Fisheries Heritage Defense Council: «New Quota Distribution Must Prioritize Underrepresented Artisanal Vessels»

Original article: Consejo para la Defensa del Patrimonio Pesquero: «Nuevo fraccionamiento debe priorizar a embarcaciones artesanales más postergadas»

The Fisheries Heritage Defense Council (Condepp) has been actively engaging with the leadership of the technical team from the Undersecretariat of Fisheries (Subpesca) in recent days. The goal is to determine how to allocate the increased catch quota reclaimed from the fishing industry within the Biobío Region.

While they appreciated the openness to dialogue, the leadership led by Hernán Cortés has firmly criticized the initial government proposal, stating that it does not fully adhere to the historical struggle that led to the changes in quota distribution.

Following a recent technical meeting held on Monday, which included Vicente Andrade and Lilian Troncoso from the government, as well as a previous session with the Undersecretary of Fisheries, the leader clarified the union’s stance.

«We are working to unlock the resolution proposal. What has been reclaimed from the industry should be distributed justly,» stated the president of Condepp.

“Currently, the government’s proposal is being challenged by our leadership as it does not respect the central objective: that this increase in quotas be directed at vessels that currently have less participation, in an effort to level the playing field in the artisanal fishing sector,” Cortés added.

In this regard, he noted that the leaders—including Rigoberto Durán, Rosendo Arroyo, Omar Bustos, and Marcos Bello—have a clear position: the increased quota cannot be diluted or benefit those already in a dominant position.

“We agree with the Undersecretariat that they will present a new proposal. We are awaiting this proposal, trusting that they will address our concerns and, most importantly, that they understand this segment of the quota was reclaimed from the industrial quota to benefit ‘fishing for those who fish’, specifically for those artisanal vessels that have historically been sidelined with minimal quotas,” Cortés concluded.

We will continue to provide updates.