Source: Fish and Information Services

The Ministry of Production (Produce) granted company Servicios Atuneros del Norte S.A. a three-month tuna fishing permit to operate a Panamanian-flagged purse seiner in Peruvian territorial waters.

The tuna fishing vessel will be restricted to Peruvian territorial waters located outside the 10-mile strip off the coast.

The fishing license will expire automatically once the three-month period ends, or as a result of non-payment for fishing rights or the fulfillment of the catch quota fixed by Produce for the season.

The permit can be renewed automatically for a similar period, so long as the validity requirements for acquiring the fishing license in the first place are maintained.

The launch of fishing operations is dependent on the Panamanian vessel carrying an Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC)-accredited observer on board and installing an in-ship Satellite Monitoring System (SISESAT).

A third of the crewmembers hired by the Panamanian vessel’s shipowner must also be made up of Peruvian nationals.

Once the fishing permit has expired, Atuneros del Norte – through its legal representative in the country – must submit a sworn affidavit to the Directorate General of Fisheries and Processing detailing the catches made, by species and volume in tons, for Produce statistical purposes.

Non-compliance of the obligations entailed may cause the fishing permit to expire or incur the application of corresponding sanctions.

The Ministry of Defence’s General Directorate of Captaincy and Coastguards will impede the vessel from abandoning Peruvian jurisdictional waters should some obligation to Produce remain pending once the validity of its fishing permit expires.