Without going backwards, the last two foreign vessels that have fished the high seas of Ecuador and Peru sail, abandoning the waters of national responsibility and that, since the end of last year, have been crossing the Chilean Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in South Atlantic water demand.
Foreign fishermen begin to leave Chilean waters
January 22, 2021
The last fishing boats of the squid flora are already sailing towards the Strait of Magellan, all bound for the South Atlantic.
Without going backwards, the last two foreign vessels that have fished the high seas of Ecuador and Peru sail, abandoning the waters of national responsibility; since the end of last year, [the vessels] have been crossing the Chilean Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in South Atlantic water.
From December 2020 to January 2021, a total of 233 ships have crossed oceans from the Pacific to the Atlantic, of which 219 made use of the Strait of Magellan, while the remaining 14 sailed through Cape Horn.
The Maritime Authority of Punta Arenas has arranged, as a safety measure for navigation, that the crossing of this bi-oceanic passage be carried out under a “convoy” system, for which Pilots take them from the bay of Punta Arenas to the Eastern Mouth of the Strait of Magellan, the place where these personnel disembark so that the group continues with its destination towards the Atlantic.
The Director General of the Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine (Subrogant), Rear Admiral Litoral Eric Solar, indicated that “the ocean change navigations have developed from the first days of December 2020 to this date, with a total of 13 groups of foreign fishing vessels without inconveniences ”.
It should be remembered that the non-national fishing fleet, dedicated to the extraction of the Red Squid (Dosidicus Gigas) resource, operated in the waters of the South Pacific since mid-2020, mainly on the outer edges of the Exclusive Economic Zones of Galapagos and Peru.
His expedition was joined by other vessels from China, Taiwan and South Korea, reaching a number of more than 600 fishing vessels of the “jigger / liner” type, which to sustain their permanence in the referred fishing grounds were logistically supported by refrigerated vessels and tank type for refueling at sea.
It was in this context that the Chilean Navy, through the General Directorate of Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine (DIRECTEMAR), in its role as National Maritime Authority, maintained and maintains an exhaustive surveillance from its “Central Monitoring and Analysis” , both of this fleet and of others present in the Maritime Search and Rescue Responsibility Area (SAR area). This work, which is carried out continuously and 24/7, is carried out through satellite systems that show the position and intention of these ships.
Added to this action are the various ocean surveillance operations, through aircraft and surface units of the Navy, which highlight the versatility and adaptability of the institutional means, in addition to the crossing of information from the monitoring of the Undersecretariat of Fisheries.
All of the above, the Institution does with the aim of safeguarding national maritime interests in compliance with international legislation that gives the powers of the State, especially in the fishing field, so that none of them proceed to make illegal fishing in our Economic Zone Exclusive.
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© SOS Galápagos, 2021
