The archipelago's waters remain unregulated due to territorial disputes between Argentina and the United Kingdom: many take advantage of this and endanger the marine ecosystem
The “Blue Hole” is a section of ocean in the South Atlantic. It is located about 200 miles (320 kilometers) from the coast of Argentina, not far from the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands, an archipelago known in Argentina as the Malvinas (for this reason it is often referred to as the Falkland Islands/Malvinas). It is a special area where the seabed is shallow and is home to many species of animals, especially squid and squid. It lies just outside Argentine territorial waters and not far from British ones.
Normally an area so rich in biodiversity would be regulated by international fishing treaties, but in the “Blue Hole” (Agujero azul, in Spanish) this is not the case: fishing remains unregulated and the area has become a “free zone” become, in which boats from many countries, starting with China, fish without restrictions. The lack of legislation is largely due to the age-old issue of sovereignty over the Falklands/Malvinas archipelago, long claimed by both Argentina and the United Kingdom.
– Also read: Argentina is still obsessed with the Falkland Islands/Malvinas
In recent months the number of fishing boats in the area has increased significantly: in January the Falkland Islands government monitored 400, compared to 80 in November. This is probably only a proportion of those who are actually active, as boats very often turn off their tracking devices in areas where fishing is illegal or controversial. Such intensive exploitation of marine resources risks endangering not only the populations of fished squid and squid, but the region's entire marine ecosystem.
A fishing boat off the Falkland Islands (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
Both the Falkland Islands government and the Argentine government have repeatedly denounced the situation, but have taken no steps to reach a common agreement on this stretch of sea, which is legally part of the so-called “international waters”. In these areas of the seas and oceans, there are often agreements concluded by regional fisheries organizations (RFMOs) that deal with the exploitation and protection of living marine resources. However, the “Blue Hole” is not regulated, also because Argentina denies the existence of British territorial waters in the area around the Falkland Islands.
The territory of the Falkland Islands/Malvinas consists of three archipelagos that have been under British control since 1833: the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Today they are a self-governing British Overseas Territory, but remain under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom, on which it depends for its foreign policy and defense.
Argentina has claimed sovereignty over all islands since the early 19th century, but its demands have become even more pressing since the late 1970s, when a right-wing military dictatorship was established in the country. In order to distract from the severe economic crisis and the frequent protests against the brutality of the dictatorship, the Argentine military regime began the invasion of the Falkland Islands on March 19, 1982. Argentina hoped that the United Kingdom would not react, but things turned out differently: the country sent ships, planes and submarines. The war lasted 74 days and claimed 650 lives among the Argentine soldiers and 255 among the British. Argentina surrendered on June 14, 1982, but did not stop claiming the Malvinas, an issue that unites left and right in the country.
In 2013, the people of the Falkland Islands voted in a referendum to remain part of the United Kingdom. The archipelago's most important resource is fishing and, in particular, the sale of fishing licenses: it is estimated that it accounts for two-thirds of the archipelago's economy.
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El @SenadoArgentina It holds the approval of the law that creates the Bentónica Agujero Azul Protected Area and permanently protects its delicate underwater cannons and marine ecosystems. #AgujeroAzulEsMasArgentina !!! @ambientenacion @parquesnacionalesar pic.twitter.com/yaCSnqESHB
— Popi Borboroglu (@PopiBorboroglu) May 30, 2023
Over the past five years, fishing in the region has tripled before a radical increase in recent months, which has brought with it many environmental and legal problems over time. During the last legislative session, the Argentine parliament discussed a project to create a marine protected area that would extend to the Agujero Azul, without receiving final approval.
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