Argentina also bothered by foreign poachers

Press, 7 March 1978, Page 22

Argentina also bothered by foreign poachers

By

ROSEMARY BISS,

of Christchurch

The news of the capture of a Japanese fishing boat inside New Zealand’s 200-mile limit and the ensuing court case and confiscation brought to mind a similar incident I witnessed in Argentina recently. Here tltere was talk that the navy had been oxer-zealous in its capture of several Russian fishing boats off the Patagonian coast. Although the shopkeepers in Puerto Madryn, a small coastal town where Welsh settlers had landed more than a century ago. were enjoying the windfall of roubles from their captive “tourists” the whole issue was clouded by the news that the journalists who had cast doubts over the legality of the navy’s action were held under arrest. I wondered if their fate would be the same as that of many other journalists in Argentina (the correspondent of the popular Latin Amerxan Newsletter included) — a simple disappearing trick. Although we were warned not to photograph the vessels, we were permitted to camp on the beach and enjoy the beauty of the Golfo Neuvo, renowned for its wildlife and clear waters of 30m visibility. Jacques Cousteau has described it as one of the best sites in the world for underwater sports. A friend and 1 travelled 1500 km south from Buenos Aires, primarily to see the rare right whale which frequents the clear waters of the gulf in the spring. The warden at the local “loberia” (seal sanctuary') agreed to take us on a 500 km expedition around th- Valdes Peninsula Even in this sparselv populated area, we had to pa>s through the everMiss Biss is a town-planning officer in Christchurch, and a member of Project Jonah.

present police checkpoint before we could see the sea elephants, guanacos (like emus), and flamingoes.

The right whales were elusive, but at the end of the day the huge mammals appeared. They were unmistakable with their characteristic white “bonnet” of parasites on the head and v-shaped spout, sporting with a small boat which went out to join them. Here the whales were free, whereas a short distance away, the Russian master was captive on his boat. How often the roles have been reversed.

The Argentinian Government has spared no expense in setting up special reserves to protect the wildlife on the Valdes Peninsula. It boasts the only right whale sanctuary in the world and Puerto Madryn houses the Centro Nacional Patagonico where a multidisciplinary team of scientists studies the natural history of the area. A new aluminium smelter was a bizarre sight on this coast. An abundance of water power from the huge Florentino Armeghino dam has attracted the foreign bauxite barons as in New Zealand. Whether the new industry is compatible with the new wildlife reserves is a debatable point. Already worker housing and a casino have been erected. The several blocks of new shoe-box apartments on the Puerto Madryn waterfront near our campsite looked incongruous in the flat, arid Patagonian landscape.

Although aluminium, iron ore, and particularly oil production are going to play an increasingly important role in the future development of Patagonia, most of Patagonia will remain devoted to sheep raising. A couple of New Zealanders always found the latter a fascinating topic when they were forced to start up a conversation in halting Spanish with the friendly truck drivers who covered the week-long haul from Buenos Aires to southern Patagonia. We found, as we moved inland, that camping and hitch-hiking were only for

the super-hardy. Here the relentless drywind, the pampero, which sweeps across the Patagonian plateaus, left our tent poles permanently bent, while the lack of cars and trucks left us on the side of the r.oad. The pioneer freshness of this wild and windswept corner of South America was reflected in the attitudes of the local people whom we found warm and hospitable. However, our departure from Patagonia to Chile was hastened by some less than hospitable border guards who could not believe the white substance we carried in our packs was only common salt. They finallv sent us on our way under a volley o’f gun fire — but that’s another story.