Fishing in the Falkland Islands contributes to the local economy, representing one of its biggest exports. The official body responsible for the sustainable development of fisheries in the Falklands is the Falkland Islands Fisheries Department (FIS), established in 1987, It is reported that during 2013 the ''

Loligo ''Loligo'' is a genus of squid and one of the most representative and widely distributed groups of myopsid squid. The genus was first described by Jean Baptiste Lamarck in 1798. However, the name had been used earlier than Lamarck (Schneider, ...

'' fishery had the best results.

History

The Fisheries law introduced in 1987 was substantially revised in 2005. Fish farming licenses were addressed in 2006 with the establishment of the Marine Farming Ordinance. According to a study conducted in 2008, the island fisheries were identified as one of the best in the world in terms of its scientific strength and environmentally enduring. As of 2014, the Falkland Islands do not have a national fishing license; however, there are daily catch limits per person per day: on the Murrell River, the daily limit is three trout, while everywhere else, it is six trout.

Production

Squid fishing has accounted for about 75% of the total yield of 200,000 tonnes, which is exported to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

. The other 25% includes finfish species such as Rock Cod,

Hake The term hake refers to fish in the: * Family Merlucciidae of northern and southern oceans * Family Phycidae (sometimes considered the subfamily Phycinae in the family Gadidae) of the northern oceans Hake Hake is in the same taxonomic order ( ...

, Hoki and Toothfish. Brown trout fishing is common, and fish caught can be particularly sizable; the record for the largest sea trout caught in the Falklands is held by Alison Faulkner at 22lbs 12.5 oz (roughly 10. 3 kg). D. gahi squid is exclusively fished in the island waters. The average annual revenue from fisheries is reported to be £20 million though during the recent years annual yields have declined to £12-15 million. '' Loligo gahi'' is an important squid species fished in the eastern and southern part called the "Falkland Shelf", in an area known as the "Loligo box". The island is reported to have 20 ocean going fishing vessels and is capable of meeting 10% requirement of squid fishes in the world. There are special squid jigging vessels which can fish '' Illex argentinus squid.'' Trawlers are used for fishing ''Doryteuthis'' (gahi squid) are under the joint ownership of Falklands and European companies. Korean trawlers have fished here and found about 12 species of skates and

rays Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

which include ''

Bathyraja griseocauda The graytail skate (''Bathyraja griseocauda''), or gray tail skate, is a large species of Skate (fish), skate in the family Arhynchobatidae, native to the south-western Atlantic Ocean and south-eastern Pacific Ocean. It is listed as endangered s ...

'', '' Bathyraja albomaculata'', '' Bathyraja brachyurops'' and ''Dipturus chilensis''.

References

{{reflist Falklands Economy of the Falkland Islands

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...