The Chilean government’s Committee of King Crab Fishery Management has expressed concern over a proposed environmental plan for the sector, but still plans to request an extension of the current 2017 season.
The committee is made up of representatives of small scale artisan fishers, processing plants and government authorities. The body is financed by the regional Magallanes government. At its October meeting, the relatively new committee discussed a wide array of issues, including catch quotas, scientific research, and environmental regulations. It announced it is planning requesting from Chilean authorities an extension of the current extraction season, according to a statement from Chilean fishing authority Subpesca.
Chilean king crab exports are small compared to that of the country’s major seafood products – namely salmon – but king crab is highly valued both domestically and abroad. The director of fishing and aquaculture for the regional government, Gonzalo Rubilar Díaz, told local news outlet Prensa Austral that 90 percent of Chile’s king crab is exported, with South Korea the largest trading partner. The total export for this market in 2015 was USD 5.8 million (EUR 4.9 million).
This year’s season started on 1 July and will last until 30 November, 2017. In 2016, authorities logged 4,300 tons of harvested king crab.
The committee also agreed to maintain the quantity of licensed artisan fishing ships, with 593 currently registered.
During the meeting, the committee criticized an environmental management plan presented by the government sanitary agency SEREMI. The plan is part of a wider coastal protection plan that aims to protect ecological and cultural conditions, and calls for a greater focus of sustainable practices.
The committee’s spokesperson Rosa Oyarzún said that “the proposal does not adequately include artisan fishing and is unclear in how the extractive work would take place once this management project starts.”
Oyarzún also complained that the committee has not been a part of discussions on how the sustainability measures will be designed, and therefore cannot support the measures, calling them “unclear.”
The committee did call for a stronger environmental protection strategy for the region, but one that takes into account fishing activities. The statement said it would invite Chilean Minister of Environment Marcelo Mena to its next session in order to discuss the environmental measures, as well as investment plans for areas such as waste management.
