In late February, the Georgia and South Sandwich Islands Commissioner's office announced the expansion of the fishing exclusion and restriction areas surrounding the islands.
Since then, there are almost 450,000 square kilometers of area in which fishing is prohibited or restricted.
The response of the Argentine Government was immediate.
Either because it is one of the (few) permanent policies in the country;
to prevent the opposition from taking over the issue;
In response to the visit of the British Chancellor to the Malvinas or for some combination of these and other causes, both the national authorities and those of several provinces - and especially those of Tierra del Fuego - indicated that the decision was unacceptable;
that it ignores Argentine sovereignty and that establishes norms that correspond to the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Living Resources;
an international agreement aimed at the preservation of the fauna and flora of the Southern Sea and of which nearly forty countries are part.
It is likely that, from now on, the claims linked to this measure will be added to the others that Argentina regularly presents in different forums.
And perhaps, that is what corresponds;
But it would not be bad if we also tried to understand a little better what the objectives of the measure are.
The program to protect marine areas around Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands has a long history, and is aimed at establishing a balance between a sustainable fishing program and one that preserves, as much as possible, the health of the ecosystem.
And if it were possible, at least for a moment, to put aside the aspects strictly linked to the sovereignty dispute, the measure taken in February must be considered in relation to those objectives.
In general terms, the 166,000 square kilometers that have been added to the fishing exclusion area are made up of extensions of the trenches and pelagic areas located between the Georgias and the north of the Sandwich Islands;
the relatively shallow waters south of the Sandwiches, and the relatively shallow waters around the Clerke Islets and the Aurora Rocks and Islands.
And the objectives - again, in general terms - aim to improve the conditions of the breeding and feeding areas of several species of fish, penguins, cormorants, petrels, albatrosses and the different groups that constitute the community that depends on krill.
The expansion adds a series of corridors, and transforms what until now was a set of independent protected areas into a larger area, which covers more than a third of the maritime surface adjacent to the two archipelagos and which, both from the point of view natural and control, works in a unified way.
The program seems adjusted to good practices, both in conservation and management of a fishery.
And as much as we dislike the fact that it could not have been designed or put into practice by the Argentine authorities, we would do well to recognize its merits.
Perhaps it is inevitable that the first reactions will be angry, and that it will be difficult for us to recognize any virtue in any initiative launched by the local government of the Malvinas.
But the paths of history are long, and those of nature, even longer, and it would be good if, once we have overcome the first impulse of rejection, we think about whether there are not similar plans that are within our reach;
perhaps not in the waters adjacent to the islands, but in the enormous expanses of the South Atlantic near Patagonia and in a good part of the Southern Sea.
We have been facing the same problems for a long time: illegal fishing, unreported and unregulated fishing at mile 201 (and those that follow), failures in the traceability and control systems of catches made on the platform, the lack of integration - and in many cases tensions - between scientific researchers, officials and fishing businessmen and an enormous difficulty in integrating, not only in fishing but in many areas, environmental conservation programs and productive activities.
And indignation does not seem to be the most appropriate instrument to resolve them.
Argentina includes some of the largest and richest maritime coastlines in the world and is one of the very few countries that have coastlines on the Southern Sea.
And, at least in objective terms, it would seem to have all the conditions to offer not only the basis of an important fishing activity, but also to lead some type of initiative or coalition aimed at improving the quality of the processes used and the products obtained in the sea.
But instead of paying attention to that, when we pay attention to the sea, it is more often than not to protest.
We can condemn the decision regarding the management of the Georgian fishery, and for that matter, we can condemn all the decisions of the Falklands government.
But if, truly, we want the South Atlantic to be a space that we Argentines feel as our own and that the sea and its resources are, in addition to everything, another instrument for well-being and development, condemnation is not enough.
In fact, it may not even be the best first step.
Alejandro Winograd is a biologist and editor.