South American Delegates at Slow Fish 2013

Seven delegates from South America will be joining the Slow Fish 2013 event in Genoa, Italy, highlighting the significant issues facing their local fishing industries as well as local campaigns and projects for sustainable fishing practices. Organized by Slow Food together with the Liguria Regional Authority, this sixth edition of Slow Fish is being held in Genoa, from May 9-12 at the city’s Porto Antico. Dedicated to the world of fish and marine ecosystems, it will bring together fishers, chefs, activists and experts from many countries and offer visitors an open-air market, Water Workshops and much more.

Lidér Gòngora Farìas, coordinator of the National Environmental Assembly of Ecuador, will be participating in Slow Fish to discuss the drastic consequences of the deforestation of mangroves in his country and present the project “The National Coordination for the Defense of Mangroves.” He will speak at the Water Workshop*, “Towards Collective Management of Common Resources” on Saturday May 11 at 12 pm, where he will shed light on how sustainably community managed mangroves can offer a real alternative for local communities and help stop the destruction of these rich and delicate ecosystems by industrial shrimp farms. 

Farìas will be joined in the workshop by experts from around the world, including two delegates from Colombia. José Diaz, the national director of the Marviva Foundation, will speak about the work being done by the Foundation to collect data on industrial and artisan fishing in the Colombian Pacific. Gerardo Ortiz will present a project he coordinates to bring fishermen together to present unified proposals for sustainable fishing practices to Colombian institutions. Also attending Slow Fish from Colombia is Manlio Larotonda, whose work with the non-profit organization ACUA provides financial support to the communities involved in the project managed by Ortiz.  

Patricia Majluf, a Peruvian marine biologist and former vice-minister of fisheries in Peru, will attend Slow Fish to speak about the “Eat Anchoveta” campaign she coordinates at Cayetano Heredia University, where she also directs the University’s sustainable gastronomy project. At the event, she will chair the jury of the “Small Bite, Big Taste” anchovy recipe contest. The finalists and winning recipe will be announced on the last evening of Slow Fish, Sunday 12, in the Banano Tsunami area.

Another marine biologist attending the event is Kim Ley Cooper from Mexico, the director of Colectividad Razonatura that works with local fishing cooperatives to add commercial value to lobsters. The project highlights how the sustainable fishing practices employed by the fishers help to ensure both the protection of the species and the local environment – the Sian Ka’an and Banco Chinchorro Biosphere (Quintana Roo) marine protected areas. 

Miguel Cheuqueman from Chile is representing Identidad Lafkenche at Slow Fish, an organization strongly involved in counteracting the new Chilean fishing policy. The campaign has united fishermen, students and indigenous communities. Identidad Lafkenche has represented many indigenous communities in Chile who are opposed to the new regulation as it fails to recognize the rights of indigenous peoples.   

The South American delegates to Slow Fish 2013 will participate at the daily Slow Fish network meetings held every morning during the event.

*The Water Workshops are free and will address a wide range of issues concerning fisheries and fish consumption. The full program of Water Workshops is available on the event website: http://slowfish.slowfood.it/en/water-workshops/.

Slow Fish is also an international campaign launched by Slow Food to promote good, clean and fair fish by informing consumers and encouraging interaction between those involved in the world of sustainable fisheries: www.slowfood.it/slowfish/welcome_en.lasso.