Public Hearing Held as Part of Cuban Parliamentary Oversight

HAVANA, Cuba, Jun 17 (ACN) A public hearing took place this Tuesday at the National Capitol as part of parliamentary oversight on the implementation of Law No. 129 "On Fisheries."

According to the National Assembly’s website, the meeting was attended by Havana-based lawmakers and chaired by José Luis Toledo Santander and Ramón Aguilar Betancourt, presidents of the National Assembly’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee and Agro-Food Committee, respectively.

During the event, Midalys Naranjo Blanco, Deputy Minister of the Food Industry (MINAL), elaborated on the legal framework of the law, which seeks to regulate and manage fisheries to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of hydrobiological resources in Cuba’s maritime, river, and lake waters, contributing to the nation’s food sovereignty.

She outlined MINAL’s efforts to enforce the law, including training seminars in major fishing communities, addressing concerns about the regulations, and promoting local self-sufficiency initiatives.

Between July and August 2024, 80 meetings were held in 15 provinces and the Isle of Youth, involving 6,008 fishermen and covering 226 fishing bases out of 230 nationwide, Naranjo Blanco reported.

Lawmakers emphasized the need for ongoing monitoring of the law’s implementation, given its crucial role in ensuring food sovereignty, particularly at the local level, to meet population needs and foster development.

Also in attendance were other parliamentary commission leaders, MINAL officials, representatives from the Fishing Industry Enterprise Group, the National Office of State Inspection (ONIE), the Fisheries Research Center, the Ministry of Justice, and other entities involved in enforcing the law.