charges agains the skipper, Mr Ruei Shih,

of Taipei, would be laid on Monday. Mr Collins said samples of giant clam

flesh and charts had been taken from the boat. [Canberra THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

in English 17-18 Jul 82 p 6]

CSO: 5200/7554
BULGARIA

BRIEFS

EXPLORATION OF BULGARIAN SHELF—Varna, 26 Aug (BTA)—The Soviet research

vessels "Evpatoria" and "Geokhimic" arrived here. They shall take part in

the Bulgaro-Soviet expedition exploring the natural resources of the Bulgarian

shelf. Under the leadership of Dobrinski, the team of the vessel "Evpatoria,"

a possession of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union, will carry out

one-month geologic and geophysical researches under a complex target-oriented

programme. For a sixth time in succession the drilling vessel of "Geokhimic"

captained by Grigoriev will explore new underwater terrains in the shelf

zone. Bulgarian researchers and specialists are taking an active part in

the two expeditions of the Soviet vessels. [Text] [Sofia BTA in English

0815 GMT 26 Aug 82]

CSO: 5200/2118

10
ARGENTINA

OFFICIAL ELABORATES ON KRILL PROJECT WITH USSR

Buenos Aires CONVICCION in Spanish 25 Jul 82 p 12

[Text] The secretary of maritime interests, Rear Adm Ciro Garcia, said yesterday in Mar del Plata that "commercialization" of krill in the South Atlantic

will be done in association with the Soviet Union.

"This initiative has been taken," the official said, "now that we have an agreement and we are really determined to undertake those projects with that country.'

He believed that "the results will be immediate, because Soviet ships are the

ones that will be engaged with Argentines making up part of the crew. They will

begin operations from Ushuaia, he explained, and they will be in place within

a year or two in the south of the country. On the other hand, fishing will begin at once.

Ciro Garcia said that it is the Ministry of Economy's intention to increase

exports in all cateogries and also in fishing. The official emphasized that

pillagings are being experienced along the Atlantic coast, confirming that the

situation is under control and without immediate danger in that regard. "On

the contrary," he outlined, "I think that at this time some species are undercommercialized." Nevertheless, he considered that in the specific case of

fishing for the common hake, the limit is reached, "but the rest composed of a

series of species that can be easily marketed are exploited under their potential."

Ciro Garcia said that in actuality "the fishing law is already ended and will

soon be taken up by the minister of economy." This law, he explained, "joins

a series of regulations aimed at simplifying transactions in order to give it

real workability in the area."

The secretariat of maritime interests believes that there are many ships in

Argentina that do not operate because they are obsolete and it is necessary

to exchange them. "This," he said, "we are going to accomplish by furnishing

adequate financial support."

He said also that his trip to Mar del Plata was in response to the need to be

in touch with national maritime activities. As is known, 80 percent of the

fishing done on the national level has its epicenter in this Atlantic city, as

much so in regard to fishing as to subsequent industrialization.

Ciro Garcia was transferred to Mar del Plata where he attended the meeting of

the Advisory Fishing Council which functions in that city.

9908

CSO: 5200/2111 1]-
GUYANA

NEW TWIN-TRAWLER FISHING METHOD BEING INTRODUCED

Georgetown GUYANA CHRONICLE in English 4 Aug 82 p 5

[Text] £ '. AN aggressive method of

?trawling is being ' initroduced in Guyana by

fthe Fisheries Division of

?the Ministry of

Agriculture.

I According tb Principal

^Fisheries Officer, Reuben

SGharles, this aggressive

'method which is being

Preferred to as 'pairtrawling' should result in

!the country's artisanal

fishermen improving

itheir catch, spending less

!time at sea, and boosting

their income.- He said

I his-jdivision hopes to see !

the country's artisanal

'fishermen use this

£ method extensively.

i. The programme is being

r introduced in four phases

i with assistance from the

i Food and Agriculture

r Orgahisation (FAO). The

; third phase-a one-week

l course for artisanal

I fishermen -waslaunchJ ed this morning at a

; simple ceremony at the

i Greater Georgetown

! Fishermen's Co-operative

" Society building ' on

l Lombard Street.

Pair-trawling,' it was

^explained, is /lotte by

;

attaching a net between

- two boats then pulling it

along the sea. It is cont sidered one sure method

| of increasing fish catch

i* within a short space of

f time at sea. Through'the

S'use' of this method,

^fishermen go' after the

Hfish rather than wait for

Fthe fish to goto their nets.

t At present, fishing is

done in Guyana using

i-maihly gill nets, Codell-

|lines and Chinese and pin

f seine. With these methods

;of fishing,' artisanal

I fishermen contribute

I over 80 per ctent ofthe fish

Handed in the country.

