Fishing Industry Secretiveness and Government Protection Accused After Whale Deaths in Southern Waters

Original article: Acusan secretismo y blindaje gubernamental a industria pesquera de kril tras muerte de ballenas en el sur austral

Organizations Accuse Government of Secretiveness to Shield Fishing Industry Responsibilities in Light of Whale Deaths

The Cetacea Conservation Center and Ecoceanos Center have filed a legal complaint against the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service for acting as «judge and party» by denying access to crucial information regarding the deaths of whales in the Chilean krill fishery in Antarctica.

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In a move described as «systematic opacity and protection of fishing industry interests,» the Cetacea Conservation Center (CCC) and the Ecoceanos Center submitted a legal complaint on April 24 against the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca). According to the marine conservation organizations, the regulatory body has provided only partial and selective responses to information requests regarding the death of a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) which occurred in March 2025 aboard the Chilean factory ship Antarctic Endeavour, owned by Pesca Chile S.A., which had previously been involved in a similar entanglement in January 2024.

The Request That Never Entered the Transparency System

In light of Sernapesca’s complete lack of response to a first request for information submitted on November 25, 2025, which the agency acknowledged was never entered into the transparency portal, the organizations made a new request on March 19, requiring that the regulatory agency provide the criminal complaint, technical reports, inspection records, details of the sanctioning process, the company’s mitigation plan, and the level of engagement with the Association of Responsible Krill Capture Companies (ARK).

A Partial Response That Fails to Meet the Right to Know

Although Sernapesca provided a response on April 16, it was only partial, as it only included information about the status of the administrative procedure and its meetings with ARK, along with four annexes that included a report reviewing images from the recording device related to the entanglement of a juvenile humpback whale in 2024, the reports submitted by Chile to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCRVMA), and the resolution approving international conservation measures.

However, on central points of the request, Sernapesca denied access to information such as the criminal complaint, the associated technical report, and the inspection records, arguing that there is an ongoing criminal investigation into the whale’s death from March 2025, under RUC 2510017669-9, and that disclosing those details could affect the prosecution. Moreover, regarding the mitigation plan of Pesca Chile S.A., it neither provided this information nor formally stated if it exists, limiting itself to general descriptions of the CCRVMA regulations.

The organizations claim that Sernapesca is employing a «dilatory, obstructive, and legalistic strategy,» shifting its responsibilities to the courts and the Santiago Prosecutor’s Office, while refusing to provide information that does not impact the investigation.

“Sernapesca is acting as judge and party. On one hand, it has prematurely absolved the owner of the Antarctic Endeavour before the criminal process concludes. Furthermore, it refuses to provide the information that would allow civil society and international conservation bodies to verify what really happened aboard that factory ship in Antarctic waters,” said Juan Carlos Cárdenas, veterinarian and director of Ecoceanos Center.

Article 64J: A Legal Shield Crafted for Fishing Industry Interests

A key point of the citizen complaint is Sernapesca’s use of Article 64J of the General Fisheries and Aquaculture Law (LGPA) to justify the reservation and non-disclosure of images from the on-board recording device (DRI) related to the entanglement of another humpback whale in March 2025. However, organizations warn that Sernapesca did release images from the incidental capture in 2024 in report format, which demonstrates the agency provides selective information based on its convenience.

The analysis of this audiovisual material would allow marine conservation organizations to understand what transpired aboard the factory ship in March 2025, enabling them to confirm or refute the official narrative. In the 2024 case, Sernapesca provided the images and concluded that the whale was returned alive, although according to official CCRVMA reports, the specimen was considered a lethal entanglement. In the 2025 case, the images have been declared reserved.

According to Elsa Cabrera, director of the Cetacea Conservation Center, “Article 64J is being used as a legal shield to protect the interests of fishing operators, preventing public scrutiny over what really occurred at sea during krill fishing operations in March 2025.”

