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Valparaíso, Chile, 18 March 2024. The “New General Fisheries Law” is an initiative of the Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Maritime Interests Commission of the House of Representatives of Chile. The bill was introduced by the Executive Branch in December 2023 and proposes to replace the current law.

Chile stands among the world’s top 12 fishing nations. For this reason, it is important that it be supported by a state of the art legal framework that effectively regulates fishing in a sustainable, transparent and equitable manner. Such legislation should align with international treaties, guidelines, and other relevant instruments, ensuring the conservation and sustainable use of hydrobiological resources, promoting direct human consumption, and safeguarding food and nutritional security for the population. Moreover, it should advocate for gender equity in the fishing sector, base decision-making on scientific evidence, recognize and support artisanal fishing, and prevent, deter, and eliminate illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.

The above was conveyed to the Chilean House of Representatives by FAO, which was represented by Manuela Cuvi Rodríguez and Imahue Muñoz Carrasco from the Development Law Service of FAO’s Legal Office (LEGN), along with Magdalena Abarca Lizana from the FAO Representation in Chile, and with the support of FAO’s Fisheries Department. FAO highlighted several positive aspects of the bill, emphasizing that “[as] FAO, we commend the bill for reflecting principles on socio-economic, environmental, and cultural aspects that contemporary primary fisheries laws should embody, surpassing typical standards.”

Manuela Cuvi, LEGN outposted Legal Officer in the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, also addressed some areas where the draft law could be improved, with reference to full implementation of the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing, of which Chile is a party, as well as the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Transshipment, adopted in 2022.

FAO concluded by informing the Chilean Authorities about the different tools on fisheries matters available on its website. It furthermore offered future technical assistance in this area.

The recording of the presentation can be found here (only available in Spanish).