Following David Cameron's recent visit to the Falkland Islands, the Commissioner of Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the UK's illegal presence, unilaterally announced complete restrictions on navigation and fishing, extending British control over approximately 170,000 additional square kilometers of southern . sea.
The main objective of this new declaration, ratified by the British authorities, is to “preserve fishery resources”, especially krill, which has been severely affected by the practice of “trawling”. These measures mean restrictions on a large area of the Argentine Sea.
The UK decided to expand its control without consulting or agreeing with Argentina, adding 166,000 square kilometers to the 283,000 square kilometers it had already ruled in exclusion since 2012, when a marine protected area (MPA) was created. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet issued an official response to this measure.
State Department spokespersons confirmed the announcement to various local media outlets about the designation of new total fishing no-go zones within the existing marine protected area of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. These areas restricted to commercial fishing will increase to 449,000 square kilometres, protecting 36% of the marine area of the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, compared to 23% previously.
This move caused concern and surprise in the region, because it represented a unilateral expansion of British jurisdiction over waters that had historically been the subject of dispute. Argentina has not yet issued an official response to this measure, which directly affects the country's sovereignty and marine resources.
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With information from Infobae and Page 12*
