Now the illegal construction or modification of fishing vessels will have a prison sentence of three to five years for being considered the first link in illegal fishing, as approved by the Congress of the republic by majority in one of the last plenary sessions of the year.
The autograph that groups four bills (3413/2022-CR, 3557/2022-CR, 5956/2023-CR and 6452/2023-CR) incorporates article 308-E to the Penal Code, legislative decree 635, so that whoever builds or modifies the hold capacity of a fishing vessel is punishable by imprisonment. The same penalty will be applied to those who acquire, transport or facilitate in some way this activity.
“Currently, prosecutors are not authorized to intervene in ships built illegally or in the process of construction as it is not considered a crime, so the proposal complements an existing legal vacuum,” said Norma Yarrow (Avanza País), before the vote.
As of the validity of the rule, the Ministry of Production and the Ministry of Defense must publish on their institutional portals all the enabling titles granted to fishing vessels and shipyards, those granted later will be published within a maximum period of 10 business days.
According to the Peruvian Society of Environmental Law (SPDA), among the risks of this activity not being considered a crime are that it is generating overexploitation of marine resources and the deterioration of the income of the artisanal fishermen that operate under the law.
Illegal logging of the faique is also promoted, a tree that is characterized by its hardness and resistance, used as the main input for these structures; and the impact on people’s health due to the inhalation of toxic fumes and asbestos dust during construction.
The autograph has not yet been sent to the Executive powerbut once received you will have up to 15 business days to officially publish the measure or observe it.
It should be noted that one of the few votes against (7) of this law was from Bernardo Pazo Nunura (Somos Perú), whose family directors own a shipyard in Piura. Besides, has been pushing bill 5496 to formalize 2,000 vesselswhich, in the opinion of consulted specialists, would promote the illegal construction of these ships.
No regulation lights to protect the five miles
In May, the Government enacted law 31749, which recognizes traditional ancestral and artisanal fishing and promotes its preservation within five miles, a standard long demanded by fishermen. However, seven months later there are still no regulations.
The deadline to regulate the measure expired in August. At the time it was said that it was very little time, but until now the Ministry of Production He has not informed when he plans to publish it.
Meanwhile, artisanal fishing remains unprotected.
Source: Larepublica
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