In 2020 the photos and headlines rolled around the world. In the Galapagos Islands, one of the paradises of biodiversity on the planet, almost three hundred fishing boats destroyed everything in their path. The scene was repeated in different areas: in the South Pacific, in the Indian Ocean, on the edge of the exclusive economic zone of Argentina, near the coasts of Colombia and Peru as well. The following year the same thing happened. In 2022 too. They are part of the largest fishing fleet in the world, that of China, which has more than 3,000 boats.
But the flags that identified many ships, nevertheless, attracted attention. Well, in all cases there was always a large number of ships flying the symbol that identifies a Central American country: Panama.
(Also read: This is how the largest illegal fishing fleet in the world operates in Asia)
Panama boats
Although Panama is a small country, with just 4.3 million inhabitants and an area equal to that of the department of Guainía, more than 8,000 ships around the world fly its flag, according to figures from the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP). ). In other words, 16% of the world’s boats carry the white, blue and red cloth banner that represents that country.
But many of those ships are not really Panamanian. The Panama flag offers many advantages for merchant marine companies. This thanks to Law 57 of 2008 that allowed ships to be registered indefinitely and also entire fleets can do it very easily through the 96 boat registration offices that Panama has around the world.
Added to the facilities, the low costs also have an impact. For example, a fleet of ships of between 5 and 15 ships can receive a 20% discount for being registered with the Panamanian flag; fleets with between 16 and 50 vessels receive a 35% discount; and fleets of more than 50 ships receive a 60% discount on their registrations.
In addition, foreign owners of Panamanian flags do not pay income taxes and have facilities to hire labor of any nationality on their ships. This translates into significant savings for the megacompanies that own huge fleets.
Something that China has been able to take advantage of. The Asian giant is a great consumer of seafood. In 2016, its fleet alone was responsible for capturing 15.2 million tons of fish, that is, 20% of what was caught in the world. But since it is not enough to meet the high demand, the Chinese also imported enough product from the rest of the planet to hang the consumer label of 38% of the seafood obtained that year.
The problem, as denounced by various organizations such as Global Fishing Watch and Oceana, is that the presence of some of these ships with flags such as those of Panama, Ghana, Mauritania and the Ivory Coast facilitate the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, as it has been called by the FAO.
This is through a system in which fishing boats catch for weeks in large areas of the ocean, organized in gangs of hundreds, and then other ships with a different flag that are refrigerated ships arrive and take the results of these tasks, often mixing fishing legal with illegal and thus avoiding that the fishermen have to declare how much they caught.
(Also read: Illegal fishing does not stop in the Colombian Pacific)
The problem has reached such a level that the European Union (EU) has imposed a ‘yellow card’ on Panama on two occasions for encouraging IUU fishing practices in the world. In case of reaching a ‘red card’, all fishing from Panamanian boats would be banned in the EU.
“The European Commission considers that the situation in Panama is very serious, since Panama still does not seem to be in a position to comply with its obligations under international law as a flag, port, coastal and market state,” says a report from the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Union (DG Mare) sent to the Panamanian Government in June 2022.
The actions
But now, everything seems to indicate that the media and diplomatic pressure has generated results on Panama. Within the framework of the eighth edition of the Our Ocean summit, which is taking place this week in Panama City, the Government announced that it is joining the Action Alliance for Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Agricultural Development, Augusto Valderrama, in charge of fishing issues. The objective is to be part of a select group of countries that improve their control practices to prevent the depredation of the oceans.
As Valderrama told EL TIEMPO, this is a State approach promoted by the Government of President Laurentino Cortizo, who has been key in creating the declarations of marine protected areas in his country.
“The president has already established a state policy. As Panama we are a leading country in the world by declaring 30% of our oceans as protected areas. And the laws that we have established regarding responsible fishing, the measures that are being taken and the marine protected areas clearly demonstrate the interest of Panama”, assured Valderrama.
But the country’s regulations have also become less lax and permissive, trying to curb the problem. Since 2021, the General Law 204 on Fishing, Aquaculture and Related Activities establishes as mandatory that Panamanian-flagged vessels must have satellite communication equipment (VMS) and must issue their position. Anyone who does not do so for more than 24 hours is exposed to fines ranging from $150,000 to $500,000 for carrying out practices related to IUU fishing.
In fact, in 2020 Global Fishing Watch detected that 42% of the Chinese fleet disappeared from radar for more than 24 hours, making it difficult for governments to review their actions and control them.
(Also read: Gorgona and Malpelo, the areas most affected by illegal fishing)
As explained by the general director of the Panama Aquatic Resources Authority (Arap), Flor Torrijos, in 2022 more than 140 sanctioning processes were carried out and more than 3 million dollars in fines were imposed for bad fishing practices. In addition, VMS satellite information from Panamanian-flagged fishing vessels is shared live with Global Fishing Watch, to be able to do data analysis, reporting and monitoring of what is happening in the ocean with fishing.
Added to this, just three months ago the country created a new Fisheries Control and Monitoring Center where more than 20 people are dedicated to monitoring whether Panamanian fishing vessels are carrying out their work correctly.
Still, much remains to be done. As Torrijos herself explained to the media, monitoring the entire ocean permanently is impossible. Even more so because the Arap, which depends on the Ministry of Agricultural Development, only controls the fishing boats. But not to refrigerated ships or tankers, which are also part of the IUU fishing operation but are regulated by the AMP.
In this regard, explained Mónica Espinoza of Global Fishing Watch, Panama is taking important steps to improve its capacity to regulate fishing and protect the oceans.
A path that began with huge Panamanian-flagged ships with Asian crews that destroyed all the fish they found in the ocean; and that today it has become policies, actions and declarations in the midst of one of the key conferences for the definition of commitments by States, non-governmental organizations and companies from all over the world.
EDWIN CAICEDO | @CaicedoUcros
ENVIRONMENT EDITOR | @ElTiempoVerde
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