Leaders of the Peruvian industry and artisanal fishing denounced that Peru is the only country in the region that has allowed the entry of more than a hundred squid boats and, in addition, has not complied, among other obligations, with carrying out inspections to verify the compliance with human rights and decent work on board these ships.

 

Alfonso Miranda Eyzaguirre, president of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Committee of the National Society of Industries (S.N.I.), pointed out that the International Labor Organization (ILO) has not been concerned about the situation of the hundreds of crew members who enter our ports without no one watches over their lives and rights, “We see them very active in giving talks and spending on advertising, but when push comes to shove, they are conspicuous by their absence,” he aded.

 

For her part, the president of the National Artisanal Fishing Society (SONAPESCAL), Elsa Vega, denounced that the National Superintendence of Labor Inspection (SUNAFIL) only works to persecute and harass artisanal shipowners and turns a blind eye to the immense and dilapidated Chinese ships that swarm in Peruvian ports such as Chimbote, Callao and Pisco. 

 

 

Both fishing leaders agreed that since June of last year the Peruvian government has allowed the entry of more than 180 Chinese jigger boats, failing to comply with the rule that requires them to have a satellite device installed on board and that, from that moment on, fishing craft has had a sharp decline, while the fishing industry for human consumption has lost supply of raw materials, putting 200,000 jobs in the sector at risk, which will weaken the economy and deepen the social crisis in Peru. 

 

According to Elsa Vega, “The Peruvian government is destroying an enterprise that was developed without help from the State and is going to be the culprit of a serious social outbreak in the north of the country. It is time to address the problem of artisanal fishing, the same one that we have made known to you many times,” she emphasized. 

 

“In addition, artisanal fishermen have seen Chinese jigging boats fishing illegally in Peruvian jurisdictional waters, without anyone from the government taking any interest in this violation of our sovereignty,” she stressed.

 

 

For his part, Miranda Eyzaguirre agreed that the current situation becomes unsustainable and that Peru could lose a new opportunity for decentralized and formal development if the Chinese fleet is allowed to continue acting with the same lack of transparency and weakness of the State.

 

“Fishing for human consumption will disappear if in our own country, Chinese vessels are authorized to compete unfairly against the national industry. No other country would allow it,” he concluded.