The resources provided by GORE will allow the purchase of equipment and specialized technology to discourage illegal fishing in the region.
The Aysén Regional Government (GORE) approved a project submitted by the National Service of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Sernapesca), whose funding reaches $323,150,000 and will translate into the purchase of equipment and new technologies to strengthen sectoral oversight.
The regional governor of Aysén, Andrea Macías, commented on the local situation expressing that the monitoring of the Aysén coastline has always been a complex issue: "This, given the extension which it has and the little capacity that those services have that it has responsibility to generate control. We see a year-by-year increase in illegal fishing and this seriously affects the ecosystems of our region."
The highest regional authority added that together with Sernapesca they have carried out this work "for quite some time, and that today culminates with the approval of this control program that comes to strengthen with equipment and equipment to each one of the officers to be able to carry out a better control, also enhancing the remote systems of localization via GPS and others that we will not go into detail for obvious reasons; but, for us, the fundamental thing is that this should improve the monitoring processes and this should result in the reduction of illegal fishing that we have in our region. Today we know what full fleets from other regions enter, there is no mechanism to stop this process," stressed Andrea Macías.
Presence and control
The project presented by Sernapesca seeks to discourage illegal fishing by means of technical and permanent control in all areas of capture. For this purpose, it is proposed to implement a program that will increase the presence and control throughout the regional sea, by using means of transfer to which marine and aerial technologies remote access that make it possible to make efficient the protection of these spaces and activities.
With resources, Sernapesca Aysén will enable a complete system remote and on-the-spot monitoring, including, inter alia, two remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), three drones, two aerial surveillance cameras, three GoPro submersibles, GPS systems, flight services leases and shipping.
"Great news"
The regional director of Sernapesca Aysén, Daniela Leiva, thanked GORE for trust in the audit work of the Service and for the support to improve surveillance and control of illicit activity. He also referred to the project's projection: "The approval of the programme is a great news for us as Sernapesca and for the whole community, since it will allow us to increase the presence, control and fisheries and aquaculture controlpromoting the sustainability of the artisanal fisheries sector. In addition, we hope to strengthen the fishing industry and its growth projections, generating a positive impact on the economy local."
The project also includes: training personnel responsible for the control of acquired technologies, the implementation of a regional air and maritime control programme, and the implementation of a dissemination programme seek to raise awareness and educate the population about risks illegal fishing and the importance of sustainability of resources.