Phase one of the

»programme, held four

weeks ago,' featured the

! making of a net suitable

for pair-trawling. 'Phase

;two facilitated .the trial

^and modification of the

tgear to suit Guyana's

conditions, phase four

should feature visits to

" severalareasby a master

I fisherman from the FAO,

;Mr. John Crockette, to

'see if the method is

r 'catching on' and to give

cadvice to fishermen who

fare adopting the method.

i During the current onefWeek course, fishermen

»will be taken to sea where

fthey will have a firsthand

?look at how pair-trawling

is done.

\, The course participants

tare drawn from fisherimen's co-operative

'societies spanning an

area from the lower East

ICoast Demerara, to

Marawhanna in the

SNorth West District.

^There is only one par-.

Iticipant from the

Corehtyne. He is expected to share the

\ knowledge' gained with

f his colleagues.

CSO: 5200/7553

12
GUINEA-BISSAU

FISHING AGREEMENT CONTACTS WITH EEC RESUMED

Bissau NO PINTCHA in Portuguese 21 Jul 82 p 8

[Text] Our country and the European Economic Community (EEC) have resumed

contacts with a view to reaching a fishing agreement; these contacts have

been in recess since the last meeting in Brussels. For this purpose the main

administrator of the general board for fishing of the EEC, Günther Weiss, came

to our country to meet with Guinean authorities in this sector.

During the meetings, the two parties took up the points discussed at the

Brussels meeting. The EEC promised to send to our country, next August, the

documents and information on the project containing revisions agreed upon by

the two parties, to be reexamined by our authorities in preparation for the

next meeting between the two delegations planned for October in Brussels.

As a result of the talks held with our authorities, licenses for fishing in

our. territorial waters by EEC boats were provisionally renewed for a period

of 3 months, containing the new provisions, until the new agreement is signed.

Before leaving, the EEC delegate accompanied by an EEC representative in our

country was received Monday by Comrade Joseph Turpin, the minister of

national resources and formerly responsible for that sector. Secretary of

State for Fishing Flavio Proenca was present at the meeting.

11635

CSO: 5200/5673

13
MOZAMBIQUE

BRIEFS

S. AFRICAN TRAWLER IMPOUNDED—The Mozambican Navy has impounded the Durban

line-fishing vessel, the Plumstead, with a crew of 17. The Plumstead left

Durban 2 weeks ago and was scheduled to return last weekend, but did not

respond to radio messages from the owner,: Mr Hugo (Prigge). When he

informed the Durban harbor authorities that the boat was overdue, he was

told that the vessel had been impounded in Mozambique. A daily newspaper

in Maputo reports that the Mozambican Navy towed the Plumstead into port

after it had developed engine trouble. The newspaper says that the

vessel's log shows that it had been fishing near (Ponta do Bella). In

February Mozambique impounded another Durban based fishing boat, the Hawk,

for allegedly fishing in Mozambican territorial waters. Mr (Prigge) says

he had instructed the crew of the Plumstead to stay in South African waters.

He says he will be in contact with the Mozambican authorities as soon as

possible. [Text] [MB311311 Johannesburg Domestic Service in English

1115 GMT 31 Aug 82]

CSO: 5200/5675

1U
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

DENMARK REFUSES TO HALT NORWAY SHRIMPERS IN GREENLAND WATERS

Fisheries Officer Wanted to Act

Godthab GRONLANDSPOSTEN in Danish 28 Jul 82 p 11

[Text] Fisheries officer John Grusgaard of the Greenland Command had hoped

to find a channel to improve control over Norwegians fishing for shrimp off

the coast of Greenland, but the ministry turned him down.

The Ministry for Greenland Affairs has effectively put a spoke in the wheels

of the Fisheries Inspectorate in Greenland. When the Fisheries Inspectorate

asked the ministry's help a short time ago in acquiring data on Norwegian

trawlers landing shrimp from Greenland, the response was that "after careful consideration," the ministry did not want to assist in obtaining this

information.

The matter came up after the inspection cutter, "Agpa," seized the Norwegian trawler, "Peter Arseth," from Alesund while it was fishing in Sukkertoppen Dyb.

It turned out that this one trawler had neglected to report catching a

total of 36 tons of shrimp on two fishing voyages.

This amount, 36 tons of shrimp, corresponds to a wholesale purchase price

of close to three-quarters of a million kroner, so the skipper was naturally

grateful when he was allowed to sail out of Nuuk after having posted a bank

guarantee for the payment of a fine of 150,000 kroner.

