Fishery discards management and environmental impact in Falkland Islands Fisheries

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The continental shelf and slope around the Falkland Islands is rich in fishery resources. These waters support major squid, finfish and ray fisheries, which yield 100 - 400 thousand MT per annum using jigging, longlining and trawling techniques. Analysis of observers’ reports revealed that the annual fishery discard rate is negligible and represents mean 4.2% of the commercial catch. Discarded commercial items are mostly hoki and blue whiting. The rock cod, Patagonotothen ramsayi was the most abundant discard species representing 45% of all discarded fish. The fishery produces annual means of 7,662 MT of discards and 18,277 MT of offal (discharge resulting from processing the product onboard: guts, head, tails, skin etc). Some discards and offal are consumed by seabirds but most return to the sea providing an abundant resource for sea-bottom scavengers. Diet investigations found discards and offal in the stomachs of almost all fish species examined. Discarded elasmobranches show remarkable survival rates.