Demonstration of fishermen to complain about proposals for giant squid catch. (Photo: Prensa Embarcados)

Fishing association rejects use of 'inhuman line' for catching giant squid

CHILE
Wednesday, May 09, 2018, 23:40 (GMT + 9)

The Committee on Fisheries, Aquaculture and Maritime Interests of the Chamber of Deputies will meet this afternoon to address, among other issues, the continuity of the treatment of the project initiated in motion modifying the General Fisheries and Aquaculture Law in order to regulate giant squid capture.

This issue has generated a strong controversy in the fishing sector as well as demonstrations of industrial fishermen, who reject the obligation to catch the giant squid using only "hand lines" or jigger boats.

In this regard, president of the Union of Inter-enterprise Workers of Motorist Officials (MMN) Eric Riffo Paz expressed the dissatisfaction of its members with the decision to allow only that fishing gear linked to the artisanal sector, which he describes as 'inhuman line'.

In a note addressed to the public, the leader said:

"For many years now, workers in general, have been demanding and requesting better conditions in their work, both in terms of hygiene and personal safety, especially in a country like Chile, where their productive matrix is ​​based on the exploitation of natural resources such as copper, wood, agriculture, fishing, among other activities; where workers are exposed to overexertion that over time damage their physical capacity and often their life expectancy.

Likewise, we can state that Chile is one of the countries that has the highest number of work classified as 'heavy', which by definition refers to 'those that produce premature aging'; therefore, the decision of the Fisheries Commission of the Chamber of Deputies in terms of leaving the 'hand line' as the only fishing gear for the giant squid is difficult to understand.

And this without having solved problems of many fishermen, both industrial and artisanal, in relation to occupational diseases and due to medical and social security coverage for 'heavy' work; instead of levelling up by giving a solution and improving the working conditions of overexertion of a sector, they have decided to level down.

It should be noted that many activities have an artisanal component, such as large-scale mining and firework; great agriculture and the small farmers; the forest industry and the landholders. What corresponds is to improve the conditions of the most vulnerable ones and not to lower the guarantees acquired from those who enjoy a better situation.

It is hard to believe that the Fisheries Committee has only considered economic interests and not the workers’ health. They were wrong if they wanted to cause damage to the industrial investor, given that the most affected ones are the crews of the industrial and artisanal ships, who, now, thanks to the Fisheries Commission, will be required by law to 'break their backs' in order to extract the giant squid, which requires an enormous effort to lift a couple of metres over the side of a smaller boat, an effort that will increase when picked up from six to ten metres in an industrial boat.

Some allude to generate more deployment of force, of course, since every so often there will be a good group of workers in the associations and/or hospitals suffering from chronic backache and musculoskeletal diseases, who must be replaced temporarily or permanently. It must be borne in mind, then, that the quantity and quality of work must go in the same direction.

In addition, we must consider what has already been demonstrated: due to the characteristics of the giant squid in our coasts, the winch is not efficient for the boats called 'jigger ships', used in other places in similar species.

The certain thing is that the determination is taken in the Commission of the Chamber. We hope, then, that the Senate rectifies and eliminates the obligatory nature of the 'hand-line' or 'inhuman line'."

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