El acuerdo pesquero entre la Argentina y la comunidad. Económica Europea. Su impacto en la Patagonia meridional. El caso de Puerto Deseado, Provincia de Santa Cruz, 1994-1999

Abstract

This study aims analysing the 1994 Fisheries Agreement between the European Economic Community (EEC) and the Argentine Republic, within the framework of national fishing policies. The focus will be on the Agreement's spatial impact on the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz; more particularly, on the town of Puerto Deseado, and the comparison between the objectives and content of the regulations and the development of socio-economic conditions in the country and the province towards the end of the 20th century. Our research takes mainly the perspective of geographical studies, yet draws heavily on Law, History and Economics; hence the variety of methods and sources used in both field and office work. The main documents consulted were national and state fishing acts of law, such as Act of Law No. 24315/94 regulating the fisheries agreement with the EEC, censuses and statistics and newspaper articles. Fieldwork was carried out in the province of Santa Cruz and the town of Puerto Deseado. It consisted in the search for and selection of fishery-related regulations, projects and promotion programmes, interviews and surveys with key informants from fishing companies and public agencies. The analysis of the terms of the Agreement reveals that the latter was not simply a general statement of mutual co-operation intentions, but a detailed account of all the aspects and conditions involved in fishery in order to guarantee supply for the European Community.