In a session attended by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, the deputies of the Agri-Food Commission of the National Assembly of People’s Power approved the opinion on the Fisheries Law, which received modifications as a result of a process of consultations and exchanges that included to more than 400 deputies and hundreds of inhabitants of ten coastal communities throughout the country, as well as citizens who made proposals through the digital site of the Parliament.
According to the text of the opinion, the Fisheries Law that is proposed has the purpose of establishing the regulations for the adequate regulation, administration and control of fishing, in function of the conservation and the rational use of hydrobiological resources in maritime waters, fluvial and lacustrine of the Republic of Cuba, in order to contribute to the food sovereignty of the nation.
Among the objectives that are pursued are to institute the principles of management of fishery resources; establish regulations on fishing authorizations as a management measure; define the fishing modalities; to provide the bases for the operation of the consultative body in matters of fisheries management and to create mechanisms of coordination among the agencies that intervene in the process.
The approval of the Fisheries Policy by the Council of Ministers establishes the principles of management of the activity and promotes the sustainable use of marine and aquaculture resources, in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries of the FAO.
Likewise, it recognizes non-state forms as subjects of application, including the exercise of the activity on its own account, which incorporates the new non-state fishing category, both aquaculture and platform, which provides protection by establishing a social security regime, and implements new mechanisms for relations between state entities and private fishermen.
It also makes sport fishing independent from recreational fishing and considers spearfishing a special category within the latter.
During the months of March and April, the Agri-Food and Constitutional and Legal Affairs commissions consulted the draft Law on Fisheries in six meetings held by regions of the country, attended by 462 deputies and 863 guests, who made 71 interventions.
In addition, exchange meetings were held in ten coastal communities of nine provinces, attended by 735 residents who made 86 interventions.
From the exchanges in these communities emerged the need to study the treatment of non-state fishermen close to retirement who have not contributed to social security because this figure has not been recognized before.
Likewise, the attendees proposed to evaluate the possibility of establishing centralized prices so that state fishing companies or others that are determined, buy catches from non-state fishermen. Both issues were later analyzed with the Ministries of Labor and Social Security and Finance and Prices, for their evaluation.
In total, based on the recommendations made in the consultation process, 55 modifications were made to the text initially presented.