Hoped to Find a Channel

No one at Greenland Command in Gronnedal wanted to make a direct comment on

the ministry's refusal to cooperate in this matter.

Fisheries officer John Grusgaard told AG [GRONLANDSPOSTEN] that the query

was sent to the National Ombudsman in Nuuk and that the Ombudsman sent the

request further to the Ministry for Greenland Affairs in Copenhagen.

15
The request was simple, namely that the ministry ask the Norwegian Fisheries

Directorate in Bergen how much Greenland shrimp was brought ashore in Norway

in 1982.

"We had hoped we could find a channel making it easier for us to supervise

the activities of the Norwegian trawlers off the coast of Greenland," said

John Grusgaard.

"The skipper of the 'Peter Arseth' openly admitted that he was trying to

'stretch' the quota by making false reports and of course we cannot avoid

some suspicion that other colleagues of his are doing the same thing," John

Grusgaard said.

Tougher Sanctions

Fisheries officer John Grusgaard also used the opportunity to express a

wish for tougher sanctions against trawlers caught violating the fishing

regulations.

"Naturally the size of the fines must be high enough to make it a really

painful loss for the skipper and the shipping firm. Otherwise there is no

hope of its having a deterrent effect," he said.

"As things are now, it actually pays to fish illegally," concluded John

Grusgaard who also felt that confiscation of illegal hauls should be made

to a much greater extent and that the wording of the EC ordinance should be

resorted to, so that violations can also result in a loss of the fishing license.

Action Demanded From Ministry

Godthab GRONLANDSPOSTEN in Danish 28 Jul 82 p 2

[Editorial; "The Ministry Trips Up"

[Text] The Ministry for Greenland Affairs is displaying a totally incomprehensible restraint with regard to the Norwegian fishermen who have now been

shown on three occasions to have falsified their shrimp reports while fishing off the Greenland coast.

The ministry saw no reason to comply with a request from the Greenland

Command that the Norwegian Fisheries Directorate in Bergen be asked for information on wholesale purchases.

We can well understand it if the people in Gronnedal are currently asking

themselves something like, "What do we need enemies for, with friends like

these?"

It would have been a minor matter for the Greenland Affairs Ministry—

perhaps through the Foreign Ministry—to send a request to the Fisheries

16
Directorate in Bergen and we bet the directorate would probably have given

the information about how much Greenland shrimp is being brought ashore by

Norwegian fishermen.

The Ministry for Greenland Affairs has defended its rejection of the request from Gronnedal by saying that at the present time, the seizure of

only a single Norwegian cutter is involved. That is quite true, but the

basis for the Gronnedal request was precisely that it was suspected that

information on sales would provide a basis for bringing charges against

many more trawlers.

And if it should turn out in the end that all the Norwegians, with the exception of the "Peter Arseth" which was seized first, had clean hands, what

harm would be done by finding that out?

As things stand at the moment, only one conclusion can be drawn from the

ministry's refusal to pass the query from the Fisheries Inspectorate on to

the proper Norwegian authorities. It is true that the Greenland Command

has police powers in Greenland waters. That should mean that all authorities within the national community have an interest in supporting the necessary investigations, but that is apparently not the case.

The question is whether this is a situation we can live with. We do not

think so. The ministry must revise its view of this matter. It is not the

job of the ministry to intervene in a police investigation, let alone to

place obstacles in the path of such an investigation.

6578

CSO: 5200/2109

17
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

ICELAND CONCERNED OVER FAROES FISHING OF SALMON

Reykjavik NEWS FROM ICELAND in English Sep 82 p 12

[Text]

The fall-off in salmon migrations to Icelandic rivers may

stem in part from unknown natural causes. But it is widely believed here that commercial

ocean fishing from the anadromous stock in Faroese waters

plays a big role in the worrisome

trend. If so, corrective steps

based on a provision in the draft

treaty adopted recently by the

International Law of the Seas

Conference (NFI, May) are a distinct possibility.

According to law professor

Gunnar G. Schräm at the University of Iceland, a certain article in the document seems to

apply to the problem. But to invoke this provision, he says, it

will be necessary to establish

what proportion of the salmon

taken by Faroese operators originated in Icelandic rivers.

When salmon migrations from

one national jurisdiction to

another are in evidence, the

draft treaty explicitly requires

cooperation to protect the stock

from overexploitatiön. The protocol becomes binding twelve

months after ratification by

sixty signatories.

Denmark (and hence the Faroes) voted for adoption of the

draft in New York last spring

and will sigri it in the near future. Äs a result,^ Schrani maintains,' these nations' '• already

"have at least a moral obligation

to honour its provisions."

