FINN(COM) Daily Record for 06 October 2003

Compiled by J. Brock (FINN)

Captain Y. Flangini 2 October 2003

Director of DINARA

Constituyente 1497

Montevideo, URUGUAY

Fax: 0011 598 2 4013216

Dear Captain Flangini

I have been reading media reports of your testimony to the Uruguayan Deputies International Affairs Committee with some concern. There are several specific statements attributed to yourself in recent editions of Mercosur that I would like to correct, in the event you have been provided with misleading information and are inadvertently passing this to the Parliamentary enquiry. Perhaps it would be advantageous to provide my letter to the Committee to clarify any misunderstandings they may now have?

To ensure there are no misunderstandings, I would be very pleased to answer any queries that you or the Committee may have of COLTO, its aims and membership. I would also be pleased to detail to the Committee the information and background we hold in relation to boats with licenses from Uruguay such as the Viarsa 1, or information on the company Navalmar S.A. which we understand was registered as holding the Uruguayan license for the Viarsa 1. For example, I note that Navalmar S.A. is the same company who hold or held Uruguay licenses for the now infamous boats the "Dorita" (a. k. a. Nova Tuna 1) and the "Arvisa" (a. k. a. Kambott, a. k. a. Eternal until caught illegally fishing by the French authorities). Both of those boats were the subject of intense scrutiny and discussion at CCAMLR last year for IUU activities, as you would be aware.

To clarify the specific items you have been quoted as stating which are of concern to me:

1. COLTO member companies come from countries including Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, France, Spain, Falklands-Malvinas and Namibia. Clearly COLTO is not a "Commonwealth Organisation".

    

    

2. COLTO is absolutely not "...pretending to preserve this (Toothfish) resource for Commonwealth countries, leaving aside Developing Countries.". COLTO is an open organisation to membership from any legal Toothfish operator - be they from a Developing country, Commonwealth country or other. COLTO is trying to conserve Toothfish stocks and work to prevent them from being decimated by illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing operators.

I was pleased to note that Minister Martin Aguirrezabala was able to confirm that "..no pirate vessels are operating in Uruguayan waters". I would be very pleased to work with the Uruguayan Government to help ensure there are no Uruguayan pirate Toothfish vessels operating in other waters.

Please contact me at any time via the numbers above, email or our website.

Yours sincerely

Martin Exel

COLTO

When: Hot on the heels of the arrival of the arrested Uruguayan boat Viarsa 1 in Fremantle Western Australia on Friday (Oct 3) the West Australian based Southern Champion (operated by Perth based Austral Fisheries) has returned to its home port of Albany with damming evidence of yet more illegal fishing in Australia’s exclusive economic zone (see media statement from Federal Fisheries Minister Ian Mc Donald " International cooperation sought against illegal fishing"

Where: Austral Fisheries has broadcast quality footage of the incident that clearly provides evidence of the illegal activities in the Australian fishing zone. It includes shots of the ALOS longline fishing, electronic equipment showing the position of the boat in Australian waters with its name and call signs covered and navigation lights out (a pirate ploy to avoid detection) It also has an interview with the Southern Champion’s skipper Peter Goldsworthy describing the frustration leading to the crew throwing eggs at the pirates. There are also general vision shots of the Southern Champion arriving In Albany where she is currently unloading. The incident took place at 6pm HIMI time on September 20th

Why: This incident yet again highlights the value of cooperative actions between Government and industry to eliminate illegal fishing operators from the southern oceans and CCAMLR. It shows there is a need to maintain ongoing and concerted pressure on CCAMLR member governments to put an end to illegal fishing before legal operators are put out of business.

In figures recently released in the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) magazine Winter 2003 it has been estimated that over 20,350 tonnes of Toothfish was taken illegally from Australian waters between 1995/96 and 2001/2002. At a value of $US 10 per kilo for processed fish, this means that around $AUS 300, million of Australian fish has been stolen by these pirates.

David Carter CEO of Austral Fisheries is also available for comments and interviews.

BACKGROUND FACTS ON THE ALOS ALSO ATTACHED.

STILL PICTURES ALSO AVAILABLE.

Interview with man evacuated from South Pole

By JIM ERICKSON

October 1, 2003

Former South Pole worker Barry McCue said his first gallbladder attack felt "like a two-by-four jabbing into my stomach." It doubled him over, and he could barely drag himself 50 feet to see the base doctor.

