The Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism and the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (SUBPESCA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for the particular assessment of the national fisheries and aquaculture legislation.
This agreement will make it possible to develop a technical assessment of the current General Act on Fisheries and Aquaculture, which was passed in 2012 by Congress.
Through this agreement, the Executive fulfills one of the commitments of the government programme, which was recently ratified by the President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet.
According to the head of the Ministry of Economy, Luis Felipe Céspedes, this tool helps fulfill the government’s commitment “to perform an assessment of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Act, which will meet the highest international standards in terms of sustainability.”
The Chilean government expects the rules to comply “with the global guidelines that FAO promotes as to sustainable fisheries and good practices”.
During the evaluation process, FAO will have the aid of a high-level team of Chilean and international experts, and will receive the views of those involved through participation mechanisms.
This initiative is expected to last eight months and will make the following possible:
Establish a theoretical framework and identification of international standards in fisheries and aquaculture legislation;
Perform a gap analysis of the law in relation to international instruments and agreements on sustainable management of fisheries resources;
Give recommendations to eliminate, shorten or settle the gaps the law may have with respect to the instruments, international arrangements and guidelines for sector sustainability.
“The assessment of the Fisheries Act is a very serious matter for the government and for that reason we required the support of an international organization having recognized standing and seriousness as the FAO,” said Undersecretary of Fisheries Raul Súnico.
While the FAO representative in Chile, Eve Crowley, stressed that as an international technical body they have “led and supported various countries in formulating legal instruments, policies and regulatory frameworks for the sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture resources”.
In the case of Chile, in particular, she pointed out they will support the Government in assessing the legislation, “considering the agreements and international best practices for sustainability and governance of the fisheries sector”.
FIS.com, 2015