A bill from the Ministry of Production (Produce) sent to the archive in 2021 has come to life through the initiative of Congressman Bernardo Pazo Nunura of Somos Perú, and in the opinion of specialists and fishing unions, it puts the disposal of the squid resource at risk. , as well as the economy of the workers who are dedicated to its extraction.
Only in the first half of 2023, shipments of squid reached US$672 million112% more than the previous year.
Misstep
Initiative 7837 of the Executive was presented on June 3, 2021 to Congress and bears, among others, the signature of Ursula León Chempénwho is the current vice minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
Its objective was to “consolidate” the process of formalizing the fishing activity within the framework of legislative decree No. 1392 issued in 2018, known as Siforpa II. In other words, it sought to reconsider 2,012 applications that were left out of the process out of a total of 4,507. Existence verification was one of the main requirements that were not met. Although the document had a favorable opinion, it did not reach the Plenary Session.
Piura. Pazo Brothers have a shipyard in Parachique. Photo: diffusion
Five years later and after several extensions, DL 1392 ended on July 31, ensuring that 86% of 2,489 vessels have their fishing permit, which should give way to addressing other priorities in the sector, in the opinion of fisheries engineer Renato. Gozzer.
However, Congressman Pazo has presented legislative initiative 5496 to “strengthen” this outdated process and, in the opinion of the Producesyes it is viable for 1,027 applications continue to be formalizedsince they “would represent less risk if they had been built outside” Siforpa II.
And on the Peruvian coast, especially in the north, the illegal construction of boats in shipyards is a major problem, which is why in 2015 the State prohibited more boats from being manufactured, and directed several formalization processes.
For Óscar Díaz, former director of the General Directorate of Artisanal Fishing of Produce, if this entity supports the Pazo project, it is “wrong”, since “legally 1392 no longer exists”, so it should not proceed and remember that the Institute of Mar del Perú (Imarpe) has declared squid as a “fully exploited” resource, so expanding the fleet that extracts it is leading to its disappearance.
In a contradictory way, the scientific entity opined that the PL 5496 It is “a correct measure, since by regulating the fishing effort” it contributes to the sustainable use of resources.
Collateral damage
Not only union and civil society organizations have spoken out against this initiative. Representatives of artisanal fishing guilds from Arequipa, Moquegua, Tacna, Áncash and Piura sent a letter to Produce to express their rejection of the enlargement or creating a new Siforpaas they indicated that it would have an impact on hydrobiological resources and their income.
Bernardo Pazo Nunura and Ursula León Chempén. Photo: diffusion
Engineer Gozzer, who has dedicated his entire career to the study of marine resources such as squid, points out that expanding the fishing fleet would have two effects: “as there are more boats and the same amount of resources, the catch rate per boat would fall, which “which results in oversupply and a collapse in prices.”
At the close of this report, no response was received from Produce.
Fisherman congressman?
Legislator Pazo Nunura took office in January of this year, replacing Wilmer Elera. And although he identifies himself as a fisherman, he is a shipowner, that is, he owns fishing boats.
His family is dedicated to fishing and two of his brothers have a shipyard in Parachique (Piura)—called Astilleros Navales del Pacífico SRL—, an area recognized by specialists for its high incidence of illegal boat construction. A local told La República that these companies renew boats, the old one should be destroyed, but “they don’t do it.”
The congressman told this medium that his relatives are not involved in illicit activities, but the truth is that they are part of the environment that his bill seeks to benefit.
According to Percy Grández, SPDA lawyer, the Congressional Code of Ethics states that in these cases a legislator must make public any type of favoring.
Controversial support
The General Directorate of Artisanal Fisheries affirms that the Pazo Nunura PL is viable because it rescues the Produce initiative, which was shelved in 2021.
Source: Larepublica

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