MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Foreigners “plundering” Chilean fisheries.

Chilean fishermen are up in arms over the presence of around 20 foreign vessels fishing in the country's EEZ or very close the maritime border. The vessels are registered in China, Korea, Russia, and even Greece and some of them have even been spotted in the country's main fishing area, between Regions V and IX.

Industry sources say these vessels are threatening domestic fisheries and are damaging highly migratory and other species. They are particularly concerned about horse mackerel because it accounts for more than half of the traditional catches that is an important raw material for the growing aquaculture industry in the south. Last year, Chinese vessels caught more than 70,000 tonnes of horse mackerel, the country's most important fishery resource after salmon.

Rodrigo Sarquis, Biobío Fishing Industry Association president claims these vessels do not pay taxes, use local ports for supplies and, worst of all, are not subject to the conservation rules that domestic fishermen must comply with, such as bans, minimum sizes and catch quotas. The government and the industry are both aware that this is a very complex issue, which must be resolved through diplomatic channels and in accordance with international law.

One option for protecting Chile's fishery resources in the vast oceanic area bordering the 200 mile limit, which is one of the largest fishing grounds in the world, is to implement The Galapagos Agreement. This agreement - between Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and members of the Permanent Commission for the South Pacific (CPPS) - has been put forward as a model for common regional fisheries management.

This would help to standardise conservation measures and regulations among coastal and deep-sea fleets, because the former have preferential harvesting rights and the latter must cooperate to ensure optimum exploitation of resources. In the meantime, fishermen say the Chilean government must consider banning factory vessels from local ports because they are plundering the nation's fishery resources. (FIS/MP).-