The motion that the Social-Christian deputy María Inés Solís presented to revive shrimp trawling in Costa Rica within file 21,531 that seeks new rules for tuna fishing in the country, would not have greater support in the Environmental Commission of Congress where the initiative of law.
Several legislators who are members of this commission, explained that the motion does not meet the requirements of connection with the text under discussion, and that for the majority, trawl fishing is an outdated issue.
No viability
“I believe that the motion has no viability, is inappropriate, disjointed, and is introduced in a project that seeks to promote sustainable tuna fishing and curb the gift of our tuna wealth, because in these objectives it is not possible to legalize trawling,” it is totally incompatible”, affirmed the deputy José María Villalta of the Broad Front, promoter of the law.
Liberationist Karine Niño, also a member of the commission, said she will not support the motion. “If other deputies wish to incorporate other issues, it is up to them, but it is up to us to see if it is connected, in any case my position regarding trawling is negative to the opening of any wicket,” she commented.
Her benchmate Wagner Jiménez, commented that he still does not know the motion, and that he would hope that Deputy Solís will go to the committee to explain her intentions and reasoning.
Mileidy Alvarado, from the National Restoration party, expressed that her opinion of the motion is disjointed and unconstitutional and that it is not pertinent to take the discussion to other fisheries. “We cannot ignore the votes of the Constitutional Chamber on the subject, and it is worth the opportunity to remember that we continue without technical studies on the subject,” she added.
Call to attention
On the subject, Deputy Solís explained that she has always been in favor of shrimp fishing as “the only possible source of income for many families in the Puntarenas area.” “This motion via article 137 aims to draw attention and once again focus attention on an issue that is fundamental in the poorest regions of this country. What has been done at the public policy level to help families that depended on shrimp fishing using the trawl technique? What has the Executive Branch done? As a society what have we done? Is it that prohibiting shrimp trawling has solved the situation that these families live? ”, the Christian Socialist questioned.
Solís described as irresponsible the decision of the Executive Power to apply the veto to the law that sought to revive this fishing technique, since the source of income that allowed the feeding of many families is being cut off and there has been no solution for them.
“They have been left to their own devices, as if the ban on this type of fishing had given them a dignified solution to bring livelihoods to their homes. Consequently, it is important to draw attention to these injustices. As deputies we have an obligation to do so. Those who today jump for this motion and who have never been concerned about the livelihood of coastal families, ignore or want to ignore what the Constitutional Chamber has established on the provisions of Article 47 of the Fisheries Law. This is not Costa Rica, we are not used to leaving our brothers lying around like we don’t care. At least I am willing to raise my voice whenever necessary and I am glad to have attracted attention,” she added.
Also the deputy Melvin Muñez Piña, from the National Restoration and who is not part of the commission but did promote the project to revive trawling, told this medium on the subject that he supports all the possibilities that are presented to give work to the fishing sector, although it recognized that it is necessary to review if the motion has political viability.
“It must be remembered that the veto is not firm, we have to vote it in plenary, a law that already had all the sieves, even in Room IV, but very cowardly President Alvarado vetoes a law that was the will of the representatives of the people “, he claimed.