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That attack set into motion a chain of events that led to McCue's evacuation from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station late last month. He was flown to Texas, where his gallbladder was removed Sept. 25 at a Galveston hospital. McCue, 51, is now recovering at his daughter's Chicago home.

"I was carrying around a dead piece of meat in my body for almost a month," McCue said in a telephone interview. "But I was successfully evacuated, and they successfully evacuated my gallbladder."

For 7.5 months, McCue was the base environmental safety and health coordinator. He was employed by Raytheon Polar Services Co., the logistics contractor for the U.S. Antarctic research program.

The first signs of trouble occurred on Aug. 25 a few hours after lunch. Stabbing abdominal pain sent him to the base doctor, who performed an ultrasound test and diagnosed the gallbladder problem.

The pain subsided, but a week later McCue suffered a second attack. That's when consulting doctors in Denver, Boston, Baltimore and Galveston unanimously recommended that McCue be airlifted off the ice.

"He had an infection in his gallbladder that was probably caused by blockage with a gallstone," said Dr. Ron Shemenski, medical director for Raytheon Polar Services.

"If the infection from the gallbladder had gotten into the liver, it would probably have been fatal," Shemenski said.

Shemenski should know. He was evacuated from the South Pole base in April 2001 and had his gallbladder removed at Swedish Medical Center in Denver.

Shemenski, who was the base physician, flew to Denver on a commercial flight, stopping several times along the way. McCue had a Lear jet waiting for him at the southern tip of Chile.

"He was much sicker than I was," Shemenski said.

McCue requested anonymity throughout his evacuation, delayed nearly a week by blowing snow at the South Pole. His request was honoured by the National Science Foundation, which manages the U.S. Antarctic program.

"I didn't want the press bugging my kids. I didn't want them thinking they were going to become orphans," he said.

McCue's wife, who was an emergency room nurse, was killed in a car accident in December 1997. He has three children: Leslie is now 19, Matt is 23 and Jenny is 24.

McCue said his South Pole predicament never scared him. If the decision had been left to him, he would have tried to stay at the Pole until regularly scheduled flights resumed later in the spring.

"But the doctors made the decision - not me - and it was the right thing to do," he said. "They're the guys with all the degrees. I don't know what a gallbladder is."

After he fully recovers, McCue plans to start looking for another job, possibly in Africa.

(Contact Jim Erickson of the Rocky Mountain News at http://www.rockymountainnews.com.)

COUNCILLOR REPORTS BACK FROM PARTY CONFERENCES:

Councillor Jan Cheek is setting up her stand at the Conservative Party Conference in Blackpool today. Last week, she and Councillor Roger Edwards were at the Labour Party Conference in Bournemouth, promoting the interests of the Falkland Islands to MPs and other Party members.

POLICE NEWS:

Police are investigating an accident in the Bluff Cove area on Sunday, involving the Falklands Conservation Land Rover. The Rover was being driven by Conservation’s Nick Ewen, who had to be freed after it rolled on to its roof. The vehicle was badly damaged but no one was seriously hurt in the incident. Police are investigating.

GOVERNOR DUE BACK TODAY:

Governor Howard Pearce arrived back in the Islands today after a series of overseas conferences.. H. E. the Governor gave a press conference on the Islands’ fisheries policy at the World Fishing Ex. in Vigo. He also went to the South Georgia Association conference in Cambridge and visited Norway to brief the Government there on progress of the clean-up at Grytviken.

ALSO EXPECTED:

Gap Students are also expected in the Islands today. They are hoping to learn something of the local way of life as well as working at farms and lodges across the Islands.

COMPUTER VIRUS:

There is a new virus alert from the FIG Computer Department. An e-mail claiming to be from Microsoft, is circulating and is reported to have hit 10 users within 30 minutes before the close of business on Friday.

777:

Renough Feins plans 7 marathons in 7 days on 7 continents. The 59 year old will kick off with a 26.2 mile dash in Antarctica , finishing up in New York’s Central Park 168 hours later. The run comes just 4 months after he suffered a heart attack and underwent an emergency triple bypass operation Feins has sent a special briefing note to LanChile in hopes he will be able to pass quickly through airline security checks despite the fact his colleague, Dr. Mike Stroud will be carrying an emergency defibrillator machine in case of emergencies.

(100X Transcription Service)