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Inter-institutional Committee will regulate the country’s aquaculture and fishing sector
Posted On 24 Sep 2018
Ecuadornews:
Within a period not exceeding 60 days, the Ministry of Aquaculture and Fisheries will be transformed into a Technical Secretariat, which will be under the control of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment. Guilds criticize the government’s measure.
Decree 520, signed on Thursday, September 20 by the President of the Republic, Lenin Moreno, indicates that the Ministry of Aquaculture and Fisheries will be transformed into a Technical Secretariat, attached to the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade and Investments.
Said procedure will be, indicates article 4 of the decree, once the merger process by absorption with the Ministry of Foreign Trade, which will be responsible for the coordination, management, monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of public policies of the aquaculture sector concludes and fishing.
The future Technical Secretariat of Aquaculture and Fisheries will be a public law entity, with administrative, technical, operational and financial autonomy. Article 7 of Decree 520 indicates that once the merger by absorption process is concluded, the Inter-institutional Committee on Aquaculture and Fisheries will be created, which will regulate the sector.
Said Committee, Article 8, shall be formed by the Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment or its permanent delegate, who shall preside over it; the Minister of Agriculture or his permanent delegate and the Minister of Transport and Public Works or his delegate, who will act with voice and vote.
In addition, a representative of the fishing sector and another of aquaculture will be members, with voice but without vote. “The Technical Secretary of Aquaculture and Fisheries, who will be appointed by the Interinstitutional Committee of a shortlist presented by its president, will act as secretary of the Committee and will act of the sessions with voice, but without vote”, says the Decree.
The Fifth Transitory Provision of the document states that the Ministry of Aquaculture and Fisheries must complete the transition process, to reorganize the sector, within a period not exceeding 60 days, which began last Thursday. Through his Twitter account, Pablo Campana, Minister of Production, Foreign Trade and Investment, thanked the Executive “for the confidence in commissioning the Ministry of Aquaculture and Fisheries (…) The aquaculture and fisheries sector is production and exports!”
He added that “our team is committed and is capable of taking on new responsibilities to continue the dialogue and work between the public and private sectors, in order to achieve the great achievements that the country is looking for.” While the ex-aquaculture minister, Katuska Drouet, through the same social network, thanked President Moreno for “allowing me to contribute to the development of my country, through the management of the aquaculture and fishing sectors, which are led by thousands of men and women”.
Guilds talk about the measure
After knowing that the Technical Secretariat of Aquaculture and Fisheries will replace the Ministry of the sector, reactions from the guilds emerged. Ricardo Herrera, former president of the Ecuadorian Chamber of Tuna Industrialists and Processors (Ceipa), said that while the new state entity has direct participation in the Government will be important for the development of the country’s fisheries and aquaculture sector.
While the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives of Ecuador (Fenacopec), through its Twitter account, indicated that it opposes such decision of the Government, because “it destroys the institutions of fishing and aquaculture.” Yesterday, during her visit to a fishing company in Jaramijó (Manabí), the Vice President of the Republic, María Alejandra Vicuña, confirmed that the Technical Secretariat will be based in Manta and that issues related to the fishing and aquaculture sector will be strengthened.
The same Decree 520 indicates that the National Fishing Institute (INP) will be attached to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment once the merger by absorption process is completed. (I)
