The Falklands Squid War was a dispute over the right to catch squid in the waters of the South Atlantic. The issues revolved around illex squid – a short-lived species which migrates past the Falkland Islands as part of its life cycle. Fishing is a major part of Falkland Island’s economy, with squid making up around half of all catches. In 2012 Argentina began increasing their catches of illex squid with Argentine fishermen allegedly being told to catch squid before they entered the Falkland Island’s waters. This was seen as an attempt to deliberately reduce the Falkland Island’s squid catch to put economic pressure on the Falkland Islands as part of the long-running dispute over the sovereignty of the islands.
Background: The Falklands War
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, approximately 290 miles away from the Argentine mainland. The Falkland Islands are a self-governing British Overseas Territory and have been a British territory since the 1800s, although Argentina has long claimed the islands as their own. In 1982 Argentina launched an invasion with the intention of capturing the Falklands. This led to Britain launching a military task force of its own to retake the islands. The resulting Falklands War was a 74-day conflict in which the British were successful in forcing the Argentine forces into surrendering, and British rule was re-established over the Falkland Islands. In total 649 Argentine and 255 British military personnel lost their lives in the conflict.
In the years following the Falklands War, the Argentine government have been steadfast in their claim that the Falkland Islands belong to Argentina. This claim was amplified by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner who became president of Argentina in 2007, who reiterated Argentina’s claims to the Falklands. But Britain has not wavered in their claim that the Falkland Islands have the right to self-determination and as long as the islanders want to remain British then the UK government has pledged to support and protect the islands.
In the run-up to the thirtieth anniversary of the Falklands War Cristina Fernández de Kirchner used the opportunity to call for talks between Britain and Argentina over the sovereignty of the islands, and even tried to hand a letter addressing this subject to British Prime Minister David Cameron during the G20 Summit in Mexico in an attempt to force Britain into discussing the issue of the Island’s sovereignty. This was dismissed by Britain which continued to state that as long as the Falkland Islanders wished to remain British no negotiations would take place. The stakes had been raised by the belief that the territory around the islands could be rich with oil, and there had been growing anti-British sentiment throughout South America – in 2011 most South American ports were closed to Falkland Island vessels in a show of solidarity with Argentina in support of their claims for the islands.
Despite this, the status quo looks likely to continue for some time. In March 2013 a vote was held in the Falkland Islands asking the question “Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom?.” 99.8 per cent of Falkland Islanders voted in favour of this remaining the case.
The Squid War
In the months before the thirtieth anniversary of the Falklands War the Argentine government were keen to place additional economic and social pressure on the Falklands Islands, and by extension Britain. One of the ways they could do this was by disrupting the Falkland’s fishing industry which makes up a huge proportion of the Falkland’s economy. As much as half of this £45 million industry is made up of the capture of illex squid (Illex argentinus) – a small but highly commercial squid species which is in high demand in parts of Asia and the Far East where it is seen as a delicacy.
Most cephalopod species are short-lived and this is particularly true of the illex squid, which only has a lifespan of around one year. Their lives begin around the River Plate estuary on the border of Uruguay and Argentina and they move southwards along the coast of Argentina and past the Falkland Islands towards the colder sub-Antarctic waters where they feed on the large concentrations of zooplankton which are present there.
Argentina and the Falkland Islands had previously cooperated to work out stock levels and ensure that the fishing for illex squid was carried out in a sustainable manner. However, by 2012 this had been abandoned and press around the world reported that the Argentine fishing industry was beginning a concerted effort to catch as much illex squid as possible before it entered Falkland Island waters in order to reduce the catches for the Falkland Islands fishermen. Additionally, Argentina opened their squid fishing season two months early, a move that caused consternation amongst conservationists who said that this would lead to masses of immature squid being taken and potentially affecting the breeding stock for generations to come.
Further Problems: Illegal Fishing
By 2013 the issue of illegal fishing had further emerged as an additional factor to complicate the squid war. It was claimed by a number of sources that hundreds of vessels from all over the world were operating illegally in the waters of the South Atlantic, catching an estimated 300,000 tons of illex squid per year. This level of unregulated fishing will have a terrible impact on the sustainability of illex squid and may even threaten the long-term survival of the species. Almost all of the illegal fishing took place in Argentina’s territorial waters, but Argentina was unlikely to be able to take action to stop the illegal fishing as the country’s navy and coastguard were in a dilapidated state. In 2012 only 15 of Argentina’s 49 naval vessels were in a seaworthy condition and there were only eight coastguard vessels (of which only a few would be available at any one time) to patrol around one million square miles of sea.
Following Events
As the squid war continued from 2012 into 2013 the were fears that the increasing intensity of Argentina’s squid fishing industry and rampant illegal fishing would have a devastating effect on the region’s illex squid stocks. Furthermore, the entire ecosystem could be affected as a wide range of fish, marine birds seals and whales rely on illex squid and it was unknown how these species would react to significant reductions in the species. However, as of 2014 illex squid numbers appear to have remained stable, and if Argentina did expect their actions to result in the Falkland Island’s fishing industry being starved of the species it relies on, this plan has failed. Colin Roberts, HM Governor of the Falkland Islands, told the Telegraph in 2014 that the Falkland Islands had just had their most productive year for illex squid fishing since the fishery began in 1987, catching 270,000 tons of the species.
Clearly, the Argentine government’s two-year plan to intercept illex squid and reduce the Falkland Island’s catch has failed, but some caution is needed. Illex squid are classed as a species of Least Concern by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, but the most recent assessment was carried out in 2010. It may be the case that the level of fishing both Argentina and the Falkland Islands are carrying out for illex squid is unsustainable, and both nations may need to cooperate in the coming years to protect the abundance of this species.