The directive of the National Council for the Defence of the Fishing Heritage (Condepp)in Chile, has welcomed the exit of Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Raul Sunico, after a report by Ciper Chile revealed the interlacing of its relationship with the Association of Fishing Industries (Asipes) and the contracts of his wife with that union, those that are being investigated by the Justice in the framework of the processing of the Fisheries Act.
“It is a big step that Sunico has left the Undersecretariat, because for a long time we have denounced his relationship with the big industry and his actions contrary to the promises of the Government on fishing issues,” Condepp spokesman Hernan Machuca said.
For the president of the organization, Jorge Bustos, “President Bachelet must appoint an Undersecretary of Fisheries that is not corrupt and servile to the seven families.” In this regard, he recalled that during the processing of the Fisheries Act, Sunico lobbied in favour of the fishing companies, along with former mayor of Talcahuano, Gaston Saavedra, and “as disseminated by journalistic research, as Undersecretary continued to approve resolutions that benefited the sector.”
For its part, the artisanal sector from Arica to Valparaiso calls for the new authority that assumes to comply with Bachelet’s Government program, and to end trawling and defend the marine resources of overexploitation.
“Undersecretary of Fisheries Raul Sunico acted in a Machiavellian manner, planning actions in conjunction with industry to illegally enrich himself. This man is responsible for the current state of the fisheries, which have been constantly devastated. It was a joke that the fishing quotas for horse mackerel, anchovy and common hake were increased and now all Chile will be able to know this tremendous orchestration that existed between the Undersecretary and the industry to plunder the Chilean sea,” said the president of the Federation of Artisanal Fishermen Nuevo Amanecer, Miguel Angel Hernandez.
The Secretary of the Federation, Eduardo Quiroz, added, “The new undersecretary of Fisheries must make Michelle Bachelet’s government programme a reality and end trawling, declare the fishery of the cuttlefish exclusively through hand line and guarantee the defence of the resources of the sea.”
Luis Pavez Camus, leader of the artisanal fishermen of Arica, considered that the exit of Undersecretary Sunico “demonstrates the state of corruption in which Chilean fishing is.” And stated, “We cannot continue to tolerate this and hopefully all those involved will be punished with exemplary punishment. The new Chilean fishing authority must be honest and have no ties to industry and big business. We need more transparency control and to complete the Fisheries Act.”
Likewise, the Federation of Artisanal Fishermen and Related Branches of the Region of Biobio (Fedepes), condemned the “felony” of an Undersecretary of Fisheries, who with his actions betrayed the President, Michelle Bachelet, and artisanal fishing.
“A villainy, a betrayal that the artisanal fishing people of Chile and the workers of the country, condemn in a definitive way, are the actions that the Under Secretary of Fisheries, Raul Sunico, committed to the interests of big capital, represented by the Association of Fishing Industries, Asipes,” denounced the executives of Fedepes.
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