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Photo: Revista Puerto/FIS
Red Chamber Recovers Alpesca and Profand Denounces 'Lack of Legal Certainty'
ARGENTINA
Tuesday, November 18, 2025, 03:40 (GMT + 9)
The Province of Chubut, led by the government of Ignacio Torres, has revoked the exploitation of the assets of the former fishing company Alpesca that had been granted to the subsidiary of the Spanish group Profand, Pesquera Deseado, and has returned the assets to the North American firm Red Chamber, as reported by Revista Puerto.
Unilateral Termination and Chronology of a Conflict
The decision was formalized last Friday, November 14, through Resolution N° 0688, which annulled the 20-year lease agreement signed with Profand on September 30. Immediately afterwards, Resolution N° 0689 from the Secretariat of Fisheries, headed by Andrés Arbeletche, justified the return of Red Chamber Argentina S.A. by citing a "conciliation agreement" before the Superior Court of Justice.
Artificially generated image showing Marcelo Mou, president of Red Chamber, happy because he is winning the 'power struggle' against the president of Profand, Enrique García -->
This turnaround reverses the situation that began in February of this year, when the Province had issued a resolution concluding the contractual relationship with Red Chamber, which had been exploiting the assets of Alpesca (in the process of expropriation since 2014) under an agreement signed in 2015. After the rejection of Red Chamber's appeals on September 5 (Decree N° 1051), the North American firm had to leave the plant on September 30, giving way to Pesquera Deseado of the Profand Group on October 1. Profand had signed a lease agreement for a period of 20 years, an instrument that was never submitted to the Legislature for ratification.
Despite this, the Spanish company asserts that it has "strictly complied with each and every one of the obligations" and has made "significant investments in bringing the plant up to standard" and paying salaries.
Profand's Challenge
In a strongly critical statement, Profand expressed its "consternation" over the "unilateral termination" of the agreement, right at "the start of the shrimp season in provincial waters." The company argues that the provincial administration alleged "its impossibility of fulfilling the obligations assumed" and that the measure adopted constitutes a "breach of contractual obligations" by the Government of the Province of Chubut.
Profand warned that it reaffirms its willingness to "defend the legitimate interests of the company" in the face of this situation, which could lead to a lawsuit seeking compensation. Furthermore, it criticized that the action "also reflects a worrying lack of legal certainty that negatively affects the development of companies in the country."
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Artificially generated image of Marcelo Mou in front of the Red Chambers Argentina plant
The Permits Conflict and the Union Strike
The controversy was marked by the failed attempts of the Chubut Government to create new fishing permits. On Friday, November 7, Bill N° 131/2025 was presented to increase the number of provincial yellow fleet licenses from 40 to 42, although it was withdrawn from Parliament on Monday, November 10, following opposition from business chambers (such as CAFACh, CAPIP, Del Golfo San Jorge, and Conarpesa) and unions (STIA, Capitanes, Patrones, and Siconara).
Following the revocation of the Profand contract, Secretary Arbeletche temporarily extended the exploitation of five yellow fleet fishing permits to Profand until Monday, naming the vessels Anave, Deseado, Don Giuliano, Santorini, and San Giuseppe II. However, that same Friday night, a group of unions decreed a total strike, pausing the fishing season, although the Secretariat of Labor issued a mandatory conciliation order the following day. On Saturday night, Arbeletche informed Prefectura of a new list, removing the vessels nominated by Profand and replacing them with the Baffetta, the Doña Alfía, the Euro II, the Fiesta, and the Fides Fe I, as part of Red Chamber's return.
These events unfolded as reported by Revista Puerto.
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