SATELLITE MONITORING OF DISTANT WATER SQUID VESSELS USING PERUVIAN PORTS: CHALLENGES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SUPREME DECREE NO. 014-2024PRODUCE

Vásquez P.R.; Gozzer-Wuest R.; Gomez-Oré I.; Eyzaguirre A.M. · Actualidad Juridica Ambiental (2025) · DOI: 10.56398/ajacieda.00426

Resumen

To intensify the fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, the Government of Peru amended the regulation governing the entry of foreign fishing vessels into Peruvian ports (Supreme Decree Nº 016-2016-PRODUCE) in 2020. It established that those operating on transboundary fisheries must be monitored using Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) equipment from the Satellite Monitoring System (SISESAT) of the Ministry of Production (PRODUCE). This regulation mainly applied to the squid distant water fleet vessels, and only a few installed the required satellite equipment. Consequently, the majority suspended their entries to Peru until, supported by a skewed normative interpretation, they resumed in May 2023 despite continuing to operate without the equipment. After 370 entries to Peru under the described conditions and in a context of social tension, Supreme Decree Nº 014-2024-PRODUCE was enacted in September 2024. This re-established the use of SISESAT equipment and additionally created the “homologation of the signal of the VMS satellite equipment of foreign vessels with that of SISESAT.” This provides an alternative option for foreign shipowners, allowing them to use their own satellite equipment instead of SISESAT. However, the legitimacy of this option is in doubt as it was established without an Ex-Ante Regulatory Impact Analysis. In the described context, this working paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the SISESAT’s satellite monitoring standard applicable to foreign squid vessels, as well as to analyze the challenges presented by the homologation. The analysis has determined that, in the short term, it is feasible to promote the regular installation of SISESAT equipment, as its implementation does not require significant adaptations by the Peruvian State; whereas ensuring the implementation of homologation following the current legal framework will require overcoming considerable technical, legal, and security challenges.