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There are quality certifiers of illegal fishing and there are officials in a state of hibernation
ARGENTINA
Saturday, January 30, 2021, 06:00 (GMT + 9)
Last days, the Argentine representative before the Organization of American States (OAS) asked the deputy director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Brazilian Jarbás Barbosa, to correct his report regarding the Coronavirus, where when referring to our southern archipelagos would have used the name Falkland / Malvinas instead of Malvinas. It is very interesting that Argentine officials worry about making our demands visible and trying to correct erroneous information about our country, but this speaks more about our terrible policy regarding Malvinas, than about the simple misinformation of a bureaucrat of the diplomatic behavior of the organizations . It is very good that every year we take care of claiming our rights before multilateral organizations; that we seek new support for our rights; that we remind Argentines of the dates allusive to our sovereign struggles and that we highlight those facts that, even though they are not related to our actions, can serve to keep the flame of nationality alive and to anchor ourselves behind a just cause; BUT, IT IS NOT ENOUGHT. While waiting for the dialogue fostered by United Nations Resolution 2065/65 and with the weight of the Madrid Accords and other failed acts contrary to the national interest, we have lost control of important maritime spaces; fishing and economic resources, etc. and, very especially, the consolidation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (hereinafter the United Kingdom) in the Malvinas, South Georgia, South Sandwich (hereinafter the Malvinas) and Antarctica has been favored.
I ask what the Secretary of the Malvinas Daniel Filmus, who coordinates the National Council of Malvinas, and the Undersecretary of Fisheries Carlos Liberman, who chairs the Federal Fisheries Council (and what all the officials of the previous governments did) do to deactivate all the obstacles that they impede Argentine development (not Malvinas, as the Foradori-Duncan that remains in force refers to); what do they do when the Southwest Atlantic is internationalized; when every year foreign fishing vessels illegally take a million tons of fish worth four billion dollars; when 250 thousand tons per year are exported from the Malvinas that do not pay customs duties (contraband); when the ports of Uruguay serve as necessary support to sustain illegal fishing in the southwestern Atlantic; when the entire merchant fleet is foreign; when the necessary actions to protect the migratory resources originating in the Exclusive Economic Zone (hereinafter EEZ) are not carried out; when the fluvial-maritime network remains disjointed; when Spain (having recognized sovereignty in the Malvinas), is the main partner of the British in the islands and, the recipient of 95% of the extractions that are made there.
The Federal Fisheries Council during 2020 and so far in 2021 (32 virtual meetings) NEVER addressed any of the aforementioned issues, as did the National Council of Malvinas (3 virtual meetings) which limited itself to making some diagnostic statements of Some of its members. I answer, they have done NOTHING. And it would be NOTHING even doing something and it is NOTHING, as it happens when managing the status quo. The enunciation of rights is not enough, actions are required.
Now, this "hibernation of officials" which, from what we saw, it is easy to understand that it is not innocuous, in some cases, have reached grotesque levels, such is the case of the publication on the seafood.media portal (source : the pro-British media MercoPress) of last January 28: «After its five-year evaluation (NdA: every five years?) by the Marine Stwardship Council (MSC), the South Georgia toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) longline fishery It has been certified for the third time as a sustainable and well-managed fishery, according to the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands government bulletin. The fishery is managed by GSGSSI with scientific advice and support from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the Center for Fisheries and Aquaculture Environmental Sciences (CEFASs). Dr Mark Belchier from BAS said: “... MSC recertification is a strong endorsement of the value of long-term scientific research to inform policies and decisions that lead to responsible fisheries management (...) This is a very welcome sign of the continued commitment to the conservation of the marine life in one of the most valued natural ecosystems in the world. "» (the bold is mine).
It is evident that the expansionist policy of the United Kingdom through the illegal government in the Malvinas has no limits, ranging from military actions and maritime occupation, to the assembly of various infrastructures (ports, etc.) destined to consolidate in the territory. Now, that the Marine Stwardship Council (hereinafter MSC) certifies the fisheries in South Georgia (we do not know if it also did so in Malvinas), is demonstrating the purely commercial interest of this certification company, because it is absolutely striking that MSC certifies fisheries where IUU fishing is taking place. And this fishery is illegal since the British usurpation in 1833 of this Argentine territory, to such an extent that the U.N. it had to dictate Resolutions 2065/65 and 31/49 where the dispute situation and the prohibition to innovate regarding the occupied territory became clear. And this only gives the illegal - internationally observable - character to the fishing licenses that the United Kingdom grants to its own boats or third parties to fish in the Malvinas area. The UK is not unaware of this and the MSC cannot be unaware of it. It is not possible for MSC to ignore what is prescribed in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (hereinafter UNCLOS) regarding the overall and comprehensive analysis of the resource, since a fishery cannot be analyzed without evaluating the ecosystem and how it influences in the rest of the Argentine fisheries-biologically, economically and socially-as the CONVEMAR well refers. Nor, article 2 of Law 24,543 with which Argentina ratified the CONVEMAR and made clear the “observations” on Malvinas and the migratory resources originating from its EEZ. In the same way, the Parties to this Convention related to fishing by Flag States in the EEZ of the coastal States (such is the case of Argentina).
The violation by the United Kingdom and the de facto occupation of the territory, makes the Argentine Authority unable to control the processes; fishing gear; eventual discards; the recording of catches and landings; do not have observers, etc. making MSC certified South Georgia fishing outright illegal. The United Kingdom is not the holder of that domain and of the livestock (fish) and this should be enough argument for it not to be able to access the MSC certification that would validate products of illegal origin in the world, with a seal that supposes the opposite. .
This leads us to the final reflection that not only are Argentine officials "hibernating" in the face of the appropriation of maritime territories and their resources, but that these certifiers must be regulated nationally and internationally since otherwise they will become the intermediation and selection of the trade in fishery resources. An example from Elloloda Peter Pahl, President of the Namibia Hake Fishermen's Association, on the MSC certification last November (BlueEurope, 11/17/2020: “Obtaining the MSC certification will help the Namibian hake remains competitive and so that, in addition to meeting the demand of our current markets, it can expand into new markets where distributors and brands mainly source from MSC certified fish in order to meet the expectations of their consumers. Now that we already have the certification, we hope to see our figures grow for the benefit of our people and communities, the economy and, of course, the oceans. ” Which makes it clear that the Quality agencies of the States are being privatized, who They will define where, how and when countries will be able to export. We are facing a new para-cancellation and trade control barrier.
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Dr. César Augusto Lerena
Experto en Atlántico Sur y Pesca, ex Secretariode Estado, ex Secretario de Bienestar Social (Ctes) ex Profesor Universidad UNNE y FASTA, Ex Asesor en la H. Cámara de Diputados y en el Senado de la Nación, autorde 25 libros (entre ellos “Atlántico Sur, Malvinas y Reforma Federal Pesquera”, 2019).
29 de enero de 2020©
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