Globalpesca CEO, Eduardo Infante. (Photo: Globalpesca YouTube)

Globalpesca responds to 'technical inaccuracies' of FETRAPES complaints

In response to recent statements by the President of the Federation of Fishing Workers (FETRAPES), Juan Montenegro, in which he refers directly to Globalpesca SpA, the company sent a letter to FIS.com with the purpose of clarifying "a series of technical inaccuracies leading to mistaken conclusions. "

About the aforementioned declarations made by the fishing leader, which were expressed in an article published in FIS.com on November 10, entitled Govt denounced for allowing company to fish overexploited resource, the company's CEO, Eduardo Infante, states the following in his letter:

"It is said that the authority granted new fishing permits to the vessel Globalpesca II for 10 years, under circumstances in which the only thing that was certainly performed was the renewal of the previous permit." However, it is the same decree that makes it clear that this authorization is without effect in case the company does not have Extraordinary Fishing Permits (PEP) to operate in said fishery (Article 5 of Decree No. 37).

Mr Montenegro also talks about 'strange economic management', since the authority would have declared the cod as 'Incipient Fishery' although the report of the Technical Scientific Committee (CCT) states that the resource is in a state of overexploitation. It is important to point out that the statement of Fisheries in Incipient State was decreed in 1992 (11 years before the creation of Globalpesca SpA) and therefore, the allocation of fishing quotas is made through Extraordinary Fishing Permits (PEP) annually awarded via public bidding. These PEPs are expressed as per cent of the annual global quota and have a duration of 10 years.

It should be noted that the name 'Incipient Fishery' refers to the management regime of the fishery and is thus defined by Law. The word 'Incipient' has no relation to the resource status.

It is true that the Scientific Technical Committee declared the species as over-exploited (like almost all Chilean fisheries) and in exhaustion status. 'Exhaustion' should not be mistaken with 'extinction'. So much so that although the CCT defined this status, it also recommended a catch quota which proves that, in its opinion, the catch should be restricted to recover the resource, as it has been performed in recent years, but in no way it must be totally forbidden.

Therefore, this annual global quota, however small, it could be captured by industrial and artisanal companies that the PEP had in the corresponding percentage to each one. Consequently, it is quite logical that the vessels of these companies should be authorized to operate. It would not make sense for the State to sell (via tender) fishing permits and then not to authorize the buyer of these to operate the ships that allow them to make such permits effective."

Regarding the questioning of Globalpesca and the statement that "in 2013 Globalpesca was imposed a huge fine for fishing in a closed zone, despite which the Undersecretariat of Fisheries, through Exempt Resolution No. 2.254, allocated research quotas amounting to 30 tonnes for cod harvesting," the company's CEO says that "the allocation of research quotas is previous to the issue generating the fine. In fact, the authorization was granted to Cepes (and not to Globalpesca which only contributed with the ship and part of the financing of the operation), and under Technical Terms of Reference approved by SUBPESCA, fairly authorized to operate in a closed (non-zone) period".

Infante adds in his letter: "Due to an interpretation issue of the authorization, we exceeded the catch by approximately 5 tonnes. We clarified this situation at that time via means of communications and, unfortunately, the Court of Appeals did not deem us not guilty and we took our responsibility and paid the corresponding fine."

Finally, he points out that "in its 13 years of existence, Globalpesca has operated strictly complying with all fishing, commercial, labour, tax, financial regulations as well as all the other."

He also notes that the company operates only on cod, so it is interested in "a rational and sustainable exploitation" of this resource.

"For this reason, we permanently collaborate with the fishing authority and the main national and international research centres as part of our commitment to the industry", concludes the letter signed by Infante.

editorial@seafood.media
www.seafood.media

Address:	Avda. del Parque 5339 Of. 605, Ciudad Empresarial Huechuraba
City:	Santiago
State/ZIP:	(8580751)
Country:	Chile
Phone:	+56 2 580 8520
Fax:	+56 2 490 2852
E-Mail:	info@globalpesca.cl
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