During the ceremony, the permanent collaboration of public institutions, private sector entities, user organizations and the general community throughout Chile was highlighted.
46 years ago, on December 29, 1978, was founded the National Service of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Sernapesca), dependent on the Ministry of Economy. Our institution, created as the National Fisheries Service, Sernap, arose from the separation of the Fisheries Protection Directorate of the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG), which existed since 1931 and was the foundational stone of the fisheries institutional framework in Chile.
The organization of the Service has evolved over time, moving from the initial stage of a National Directorate, seven units and regional macro-zonal directions, with a staff of 70 officials; to facing the challenges imposed by the first Fishing Law of 1991, which involved an increase in the administrative staff and budget, as well as the establishment of new functions and responsibilities related to technological development, the new environmental challenges and the demands of a dynamic and globalized international trade.
The evolution continued with the change of name from Sernap to Sernapesca in 1995, the adoption of the current institutional image in 2012 and the restructuring of 2014 that involved the creation of Subdirectorates and technical Departments. Currently, Sernapesca has a staff of more than one thousand officials and female officials, with effective presence throughout the national territory, through its 16 Regional Directorates, 51 Provincial Offices, Local and Insular
The updating of the responsibilities and roles carried out by the Service, combined with the technological development that each year provides new opportunities and tools for the fulfillment of the functions dictated by law, opens a new stage in the development of the institution. This is how it has been stated Soledad Tapia Almonacid, National Director of Sernapesca, after the commemorative event held in the Aula Magna of the Law School of the University of Valparaíso (UV).
“When we are remembering the 46 years since the creation of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service, and in a context marked by the challenges posed by the new requirements regarding the sustainability of fishing and aquaculture activity, the regulatory compliance of our users and our users from north to south, the verification of health safety requirements for our marine resources to reach new markets, turning Chile into an international reference point for the export of fish and seafood; I send a great greeting to all the officials of Sernapesca, since they are the engine and support of our institutional management in the performance of their tasks,” said the authority.
Tapia also highlighted the ongoing collaboration of public institutions, private sector entities, user and user organizations and the community in general throughout Chile, “since the joint work carried out in different bodies, such as the Red Sustentathe implementation of the Cahuita Lawsectoral programmes such as Caleta + Closethe programme ‘Centinelas del Mar’ and so many others, it allows us to stand side by side with the men and women of the sea in their daily work.”