This is because Sernapesca utilized the exempt resolution No. DN-1139/2026, and Article 64J of the LGPA to deny access to the images contained in the Image Recording Device (DRI), which holds the complete sequence of the so-called “incident” aboard in 2025, stating that this information is considered confidential.

However, the regulatory body’s interpretation is erroneous as it neglects that Article 64J has two clauses. The first declares the confidentiality of the images from the device in their raw form. The second explicitly states that the DRI information—once certified by a Sernapesca report—acquires the status of public instrument, thus losing its confidential character.

The Summary for Concealment of Information: A Measure That Does Not Replace Transparency

In its response on April 16, Sernapesca acknowledged that the first information request submitted on November 25, 2025, was never entered into the transparency portal, for which it extended its apologies for «the omission of the timely delivery to your request.» Attempting to downplay this serious obstruction situation, the regulatory agency reported that it has initiated an administrative summary “for the potential responsibilities of what occurred,” without specifying against whom the summary is directed or when its results will be delivered.

The organizations argue that this internal administrative measure has no relation to Sernapesca’s obligation to comply with national legislation and enforce the commitments and obligations internationally undertaken by the Chilean State against the fishing system’s regulated parties (the operators and their vessels).

The MSC Certification: A Complicit Seal of Environmental Destruction in Patagonia and Antarctica

Following the death of two humpback whales during krill capture operations in the waters of Patagonia and the sub-Antarctic area by the Antarctic Endeavour, owned by Pesca Chile S.A., marine conservation organizations assert that it is incomprehensible that the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has awarded a “sustainability” certification to the controversial company’s krill fishery. “MSC’s role has been that of an active accomplice by providing false certification for markets, which only cleans the image of a company that has been operating with a lethal environmental record in Antarctic waters,” they stated.

An Impotent Sanctuary Against the Destructive Expansion of the Krill Fishery

In less than fifteen months, the factory trawler Antarctic Endeavour has killed two humpback whales in its krill capture operations in Antarctic waters. Both lethal interactions occurred in the Southern Ocean, an area designated as a Whale Sanctuary by the International Whaling Commission, aimed at protecting them from commercial hunting. However, the exponential expansion of industrial Antarctic krill fishing over the past decade—with large trawl nets and cutting-edge technology that capture hundreds of thousands of tons of this crustacean in a single season and within the same feeding area of various whale species—highlights the urgent need to strengthen existing control and conservation measures.

“Whales are not only threatened by entanglement and death in factory ship nets but their primary food source (krill) is also at risk. Although they are currently protected from commercial hunting, it is urgent that the CCRVMA adopts measures such as establishing a moratorium on Antarctic krill fishing to prevent overexploitation of this crustacean—vital to the Antarctic ecosystem— and the death of more whales in the Southern Ocean,” Cabrera stressed.

The Sernapesca / Antarctic Endeavour Case Before the Council for Transparency

In the complaint submitted on April 24, CCC and Ecoceanos requested the Council for Transparency to order Sernapesca to deliver the requested documents, redacting only those pieces of information that are confidential, to allow access to freely available information such as dates, locations, descriptions of events, the certified DRI report, and the inspection records.

It was also requested that Sernapesca clarify whether Pesca Chile S.A. has a mitigation plan, and if one exists, that it be provided. To date, the state institution has only provided general information regarding CCRVMA requirements, avoiding any reference to the specifics of the information requests made in November 2025 and March 2026.

The Council for Transparency has 20 business days to issue its decision. CCC and Ecoceanos expressed they will closely monitor the results to inform the public and international organizations.

A Call to Citizens

Finally, representatives from the Cetacea Conservation Center and Ecoceanos urged citizens to remain vigilant and support the complaint filed with the Council for Transparency, demanding oversight of the behavior of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Directorate, respect for the citizen’s right to access public information, and the imposition of penalties on the actions of Pesca Chile S.A., owned by José Luis Del Río, one of the country’s most powerful and influential businessmen, part of the seven economic groups that control Chilean fisheries.