Last Wednesday deputies and the Trade Union organization Conatrasal from the
North of Chiloé reached an agreement. This includes, as a condition of
approving the reforms, the development within 2 to 3 months of a temporary
article in the Fisheries Law that deals with labour issues. In opposition to
these negotiations and to the creation of salmon enclaves are the fishermen,
trade unions from Puerto Montt, indigenous communities, Environmental NGOs
and the nascent grouping of commercial producers of Coho salmon and Trout.

Valparaiso, 7 May 2009 (Ecoceaonos News) - Today the National Confederation
of Artisanal Fishermen (Conapach), the Puerto Montt Federation of Salmon
Workers (FETRAINPES), Indigenous Communities and the Ecoceanos Centre
expressed their outright rejection of the reforms to the Fisheries and
Aquaculture Law that will hand over extensive marine areas to salmon
companies, and which is currently before the Fisheries Committee of the
Parliament (Chamber of Deputies). According to trade union leaders, this
Wednesday the trade union organization Conatrasal from the North of Chiloé
reached an agreement that would include the development within two to three
months of a temporary article in the Fisheries Law that will deal with
labour issues, as a condition to their approval of the reforms. However, the
Puerto Montt trade unions grouped under FETRAINPES, rejected these
negotiations because they do not guarantee to tackle the problems of
unemployment, to provide job security for those currently employed or to
generate new job opportunities for the men and women in this industry in
crisis. The fishermen, indigenous communities and environmental NGOs share
these views.


 NEW OPPOSITION
Adding to the rejection yesterday came the opposition of the nascent Germial
Association of Coho salmon and Trout Producers. The new association, that
parallels the parent body SalmonChile, stated that the defining how
production time and rest periods are coordinated, to be implemented in the
35 concession enclaves as a mechanism for reducing the spread of the ISA
virus and to prevent new viral and bacterial diseases, would finish off the
production of coho salmon and trout by small and medium salmon companies.
Coho salmon and trout production represents around 40% of the total exports
from Chile's salmon industry.

The association President Juilo Traub told the Diario Financiero that the
authorities "are going along with what SalmonChile say, who group the large
salmon companies that rear Atlantic salmon, and they have left us to one
side with a problem that is not ours and is not of our making". The approval
of the "Sandoval Law" is key for initiating the renegotiations with the
national and international banking system the outstanding debts of 2.5
billion (thousand million) dollars owed by the large salmon companies.

This modification to the fishery and aquaculture legislation will allow the
banks to have mortgage guarantees in the form of salmon concessions that the
State is handing over free of charge to the salmon companies. And through it
the State will use Chilean taxpayers money to underwrite a massive credit
package to the tune of 450 million dollars to be provided by the financial
system to the indebted salmon companies.

 NO TO PRIVATIZATION OF THE SEA From the artisanal fishermen's perspective
this privatisation bill violates Article 47 of the Fisheries Law, which
states that the 5 nautical mile fringe of the territorial sea and the
internal waters in our country are reserved for artisanal fishing
activities. Cosme Caracciolo, General secretary of Conapach, stated that:
"fishermen maintain fierce opposition to the salmon reforms.

President Bachelet can not endorse the approval of the companies and the
political right for this abusive bill that initiates the privatisation of
marine areas". In response to this, Deputy (DC) Patricio Vallespín told
Ecoceanos News that "we are working with Deputy Fidel Espinoza on how to
improve the content of this initiative and how to guarantee labour
dimensions, and surely next week there is going to be a discussion on this
bill in the Fisheries committee".  On the issue of how labour issues will be
incorporated into a modification of a sectoral law like fisheries, Villespín
replied that "there are mechanisms, already there is agreement on this issue
through a temporary article, which is used in many laws, which will
establish a labour statute for salmon aquaculture as exists for other
productive activities in the country".

He added that the statute would attempt to "safeguard the labour conditions
as regards health and safety, in ways that provide complimentary support for
labour legislation".  Vellespín stated that the initiative already counts on
the support of CONATRASAL and CUT in the Provinces of Llanquihue and Chiloé,
who yesterday signed an agreement with the Labour Ministry and with Felipe
Sandoval, the Economy Ministry representative.

In response to this agreement, Ricardo Casas, the President of FETRAINPES
and representative of the workers union CUT, stated that privatising the sea
through salmon enclaves "in not a solution for the labour and social crisis
affecting the Region".  "We do not support the modification to the Fisheries
Law, the Deputies are doing the work of the companies and CONATRASAL only
represents a section of Chiloé workers and they cant use this organization
to obtain the backing to proceed with the privatisation of the sea", Ricardo
Casas told Ecoceanos News.

The President of FETRAINPES added that "We cant believe that promises to
develop a temporary article within 60 days will be kept. Of course, they
will approve the modifications with the promise of improving labour
conditions within 60 days, but we don't believe this, as nothing guarantees
that this temporary article or the labour protocol will solve the crisis or
assure job protection".

FOOT TO THE FLOOR AND GUN IN THE CHEST

For his part, Ecoceanos Director, Juan Carlos Cardenas, stated that "since January 8th they have been trying
to modify the Law on Fisheries and Aquaculture for the benefit of large
salmon companies and the lending banks. The lack of results has obliged its
promoters to disguise or sweeten the bill so that it may be approved in the
Parliament as has been happening".  Cardenas added that "they have devised
the mechanism for bilateral negotiations with various sectors that
incorporates temporary articles and offers financial support to workers, to
small producers or to apex unions".

For its part the international NGO Oceana stated that: "the current bill
does not provide the tools, the approaches nor the necessary resources to
protect the ecosystems required by salmon aquaculture. Moreover, it seeks to
facilitate the constitution and implementation of guarantees for aquaculture
concessions and licenses, rather than other fundamental considerations like
the environment".    The NGO added that "it is not wise for a bill to
reorganize aquaculture concessions though sanitary enclaves, without taking
account of basic scientific information required for making a correct
evaluation on pros and cons of allowing the development of this activity".
Ends

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