Alicia Gallardo Lagno has been appointed by Chilean President Sebastián Piñera as the new undersecretary of fisheries and aquaculture, a regulatory agency known as Subpesca. Gallardo Lagno is the first woman to hold that position in the nearly 45 years of the department’s existence.
Highlighting the “clear contribution” that fishing and aquaculture make to the country – including food security, employment, and economic development – Gallardo Lagno said that she will seek to further the work carried out by Subpesca in conjunction with other sector institutions to continue advancing towards sustainable production.
"As undersecretary, I will apply an open-door policy, with a constant willingness to have dialogue with everyone who makes up the fishing and aquaculture sectors,” she said in a statement. “I am convinced that agreements are reached via dialogue. I have had the greatest respect and affection for men and women fishers and aquaculture workers since I have known them over the years in the exercise of my public function."
Previous to this post, Gallardo Lagno was the director of Chile’s national fisheries service, Sernapesca, where she had worked since 1998. She took the helm of Sernapesca in April 2018 during the early days of Piñera's presidential term. Sernapesca has not announced Gallardo Lagno's replacement as director.
Gallardo Lagno replaces outgoing undersecretary Román Zelaya, who stepped down in order to run as a candidate in Chile’s constitutional convention process, La Tercera reported. During the national referendum held in October 2020, more than 78 percent of those voting came out in favor of a new constitution, to be drawn up by a body which will be elected by popular vote.
The Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture is a state agency, forming part of Chile’s Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism. Created under decree number 1,626 in 1976, its mission is to regulate and manage fishing and aquaculture activities, through policies, regulations, and administration measures, to promote the conservation and sustainability of hydrobiological resources for the productive development of the sector.
Photo courtesy of Subpesca
