Government promotes renewal of fishing vessel fleet

"The Government announced a measure to promote the renewal of the fishing fleet," the Presidency said in a statement.

Vessels with a valid fishing permit must be less than 40 years old, but may be up to 60 years old if they can prove that at least 60% of the vessel has been rebuilt in national shipyards..

Vessels can circumvent this requirement if they are engaged in squid fishing.

The Executive Branch is promoting incentives so that rebuilt vessels can increase the permitted fishing volume.

"Thus, vessels up to 27 metres in length will be able to receive up to an additional 10% of surplus species, with the exception of shrimp, in their catch permits," the government said.

With these measures, the Government hopes to improve the value chain of the sector and, at the same time, stimulate job creation in the national naval industry.

This was decided on Monday at a meeting between the president and other officials.

In January, the Bank of Investment and Foreign Trade (BICE) opened the possibility of financing the purchase of fishing vessels built in national shipyards through a fund of 500 million pesos (12,5 million dollars).

Last November, the Central Bank relaxed the regulations on ship mortgages so that 40% of the value of the fishing boat could be used as collateral if it is finished, or 50% of the value if it is under construction.

The fishing sector generates around 22.000 jobs, according to the government.

In 2018, fish exports amounted to 2.000 billion dollars, 7% more than the previous year, and 60% of sales were shrimp.

The naval industry and fishing represent 0,7% of Argentina's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

In total, there are 383 registered shipowners, 553 vessels with valid fishing permits and 135 industrial plants on land.