A new regulation published today in Chile’s official gazette requires industrial and artisanal fishing vessels of 15 meters or more in length to use image recording devices to detect and probe discarding and by-catch activities.

The measure responds to the current Act 20,625 of Disposal of Hydrobiological Species, which seeks to reduce the impact of non-selective fishing on the different species.

Javier Rivera, head of the fisheries department of the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture, explained that the current Chilean regulation on discarding “is internationally recognized for its purpose of transparently understanding and mitigating, in a coherent way, the realities of the different fisheries, fleets and gears that exist in the country, while advancing in the incorporation of modern and effective control elements such as electronic monitoring systems.”

Chile’s move to incorporate these new requirements, he added, “opens the possibility for Chilean fishery products to enter the increasingly demanding global markets in matters of sustainability, in which European markets stand out for the total ban on the discard of species regulated with catch quotas “.

Industrial ships will have six months, from the publication of the regulation, to comply with the mandatory cameras, while artisanal vessels will have a term of three years. The devices must be activated at the time of departure and deactivated at the end of the landing, and must be approved and certified by Sernapesca.

The vessels that have not implemented the regulation or that alter the information are exposed to a fine of 20 to 300 monthly tax units (UTM), and the master of ship to a sanction of 3 to 30 UTM.

The current Chilean discard law considers recommendations of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, as well as suggestions from various international fisheries forums.

Source: http://fis.com/fis/worldnews/worldnews.asp?l=e&ndb=1&id=89896