Kast Government Withdraws New Fishing Law Proposal, Opts for Reforms to Longueira Law

Original article: Gobierno de Kast retira proyecto de nueva Ley de Pesca y opta por «reformar» la Ley Longueira

On Thursday, March 26th, the Kast government, through the Undersecretariat of Fisheries, announced the withdrawal of the new General Fishing Law proposal from Congress, «to undergo review and prioritize reforms to the existing regulations.»

Multiple national media outlets reported that the decision has already been communicated by the Undersecretariat to the National Fisheries Council.

One of the first to respond from Congress was Deputy Jorge Brito (FA), who voiced his opposition to Kast’s decision: «We will not allow this blow to artisanal fishing and to years of effort to eliminate the shameful Longueira Law,» the parliamentarian stated in a video shared on his social media platforms.

Deputy Brito also recalled that the Longueira Law «is the greatest embarrassment in Chilean politics. It resulted in a congresswoman and a senator going to prison for corruption, and to establish a legitimate and just law restoring the rule of law, we promoted the new law with over 200 hearings across eight regions of the country.»

Indeed, the project withdrawn by Kast, introduced in 2024 during the Boric administration, had already been approved in general and 11 of its 12 titles had been voted on specifically, with more than 60% of the articles unanimously approved.

Meanwhile, in statements to Radio U. de Chile, Hernán Cortés, president of the Council for the Defense of Fishing Heritage (Condepp), stated that Kast’s decision «was foreseeable.»

«We are not surprised because this is a pro-industrial government that aims to safeguard the rights acquired through a corrupt law like the Longueira Law. We believe this will lead to another misstep. It will create a conflict with professional fishermen who have been fighting for over 12 years against a corrupt law to establish a dignified law,» pointed out the leader.

Another critical reaction came from Senator Daniel Núñez (PC) representing the Coquimbo Region: «Kast aligns with big industry to remove the new Fishing Law project from Congress. He prefers to protect the privileges of the corrupt Longueira Law rather than deliver justice for artisanal fishing,» the parliamentarian questioned.

We will continue to provide updates.