Oct 9th 2008 | PUERTO MADRYN From The Economist print edition Patagonia’s troubled waters IT IS the conventional image of a grizzled gaucho lassoing cattle on the endless pampas that conjures up the notion of a still untamed frontier in Argentina. But if anywhere in the country resembles the wild west it is the waters off its long eastern shore, especially the windswept Patagonian coast, where fishermen prowl for squid, shrimp and hake. A combination of overfishing, weak regulation and belligerent unions has left the industry floundering, incidentally dealing a blow to Argentina’s decades-long effort to populate and develop its desolate southern steppes. The country’s biggest fishing fleet is based at Mar del Plata, in Buenos Aires province. Much of its workforce is employed informally, without legal contracts. The problems...
[read full story]
Your Web Site
