The Artisanal Fishermen's Association of Puerto Madryn expressed its concern about the adaptation plan promoted by the national government in different areas of the state, including those linked to science and research.
APAPM's historical authority, José Luis Ascorte, lamented that “organisms like the Cenpat-CONICET are at risk, which play a “predominant role” in surveying and studying the different species of molluscs and gastropods exploited by artisanal fishermen in San José Bay.
“The condition of the resources is so important that it is always monitored by scientists and specialists. Although the artisanal fisherman is different from the industrial fisherman and always has a precautionary outlook, we consider the task of the researchers who monitor the resources and give us their technical opinion very important.
Ascorti said that precautionary quotas are currently being granted until a new survey is conducted that will begin this April, and with this information provided by researchers from the Patagonia National Center, in conjunction with artisanal fishermen and the Chubut Fishing Secretariat, the maximum limit that will be exploited for each resource in the current year is determined.
“We highlight the work done by Cenpat-CONICET and are deeply concerned about the risks these institutions face today, and seeking to reduce or downsize is a product of the ignorance of the national government that does not realize the enormous amount of work it does ‘of these living beings,’” she reflected. Reference to oyster collectors who, through diving, engage in artisanal fishing in Chubut.
“A setback for Argentina”
José Ascorte does not hesitate to consider that if the pruning were applied to these research institutions “it would be a very big setback for Argentina,” he said in the context of the uncertainty faced by organizations such as CONICET, INTA, INTI, INIDEP and SENASA, among others. , which you pass through.
“We fishermen have knowledge of what we have learned over the decades, but as the scientific community comes closer to monitoring the resources we work with, this has been a very important step for us since 1995,” he added.
The legacy of “Lobo” Orensanz
On the other hand, he pointed out the fundamental role played by José María “Lobo” Orensanz in this process: “Hand together with these scientists we have expanded our knowledge much further. “The first thing he did was to organize a course for all fishermen so that we could study the biology of the resources that we exploit.” Ascorti recalls and highlights that phase “in which we engaged in a back-and-forth with the scientific community, which allowed us to sustain resources in general.
Holy Week exhibition
This long weekend, as is customary in Puerto Madryn every Easter, artisanal fishermen hold a fair selling seafood products, which on this occasion reaches its twentieth edition. Several years ago, the name “Lobo” Orensanz was imposed on the artisanal fishermen’s fair.
“It is a very important space for us because we have been able to implement it for twenty years, with great effort, and it is a way to always stay connected with the community that gives us so much,” he concluded. .
