After illegally fishing 175 tons of toothfish, the owner of the Tai An requested a hearing with the Federal Fisheries Council to state that it would be difficult for him to catch toothfish if he was not allowed to catch more toothfish. Not only did they listen to him, but also the representative of the province of Tierra del Fuego, Carlos Cantú ; The Head of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Nation, Pablo Mazzoni, advocated for the businessman and the delegate ; He asked INIDEP to ratify its recommendation, as if the reports that supported the resolution that limits bycatch to 1.5% were not enough.
“The representatives of PRODESUR SA explained the negative consequences, for the operation on the Polish species of the Tai An vessel, of the limitation of incidental capture of toothfish”, established by resolution of the Council, it was communicated in the minutes.
In the following paragraph it was reported that “at the request of the Representative of the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands, the treatment of the request made by the administrator is resumed, with the proposal to modify the regulations that establish the catch limit incidental catch of toothfish, limiting it to only 1.5% of the total catch per trip.” In this way, Carlos Cantú gave substance to the company's demand before the Council.
The businessman “Rafael's lover” (Rafael Sancio, Italian Renaissance painter) always had the support of the governor of Tierra del Fuego. In January Gustavo Melella directly asked the Council to grant 350 tons of toothfish to businessman Liu Zhijiang, the same man who in March of this year, with his boat Tai An, illegally caught 175 tons of hake, as he himself admitted . After what happened, the Fuegian government continues to support it and it is not the only one: the national government has also legitimized it.
The owner of Tai An has support from the Fuegian and national governments | https://t.co/0JXdyIo0XC pic.twitter.com/i9jvKRhFkx
“At the proposal of the Representation of the Head of the Cabinet of Ministers, on which the environmental portfolio depends, it is agreed to request the technical opinion of INIDEP on the request, since the measure that needs to be modified was ordered based on the report sent by the same Institute,” the minutes indicate.
Pablo Mazzoni, the representative of the national government in the CFP, instead of reading the scientists' report to know why a limit of 1.5% of bycatch was determined, requires the researchers to justify their report, because the offender requires it.
INIDEP not only presented the report in 2023 that explains the reasons why it is necessary to establish this type of limits for the preservation of an internationally monitored resource, but it was also able to determine that the enormous catch made by the Tai An vessel was not bycatch. but directed, as the businessman seeks to maintain to justify his request.
The court issued a seizure request for the Tai An ship to the Prefecture, ruled in a collective case for environmental damage. But the ship is still in activity, since it must be the Ship Registry that takes action to carry out the order. Meanwhile, the boat continues fishing.
The measure will surely be appealed and, as has happened until now , Zhijiang will emerge barely scratched and who says, perhaps, even with 350 tons of toothfish. The minutes of the meeting he held with the councilors were not published and according to reports the only one who questioned the businessman was the representative of Buenos Aires, Carlos Liberman, so he seems to have broad support.
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