16 July 2021
The US government announced that it will provide support to the Ecuadorian government to confront illegal fishing and asks that preventive actions be taken before the arrival of Chinese ships.
The Office of Public Affairs of the United States Consulate yesterday held a forum on illegal fishing with Manabi media and highlighted several of the collaborations that are being carried out.
In this space was the consul Brian Quigley, who mentioned that among the support provided is the help given to the local Prosecutor’s Office in the past event where a boat was discovered with 300 tons of fins and sharks in its holds in 2017.
In addition, they are working on projects that seek to implement the plan for equipping sensors and communication equipment for the Ecuadorian Navy to improve command centers. They also work with journalists and students to carry out investigations on illegal fishing.
Quigley stressed that a scientist, an expert in illegal fishing, is currently in Galapagos, who is about to finish her three-month research mission on this topic. They are waiting until the end of this month, which ends the period of investigation, to know the recommendations and all the material compiled.
Fernando Rey Diz, officer of the WWF Oceans and Fisheries program, stressed that there are several actions pending by the Ecuadorian government, especially in the framework of legal regulations, in improvements and corrections.
Bruno Leone, president of the Chamber of Fisheries, highlighted that illegal fishing is the third largest illegality, after drug and arms trafficking. He expressed the importance of this sector in the country, which exported 5.5 billion dollars the previous year; while 67% of that total is given with added value, directly employing 108 thousand people.
Read the original coverage from Dialoguemos Ecuador at https://dialoguemos.ec/2021/07/los-eeuu-y-ecuador-contra-la-pesca-ilegal/
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