Apart from the L

aw of the

Seas Treaty, Iceland may seek

redress through the instrumentality of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization^

I The foundations for this interj national body were laid at a

i Reykjavik conference early this

1 year. Invited to become signatories were the United States,

Canada, Iceland, the European

Economic Community, Denmark

(along with the Faroes), Norway

and Sweden. The agency is to be

headquartered in Edinburgh,

Scotland.

CSO: 5200/2119

18
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

BRIEFS

SCHMIDT, JORGENSEN DISCUSS FISHING QUOTA—Bonn, 29 Aug (DPA)—In a talk

during an SPD election meeting in Wiesbaden yesterday, Federal Chancellor

Helmit Schmidt and Danish Prime Minister Anker Jorgensen failed to reach

agreement in the dispute over the quota of catches for German deep-sea

fishermen in the area off western Greenland. There had been no agreement in

the legal views of the situation taken by the two men, a Bonn government

spokesman said today. In his talk with Schmidt Jorgensen said that he would

communicate the Danish view in the fishing dispute to the chancellor in a

written form. The spokesman said that Schmidt, during-his talk with Jorgensen,

had expressed much understanding for the very hard conditions of life of

the Greenland islanders, for whom fishing is vital. In agreement with the

Danish Government Schmidt invited the premier of Greenland, J. Motzfeldt,

to visit the Federal Republic. The chancellor was hoping, said the spokesman,

that Motzfeldt would visit Bonn in September. [Text] [LD291559 Hamburg

DPA in German 1516 GMT 29 Aug 82]

CSO: 5200/2118

19
WHALING BAN BY 1986 SPELLS DOOM FOR ICELAND INDUSTRY

ICELAND

Reykjavik NEWS FROM ICELAND in English Sep 82 p 3

[Text]

At a meeting in Brighton,

U.K., toward the end of July, the

International Whaling Commission (IWC) voted to ban all

whaling, effective fram the beginning of 1986. The motion carried by a margin of 25 to 7, with

5 abstentions. While the development had been expected for a

year, it spelled future trouble for

a successful Icelandic enterprise,

Hvalur hf, which operates a

whaling station in Hvalfjördur,

some distance north of Reykjavik.

The nations opposing the motion were Brazil, Iceland, Japan,

Norway, Peru, South Korea and

the Soviet Union. Before the

vote, the Japanese and Norwegian delegates served notice that

their countries would not honour

a worldwide ban on whaling.

They argued that scientific justification for the move was limited, and that it ran counter to

both the IWC charter and the

treaty adopted recently by the

International Law of the Seas

Conference.

Taken together, Japanese and

Norwegian catches have accounted for some 90% of the

world exploitation of whale

stocks in recent years. Set up in

1948 and active only during the

summer months, the SW-Iceland

whaling station has always been

run in strict compliance with

IWC directives; apart , from

quota constraints, the hunting is

limited to four boats. Last year,

small-time operators in this

country got the go-ahead for

taking 200 mink whales in 1982.

Every summer since 1972, an

inspector appointed by the IWC

has been posted to the Hvalfjördur facility, with Norwegian

and Canadian experts taking

turns in the role. Foreign researchers undir diverse auspices

have been hosted by the company on rnjany occasions iö reicent years.,' * ; < r t. :• i > i ; --i': !

Following th:e Brighton i meeting of the: IWC,:

the American

delegate, John V. Byrne, made

mention of U.S. legislation authorizing economic sanctions

against nations defying the

whaling ban — comments that

predictably made banner headlines in the Reykjavik press. For

a long time, the U.S. has been a

key market for Icelandic shipments of frozen seafood.

Virtually all Icelandic deliveries in that line to the U.S. are

handled by two companies based

on the eastern American seaboard: Coldwater Seafood and

Iceland Seafood. Respectively,

they are affiliated with the Icelandic Freezing Plants Corporation and Samband, the national

federation of cooperatives in this

country. Over recent decades,

each has built up a highly successful distribution network in

the U.S.

In his initial remarks on the

IWC whaling ban, Fisheries

Minister Steingrimur Hermannsson (Progressive) was cir20
cumspect. "We have three

months ... to study the issue,"

he said. Hermannson implied

that any steps endangering frozen-fish sales to the U.S. were

out of the question — an obvious

reference to speculation that

Iceland might follow the example of Japan and Norway.

