September 02, 2020 – 14:18
The project to improve the competitiveness of the aquaculture sector is underway. The objective is to increase the control, surveillance and regulation of the country’s fishing activity. This was reported by the Vice Minister of Aquaculture and Fisheries, Andrés Arens Hidalgo, after noting that as of August, 346 public servants have been hired, especially technical personnel for productive development in fish farming and aquaculture, for the laboratory area and field verifications, as well as for control and surveillance.
Added to this is the acquisition of 1,270 microbiological kits for the analysis of pathogens, in order to ensure the safety and health of aquaculture products exported to international markets, especially shrimp to China. For her part, Valeria Palau, the manager of the Improvement in the
Competitiveness of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Sector project, announced the hiring of 306 public servants to strengthen the control, surveillance and regulation of fishing activity
“Of them, 224 are fisheries control and surveillance analysts, who are strategically distributed by provinces, in order to cover the entire coastal profile; The hiring of inspectors for the Galapagos Islands was even considered ”, he indicated. The hiring of 51 fishing observers is also expected, she added, who will help strengthen the fleet of small pelagic and large pelagic fish, as well as 6 analysts for the satellite monitoring center and another 25 technical analysts for the Industrial Fisheries Directorate.
The distribution in the territory of the inspectors is programmed as follows: 15, for Esmeraldas; 100, for Manabí; 5, for Los Ríos; 23, for Santa Elena; 48, for Guayas; 23, for El Oro; 4, for Santo Domingo; 1, for Tena; 2, for Pichincha; and 3, for Galapagos.
Likewise, within the Integrated Aquaculture and Fisheries System, 116 processes of the Vice Ministry of Aquaculture and Fisheries will be automated, focusing on the simplification of procedures and process improvements of the Undersecretary of Fisheries Resources, in order to have traceability of fishery products. Regarding the situation with China, the Vice Minister recalled that the General Administration of Customs of China notified Ecuador of the discovery of traces of Sars-Cov2 RNA, but that the temporary suspension of exports did not constitute a sanction to the country or to the Ecuadorian shrimp in particular.
“Of 72 Ecuadorian establishments authorized, in the list of Chinese Customs to export, the activities of 3 of them were suspended”. And the same measures were applied to other countries, for example, 25 establishments exporting chicken, beef and salmon meat, from Brazil, Canada, Argentina, among others, were sanctioned.
However, he stressed that organizations such as the FDA and the WHO have emphasized that there is no evidence that indicates that the coronavirus is transmitted through food or food product packaging, including those of aquatic origin, and therefore not they have an epidemiological role in its spread. Finally, the objective of lifting the suspension of the 3 establishments was reached, after technical workshops, virtual inspections and improvement of biosafety protocols.
Read at bit.ly/0902telgrafo This news was originally published by EL TELÉGRAFO newspaper under the following address: https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/economia/4/control-actividad-pesquera-inspectores-monitoreos
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