López Cazorla had ample reason to approve the transfer of the quota from the 'Sirius' to the 'Santísima Trinidad'. And he was in a great hurry.

Opinion Article: Fishing in an Age of Barbarity

ARGENTINA
Monday, April 20, 2026, 00:10 (GMT + 9)

An Informe Técnico (Technical Report) is already circulating that violates the fishing law but seeks to justify the transfer of CITC (Individual Transferable Catch Quotas) from fresh-fish vessels to freezer vessels, threatening to wipe out thousands of jobs in Mar del Plata. The case in point is the approval of the transfer of the CITC from the “Sirius” to the “Santísima Trinidad”, which they now want to extend to the rest of the fleet.

A new scandal is shaking the structure of the Undersecretariat of Aquatic Resources and Fisheries, threatening thousands of jobs in Mar del Plata.

The project led by Juan Antonio López Cazorla, executed with the essential signatures of Idoyaga Molina, Juan Buono, and Eugenia Rodríguez, promoted by lawyers of endless inventiveness and backed by self-organized lobbyists on Esmeralda and Paraguay streets—who put a price on the scheme—aims to allow the individual transferable quota for hake (merluza hubbsi) assigned to fresh-fish vessels to be transferred and caught by freezer vessels until 2039.

Those who claim to uphold the fishing law to justify the rush to approve quotas for Patagonian shrimp—another process heading toward monetization under the same actors, overseen by Marcos, “the Ghost,” who has a name but no surname, representing the libertarian government—now have no qualms about blatantly violating it.

Article 27 clearly states in its final paragraphs: “The transfer of catch quotas from fresh-fish vessels to freezer or factory vessels shall not be permitted.” The intention of the authorities is plainly to do the exact opposite.

The “Productive Optimization Procedure for Merluza Hubbsi”, a Technical Report signed by Arturo Idoyaya Molina, National Director of Fisheries Coordination and Oversight, presented as a “technical-regulatory proposal,” is the framework through which the government seeks to achieve this goal.

The document is already part of discussions within the Federal Fisheries Council, although it was not disclosed in last week’s minutes. It clearly has the support of López Cazorla and the provinces of Chubut and Río Negro. When the time comes to vote, it will be very difficult for representatives from the Province of Buenos Aires to overturn the majority in favor of the deal.

The situation in Chubut is curious. Governor Torres recently pushed for fresh hake to return to Chubut’s ports as a source of steady, skilled employment. Yet now Arbeletche supports swapping fresh quotas for freezer quotas. Is the former secretary acting independently or following orders? The contradictions of Nacho are unsurprising, as are Andrés’ survival instincts while continuing to do business.

The province already distributes social quotas to freezer vessels. That is somewhat logical due to the lack of demand for fresh-fish vessels. But the province holds more than 17,000 tons of quota from the former Alpesca, which it managed to retain in the 2024 reallocation. Will that also be converted to freezer quotas? If Mou asks for the change, Nacho will likely grant it.

In what amounted to a theatrical farce, during the previous session Sergio Paleo, the representative of Río Negro, suddenly spoke of companies interested in increasing investment if more quota were made available for freezer vessels.

Like Guido Carrillo finishing crosses from José Sosa, two players dear to his Estudiantes fandom, the Undersecretary jumped in and scored with an open goal: “I think it’s a brilliant idea… the market imposes an undeniable reality, and that reality is frozen fish,” said López, opening yet another door in his playbook.

The same Juan Antonio who told Cristina Ledesma, representative of fish workers in Mar del Plata, that better times were coming and to be patient, now shamelessly—and solely for revenue purposes—sells off the livelihood of thousands of families to the highest bidder. The work will no longer pass before the eyes of the Secretary General of SOIP. From dock to container ship, ready for export.

Who stands to benefit from this new model promoted by port authorities? Companies that already hold quotas on fresh vessels but also operate freezer fleets, such as Solimeno, Moscuzza, Mattera, Spain’s Iberconsa, and various branches of the Baldino family.

A rough review of vessels with hake quotas assigned to fresh-fish boats owned by these companies—quotas that could be shifted to freezer vessels—shows that this fleet represents 15.27% of the maximum allowable catch distributed annually. That would mean about 54,000 tons less fresh fish reaching port.

A bad time to buy a new fresh-fish vessel. That’s what entrepreneurs Gustavo González and Raúl Cereseto have just done. The Chubut-based businessmen acquired the hull and fishing permit (without hake CITC) of the vessel “María Gracia”, paying a down payment and 48 installments.

One argument cited by Bustamante, according to Idoyaga Molina, is that the fresh fleet does not exhaust its hake quota, while freezer vessels fall short. But a mechanism already exists to address this.

Unused quota can be returned mid-year to a reassignment pool, from which authorities redistribute it, mainly to freezer vessels. Now, however, they want to sell that quota until 2039, the end of the new quota system.

Statistics from the last three years contradict the supposed “quota asymmetry.” In 2023, the fresh fleet reported 148,000 tons; in 2024, 167,782 tons; and last year, 161,493 tons. The freezer fleet also increased its catch: 107,000 tons in 2023, 109,000 tons in 2024, and 107,000 tons last year.

It is true that underreporting exists among fresh vessels—especially when targeting other species like hake substitutes or shrimp south of 41°S before the national season opens. But freezer vessels also manipulate conversion coefficients to suit company needs rather than actual processing efficiency.

Hake stocks are increasing, as confirmed by the latest allocation based on a report by Otto Whöler, which raised the Maximum Allowable Catch to 370,000 tons, 80,000 more than five or six years ago. No “optimization” seems necessary—only a forced interpretation to continue dubious business practices.

The so-called “dream team” has already implemented the model of transferring fresh quotas to freezer vessels. It worked perfectly, with Swiss-watch precision. The “Sirius”, a fresh vessel owned by “Loba Pesquera”, held a 1.0001% hake CITC.

After the company went bankrupt, the vessel and permit were acquired by “Maronti”, a company owned by Antonio “Toro” Baldino, which built the freezer vessel “Santísima Trinidad” at the SPI shipyard.

In November of last year, Idoyaga Molina submitted a report from the Fisheries Administration Directorate to the Fisheries Registry, assigning the Sirius CITC entirely to the “Santísima Trinidad”, classifying it as a freezer vessel. No one objected to transferring a fresh quota to a freezer vessel.

On December 1, Daniela De Paola, a Technical Analyst at the Directorate of Regulations and Fisheries Registry, issued a report to María Eugenia Rodríguez, copying Valeria Morales, endorsing the transfer.

Originally, the “Sirius” was part of a restructuring project with vessels “Chatka”, “Canal de Beagle”, “Gloriosus”, “Pescargen III”, and “Dock Urano”, intended to be replaced by a new vessel. According to the October 31, 2022 Act, the replacement would operate as a freezer vessel and transfer the hake quota to a fresh vessel.

However, in November of last year, Loba Pesquera and Maronti requested approval for a change in ownership and project characteristics, resulting in the transfer of the fishing permit from “Sirius” to “Santísima Trinidad”.

Not only was the 1.0001% CITC transferred, but the receiving vessel’s hold capacity was increased from 550 m³ to 670 m³. AMAZING.

López Cazorla approved the transfer on the same December 1 he received the report, citing Act 7/2025, which he interpreted as not distinguishing quotas by modality.

However, that same act had previously rejected Maronti’s request regarding the vessel “San Andrés Jorge”, reaffirming that fresh quotas cannot be transferred to freezer vessels under any circumstances.

Despite this, the transfer was approved in record time.

Have a good Sunday. And may God help us in the face of such a voracious band of outlaws.

https://x.com/rogarrone

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