Artisanal fishing boats. (Photo: Stock File)
PERUMonday, June 30, 2014, 02:10 (GMT + 9)
The Ministry of Production (PRODUCE) disagrees on an "arbitrary" injunction issued by the Peruvian court, which ignores its exclusive competence with regard fisheries management.
The measure in question authorizes -- according to the Ministry, "disregarding all scientific evidence" -- 124 fishing boats called "Viking" (wooden boats) to fish anchovy from the 5 miles, not the 10 miles from the coastline, as a decree from PRODUCE determines.
"This measure would jeopardize the sustainability of the anchovy, the preservation of the marine ecosystem," warns Carmen Abregú, director of the Ministry of Indirect Human Consumption.
"The court has issued this undue surprising injunction openly breaching the provisions of Article 9 of the General Fisheries Act, which requires scientific evidence to take action related to fisheries management," stressed Abregú.
The lawsuit was filed by the Interdepartmental Defense Committee of the Fishing Sector of Bay Sechura, under the appeal on the grounds of unconstitutionality. The organization requested that the Supreme Decree 011-2013 of PRODUCE must be declared unconstitutional because it represents a "breach of the right to free enterprise and freedom of work."
Abregú immediately announced that the Ministry will immediately conduct all the necessary protective measures to prevent the harm of the anchovy and denounce the Joint Sechura judge for alleged malfeasance.
"We must ensure that the public interests are not affected and that the population doesn't suffer the consequences," she said, adding: "It is noteworthy that the lawsuit was filed in a distant court of Sechura and the intention is that the decision applies nationwide."