Naval Shipyard Federico Contessi y Cía. On Saturday, January 27, SA held the baptism and launching ceremony of its vessel number 147, commissioned by the shipowner Pesquera Del Sud SRL. This 20.98 m long fishing vessel, baptized “NEVER STOP PACHACA”, will have a port of entry in the city of Rawson and replaces the B/P “Pachaca” built by this same shipyard in 2006.
Following the launching, the inauguration of an important industrial warehouse took place that doubles the installed capacity of the Shipyard and will allow in the future to build ships of up to 85 meters in length.
Both ceremonies were marked by the dramatic moment that the Argentine Fishing Industry is experiencing, since next Tuesday the continuity of more than 46,000 direct jobs, the health of the resource and the existence of the sector will begin to be defined in the Chamber of Deputies. we know him. We are referring to the treatment, within the Omnibus Law, of the modification to the Federal Fisheries Law, a section that has received the unanimous rejection of businessmen, workers, governors, mayors of coastal cities, scientists and national and international experts.
In the most notable sections of the speech read by Domingo Contessi on behalf of the Shipyard Board of Directors, he mentioned: “We never imagined that the ideas of Freedom would come with the threat of a virtual expropriation of the fishing sector, the violation of legal security and the consequent destruction of the fishing ground.”
“Concentration, unemployment, marginality, a drop in revenue, legal uncertainty, litigation, primarization of exports, social conflicts and irremediable overfishing will be the consequences of modifying this law, which means repeating the corrupt mistake of the 90s that led to the fishing ground. to overfishing that took us more than 20 years to recover,” he said.
He also advocated the theory of ignorance, questioning in his speech each of the pillars of the official argument, such as that the fishing sector contributes little, that it is below its optimal point and that the Argentine sea already operates freely. foreign fleets.
“The tax burden of the sector is enormous, approximately 35% of what is exported. Despite this, fishing exports could increase, but not by increasing catches, because all species are at their maximum performance, but by exporting more processed products. However, the proposed bill eliminates all incentives for adding value, since it is only interested in the best economic offer for fishing quotas.”
He also clarified: “There are specific subsectors that are profitable today, but the capture and processing of hake, frozen shrimp on board, the varied coastal and many other items that generate employment on land have been working at a loss for a long time and with the intended increase. of export rights will be unviable despite the devaluation, which will cause exports and employment to fall.” In one of the most forceful sections, Contessi mentioned: “Without exaggeration, we are on the eve of the darkest page of Argentine Fisheries. 46,000 direct jobs, our companies, our dreams are at stake.”
There was also an entrustment to the legislators who have the fate of the sector in their hands: “Today the future of our industries is in the hands of the legislators of all political parties. The responsibility of saving or condemning thousands of Argentines who depend on this value chain will fall on them. We trust that they will NOT let us down and that despite the pressure they will defend the convictions they have already expressed. We want to thank them, the governor of Chubut and the Mayor of Mar del Plata for supporting this crusade so that the title that modifies the Fisheries Law is completely eliminated.” While the final words were the most emotional when he mentioned: “We are hurt, outraged and very discouraged. Personally this has been one of the worst months of my life. Since we started the new industrial warehouse, he dreamed that this moment would be a work party. All those illusions, all those dreams of production are devastated. The Snidersich family does not deserve that we have overshadowed their celebration either. There is no right! Businessmen and workers in the fishing and naval industry are not the caste and we still do not understand why they put us in this ring. I am sure that if Federico were among us he would be giving us the strength and temperance to continue fighting and not give up. “How much we miss him right now!”
The brand new ship received its baptism by Priest Armando Ledesma and the godmothers of the ship, María Soledad and Nadia Snidersich, were in charge of smashing the bottle of champagne against the hull of the ship the moment before it touched the waters for the first time. from sea. The comprehensive broadcast carried out live through the shipyard’s social networks allowed this ceremony to be broadcast in real time.
Source: Ambito
