Fishermen Upset at Government’s Plan To Track Vessels

The clock is ticking for special-licensed stone crab and shark fishers. By October twenty-second, they must install and activate Vessel Monitoring Systems on their boats or risk losing their licenses. But with the deadline just days away, some fishers say they still have unanswered questions. San Pedro Fisherfolk Association President Jorge Aldana says the devices are not the main concern. He says the Fisheries Department introduced the mandate without properly consulting the people whose livelihoods depend on complying with it.

 

Jorge Aldana, President, Fishermen Association

“Again, fishermen have been excluded out of the conversation. We only learned about this on the news. The alarm bells went off. Fishers across the country have been calling each other to find out if they were consulted on this issue. And the general consensus is that, no, we are learning this on the news of the intention to put in devices on vessels by the 22nd or 23rd of October of this month. You cannot continue to do this to fisherfolks. The generation where fisherfolks would roll over and accept policies have far gone. We have more informed fishers. We know what we want. You cannot just come and dictate to us how our industry must run. If you want us to be a partner in the fishing industry, then you need to come and have a conversation with us. Let us know what you think about it. There are many concerns. One, you have not consulted us. Two, what does this mean? Who is going to control the database? Who is monitoring the database? Is there going to be any storage of database? Is that going to infringe on the constitutional rights of fishers of moving from place to place? This is a concern that we have. Man, you cannot do that to fishermen.”

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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