Brazil: the ban on industrial mullet fishing threatens Santa Catarina state

The Lula government lowered to zero the quota for industrial mullet fishing in Santa Catarina.

In practice, this makes the sector unviable, which generates jobs and income in the State.

For this reason, the Santa Catarina government is looking for ways to reverse the situation.

Jorginho Mello, governor of Santa Catarina, was in Brasília, on Wednesday, 14, for a hearing on the ban.

The problem caused by the measure united the State’s bench in Congress.

“The mullet is ours,” wrote the politician from Santa Catarina on Twitter.

“We went to Brasilia, in defense of Santa Catarina fishermen, to meet with the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, André de Paula, to address a federal ordinance that prohibits industrial fishing of mullet and cuts in half the artisanal.”

The interministerial ordinance cited by Jorginho is from February 28.

With the text, in addition to banning industrial fishing, the government halved the amount allowed for artisanal mullet fishermen in Santa Catarina.

“The social and economic impact for the state is immense,” said the governor.

“We cannot harm our fishermen, who depend on a good harvest to ensure the livelihood of their families,” the governor wrote on social media.

“Mullet and fishing are our heritage and we will protect them.”

With information from Revista Oeste