The Return of the Seven Maritime Families: Urrutia’s Ties to Sonapesca Complicate Kast’s Subpesca

Original article: El regreso de las siete familias del mar: vínculo de Urrutia con Sonapesca complica a la Subpesca de Kast

Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Osvaldo Urrutia, is facing controversy during his initial weeks in office, raising concerns over transparency within José Antonio Kast’s government. Just days after taking office, it was revealed that he attended an international fishing meeting representing the National Fishing Society (Sonapesca), the organization that comprises the seven families controlling the sea, sparking serious questions about potential conflicts of interest within the agency responsible for protecting marine resources, setting quotas, and promoting sustainable development in the sector.

This incident occurred in the lead-up to the XIV Meeting of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (OROP-PS) in Panama, held from March 2 to 6, 2026. According to an investigation by El Mostrador, as final preparations were made for the Chilean delegation’s trip, the Director of Environmental Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, Julio Cordano, requested changes to Urrutia’s identification on the event credentials, replacing his affiliation with Sonapesca to that of an «academic guest» from the Catholic University of Valparaíso. This maneuver, driven by the Foreign Ministry itself, appeared aimed at concealing Urrutia’s representation of major fishing industries at a forum where policies regarding conservation of horse mackerel and squid were determined.

The strategy did not go unnoticed. Industry sources alerted the aforementioned media that Urrutia had been advocating for the fishing industry’s interests a month prior to assuming office, and that “it is likely that when he leaves the position, he will again defend those same interests,” highlighting the need to “analyze his management in Subpesca.”

Urrutia’s Connection to Sonapesca

This suspicion is bolstered by the fact that the undersecretary arrived in Panama with a report prepared for Sonapesca on «The Negative Impacts of a Tax on International Fishing Rights Transfers for Horse Mackerel», a thesis described by the president of Condepp, Hernán Cortés, as “bold and unfounded”.

Urrutia’s ties to large industry are neither casual nor recent. He is the son of the former UDI deputy of the same name and is affiliated with the party that promoted the Longueira Law, whose repeal is currently stalled in the Senate.

The Kast administration asserts that he was chosen as undersecretary due to his qualifications—holding a law degree from UC Valparaíso, a master’s from University College London, and a doctorate from Victoria University of Wellington—however, the issue raised is not about his technical capacity but rather his impartiality. The concrete problem is that Urrutia appears to be adjudicating complaints presented by Sonapesca, his former employer, regarding matters in which he likely had a hand.

The Phantom of the Longueira Law

This suspicion materializes into concrete actions. Sonapesca filed observations with the National Audit Office against the resolution that authorized the entry of 5,000 small fishers into the Artisan Fishing Registry, and Urrutia announced the withdrawal of the new General Fishing Law at the end of March. Former employees of the Undersecretariat claim that there are additional filings with the National Audit Office aimed at reducing or nullifying the benefits for artisanal fishing, including a request for the unification of sardine and anchovy stocks that would favor Corpesca.

The plot thickens with the arrival of Antonella León to the portfolio, a former advisor to UDI deputy Sergio Bobadilla, one of the most active parliamentarians defending the industrial sector. Bobadilla and two other deputies were pointed out for a «copy-paste» of 211 amendments to the Fishing Law, which were entirely drawn from a Sonapesca report, in a strategy to delay processing until the new government’s arrival. The report was signed by Jessica Fuentes Olmos, a doctor in law from the same university where Urrutia was a professor and director of the Maritime Law Program.

The triumvirate formed by Deputy Bobadilla, his former advisor León, and Undersecretary Urrutia constitutes concrete evidence of the fishing industry’s power, both in legislative debate and in the implementation of regulations detrimental to artisanal fishing. «It’s like adding two and two together,» concluded Hernán Cortés.

In this context, the president of Condepp warned that «it is not a coincidence that all previous events lead to this gentleman ending up in the undersecretariat tasked with rolling back the law and trying to recover the ground lost by the fishing industry.»

«I believe he is mandated today to do just that, to defend the Longueira Law, ensure that nothing new is innovated, and recover all that was lost,» he stated to El Mostrador.