Meanwhile, scores of workers

at the Hvalfjördur station were

busy cutting up whales being

brought in at the rate of two or

three during each shift. Remarked Kristjän Löftsson, manager of the company: "The resolution passed in Brighton totally

contradicts the charter of the In-

; ternational Whaling Commission, which ... calls for protection of the stocks and exploitation of them at levels consistent with scientific findings."

Loftsson added: "What has

been going on seems calculated

for destroying the IWC ... At

the recent meeting, nine nations

that don't engage in whaling at

all were admitted as members

... Some of the new delegates

don't even live in these countries. Four iofAhenrare residents

i ofthe; U.S. As a mattenof fact, it

seems that votes at the IWC are

simply being sold'-.. "

Iceland has been a target for

foreign anti-whaling groups in

the recent past. The Greenpeace

organization sent a vessel to this

country in the summers of 1978

and 1979 to interfere with oper^

'ations from the Hvalfjördur

station — leading to a Coast

Guard action and a court injunction against the unwelcome visitors.

A whole-page ad appeared in

the European edition of Newsweek on the eve of the Brighton

meeting of the IWC. The caption

read: The War Against the

Whales; displayed under it was a

drawing of a whale harpooned

with the Norwegian, Icelandic,

Japanese and Soviet flags. This

was paid for by an American organization called the Animal

Welfare Institute, which has a

post-office address in Washington D.C.

Some time ago, the head of the

Marine Research Institute in

Reykjavik, Jon Jonsson, offered

the following nutshell analysis:

"The history of whaling in the

world, regrettably, is a tale of

greed and improvidence, though

there are some noteworthy exceptions, such as^Icelandic whaling. We Icelanders would indeed

be fortunate if we could manage

all of our fisheries so successfully."

New findings confirming that

evaluation were submitted recently, after the research vessel

Ami Fridriksson returned to

Reykjavik, upon the completion

of a month-long expedition for

monitoring whale populations in

Icelandic waters. Volunteered

biologist Johann Sigurjönssori:

"There is a lot of whales in the

ocean around Iceland ... as we

observed last year, too. The finbacks [the mainstay of the

Hvalfjördur station] are particularly numerous. We also frequently noticed humpbacks and

blue whales. These two stocks,

which have been totally protected for a long time, seem well on

the way toward recovery."

■■ Naturally, the media debate of;

the IWC whaling ban clarified

' jthe industry's: contribution to

the national • jecpnomy,; Ship-

! merits'from the Hvalfjördur facility to foreign buyers last year

— overwhelmingly to Japan, as

always in the recent past —

were worth around 82 million

kronur, accounting for 1.25% of

total export values.

CSO: 5200/2119

21
EXPERTS AGREE: TRAWLER FLEET TOO IARGE FOR FISH STOCKS

ICEIAND

Reykjavik NEWS FROM ICEIAND in English Sep 82 pp 1-2

[Text]

All parties concerned agree in |

principle that Iceland's fishing

capacity is excessive by a wide

margin, given the sustainable effort levels and other relevant

factors. But drafting workable

policies for scaling down the

fleet, not least the trawler segment, remains a formidable

challenge — and it is easy to !

understand why. With the longstanding government commitment to regional development

and full employment, political

leaders have good reasons to

worry about the side effects of j

any no-nonsense approach.

The chairman of a government

panel on economic policy-mak-:

ing, Thordur Fridjonsson, recently summarized the body's

newest recommendations as follows: "An official stance on how

many fishing vessels should be

operated is necessary ... In debating the long-term prospects'

of the fishing fleet ... we must

start with definite premises on

possible annual catches. Under

current circumstances, continued growth of the fishing capacity is pointless. I think that

some reduction in the size of the

trawler fleet is a fundamental

requisite..." '

Some critics even argue that

the gross tonnage of the Icelandic fishing fleet — reported as

106,192 GRT at the beginning of

this year — is twice what seems

justified by the condition of

stocks in surrounding waters.'

Two alarming developments hr

|the~~recent past underscore tne

industry's basic problem.

Many of the 20-odd fish reduction plants will remain largely

idle until year's end or longer,

due to the near-collapse of the

i once-teeming capelin stock (NFI,

June). A recent meeting involving Icelandic, Norwegian and

EEC (European Economic Com-

! munity) fisheries planners voted

i to urge that capelin in this region of the Atlantic be be given a

respite until the spawning population grows to an estimated

400,000 tons.

And, to make matters worse,

cod landings in the first six

months of this year were down

by approximately 76,000 tons

from the mid-1981 figure. Marine biologists, however, tended

to explain the demersal shortfall

in terms of abnormally low

, ocean temperatures and attendant dispersal of the fish — not

j as evidence of a sudden stock decline (NFI, August).

CSO: 5200/2119 END

22