Under-secretary refuses accusations of 'sea privatization'
“This law has generated encountered positions during elections’ time and sometimes things are said without thinking. It is not about privatizing the sea, which by definition belongs to all Chileans. If that were the case, the first five coastal miles and those areas surrounding the oceanic islands, that today are given for exclusive fishing exploitation to the artisanal fisheries, would also be a privatization of the sea and it is not so, since [those permissions] are given in concession”, he said.
According to an interview published by AQUA, Jorge Chocair also stressed the quality of Chilean aquaculture and fisheries potential given its geographic, climatic and oceanographic conditions, basing its judgment on "the sustained growth experienced by the country over the last 10 years, with 18 farming species being cultivated in over 3,000 authorized farming sites, giving more than 50,000 jobs (direct and indirect) prior to the global economic crisis and exporting over 800,000 tonnes worth almost USD 3,000 million on 2008" he detailed.
Besides, regarding to the current regulation for the sector, with a law enacted on 1991 and several sectorial bylaws, he founds it wanting and “not at the modernity stature that is sought to be imprinted in an industry that offers the biggest potential for regional and national development, which by 2015 would have duplicated its economical contribution to the country” he concluded.
