The National Council of the Fisheries Sector of Panama will present a criminal complaint this Wednesday against the general administrator of the Aquatic Resources Authority of Panama (Arap), Flor Torrijos, for illegally granting fishing licenses to foreign vessels.
Marvin Correa, a member of said Council, mentioned that in accordance with Executive Decree No. 126 of September 12, 2017, modified by Executive Decree No. 11 of January 31, 2019, “by which the fishing of longline to inland service vessels in Panamanian waters”, the issuance of fishing licenses is prohibited.
He added that Torrijos is issuing new longline fishing licenses, thus affecting both the fishing resources, as well as the owners of previously existing vessels, which they considered to be an illegal act because since 2017 this fishery has been closed. .
Correa stressed that on January 21, 2022, the group filed a criminal complaint with the Public Ministry for the crimes of abuse of authority, corruption of public servants, excess of functions and illicit association, regarding the irregular issuance of new licenses. national fishing.
“The week after this complaint was filed, Mrs. Flor Torrijos carried out a series of actions against our directors in retaliation for having denounced their actions, among which we can mention: refusing and delaying boat procedures using the name of the Anticorruption Prosecutor, Xenia Lezcano; the non-issuance of certifications of documents in process already paid; and the use of her manifest friendship within the Panama Maritime Authority to hold ships for fabricated re-inspections.
For his part, Alejandro Vásquez, president of the National Council of the Fishing Sector of Panama, denounced that there are irregularities and licenses that have been issued.
“We have requested meetings with Flor Torrijos to explain how the licenses and files are going, and it has been impossible; she is always looking for an excuse not to meet with us, however, she is meeting with another small group of fishermen who are not directly affected. We are directly affected because we are protecting our tuna resource, that is what we fish”, she said.
According to this guild, the administrator of the Arap is carrying out an “invoice pass” against the organization as retaliation for the complaint filed.
