Artisanal fishing boats. (Photo: Subpesca)
CHILEFriday, December 05, 2014, 22:50 (GMT + 9)
Artisanal and industrial fishers operating from Puerto Montt to the south complain that the industry is going through a serious crisis because "the institutional framework is not working".
The representatives of artisanal and industrial fisheries that form part of the golden kingklip (north and south) and southern hake fisheries management committees announced Thursday the breakdown of the working group until a recognition of the work being done is achieved.
The announcement was made in Puerto Aysen, which was the meeting point of fishermen, sailors, workers and representatives of the companies associated with the Federation of Fisheries Industries of the South (FIPES).
"We realize that the institutions are not working because all the work we've done has not been taken into account by the technical scientific committees", complained Fernando Carmona, president of Union No. 8 of artisanal ship owners and golden kingklip management committee representative for the Region of Magallanes.
"Last year’s quotas, with a 42 per cent decline, are not satisfying to us because it is the food that we are being taken away. The most important fisheries in the south will be closed and unfortunately, the committees’ work has not been noticed. We want this management committee to have support, according to the law," he added.
At the meeting, Juan Garcia, president of the fishermen’s union of Caleta Anahuac and representative of the management committees for the Region of Los Lagos, stressed that "the government has been unrespectful to artisanal fishing" by not giving importance to its participation.
"Today´s mitigation measures for the sector have been announced but they are the same projects that have always existed," he said.
Meanwhile, Carlos Vial, FIPES president, pointed out: "In the case of southern hake and golden kingklip, management committees drafted a document which provided background to the Technical Scientific Committee, with input from artisanal and industrial fisheries and from processing plants in regions X, XI and XII. However, its recommendations were not taken into account".
As reported by the sector in a statement, these results were presented at meetings with officials from the Ministry of Economy, the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture(SUBPESCA), the Government of the Region XII, with the mayor of Los Lagos Region and representatives of the Fisheries Committee of the Chamber of Deputies.
But the Scientific Committee voted against taking into account the position paper prepared by management committees.
Artisanal and industrial fishermen warn that if quotas continue to decline -- as in 2014, the fishery activity will stop being profitable in the southern area.
Mariano Villa, secretary general of the Confederation of Seafarers, Port and Fishery Representatives of Chile (CONGEMAR), stressed the importance for the Undersecretariat "to recognize that management committees are responsible for setting the fishery recovery deadlines and provide such strategy to scientific committees."
In addition, Rodrigo Aguilar, a member of the Golden Kingklip and Stingray Management Committees and representative of fishermen from Hualaihué (Los Lagos), said "there is concern that in August the committees were created with the hope that by 2015 the sector recovers".
"We are hopeful we can reverse the dramatic situation, but we do not know how to control the bases that have already experienced a hard year," he admitted.
Finally, he clarified that they are not asking more quotas, "but achieving the recovery over a longer period of time", because what interests them is sustainability.