Ecuador authorizes ASISERVY for industrial tuna fishing with a Venezuelan vessel

The Undersecretary of Fisheries Resources, Hugo Alfonso Vera Serrano, authorized the company ASISERVY S.A. to carry out industrial fishing activities in the tuna extraction phase using purse seine nets, through the operation of the vessel VIA AVENIR, flying the Venezuelan flag, for a term of five years and classified in the “Large scale” industrial category. The decision is contained in Ministerial Agreement MDEP-SRP-2026-0012-A, signed in Manta on September 29, 2026, and published in Official Registry No. 393 on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, which also extinguishes the permit issued last August.

The agreement is based on the delegation established by Ministerial Agreement 110 of September 24, 2025, which empowered the Undersecretariat of Fisheries Resources to issue fishing authorization acts, and on the Organic Law for the Development of Aquaculture and Fisheries (LODAP), whose Article 95 requires an enabling title prior to the payment of the corresponding fee. The General Regulation of that law, in its Article 156, establishes that the authorization for the industrial fleet is granted via ministerial agreement and enables the internal and external commercialization of the catch.

The institutional framework changed this year: Executive Decree 425, published in the Official Registry on June 24, 2026, merged by absorption the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries into the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which was renamed the Ministry of Economic and Productive Development. Ministerial Agreement MDEP-MDEP-2026-0018-A, dated August 1, 2026, declared the Vice-Ministry of Aquaculture and Fisheries as a Decentralized Operating Entity.

A permit that replaces the August agreement

The authorization replaces Ministerial Agreement MDEP-SRP-2026-0003-A, dated August 13, 2026, which had already enabled ASISERVY S.A. under the same terms. According to the file, the company requested the rectification of that act through procedure MDEP-DA-2026-0352-E, dated August 18, 2026, to nullify its general provisions; the Directorate of Institutional Advisory for Aquaculture and Fisheries, in memorandum MDEP-DAINAP-2026-0133-M dated September 14, 2026, concluded that it was appropriate to extinguish it and issue a new agreement.

The original procedure had begun with entry documents MAGP-CGAF-DGDA-2026-16097-E, dated June 4, 2026, and its extension MAGP-CGAF-DGDA-2026-16433-E, dated June 5, 2026. The Directorate of Industrial Fisheries issued technical report MAGP-DPSCI-2026-0522-M (July 29, 2026) and the Directorate of Institutional Advisory for Aquaculture and Fisheries issued legal report MAGP-DAJ-2026-1388-M (July 31, 2026), both of which were favorable.

Partnership contract with Venezuelan capital

The operation is supported by an association contract between the Ecuadorian firm and the vessel owner. The background is as follows:

• Official Letter MAGP-SRP-APCC-2026-4-O, dated March 23, 2026: favorable report (consent) prior to the contract, valid for 12 months.
• Ministerial Agreement MAGP-SRP-ACC-2026-5-A, dated April 24, 2026: authorizes the execution of the five-year association contract between ASISERVY S.A. and BLUE GROUP CORP. C.A., the owner of the vessel.
• Navigation Patent INEA/GESEM/2025/01-0028, issued by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on September 25, 2025, valid until July 5, 2030.
• Fishing Permit FCA/0001-2026, dated June 1, 2026, valid until May 31, 2027.
• Shipowner’s Registration in favor of ASISERVY S.A., issued on May 21, 2026, and valid until March 31, 2027.
• Payment of the authorization fee of 300 dollars, with invoice 169-001-000074830 dated June 3, 2026.

The company, with Unique Taxpayer Registry 0991313788001, has Juan Francisco Nuñez Herrera as its legal representative. The vessel inspection was carried out by public servant Wilson Antonio Miraba Coveña, according to memorandum MAGP-DCP-2026-8160-M dated June 25, 2026.

Technical specifications and conditions

The agreement details the characteristics of the authorized vessel:

• Registration APNN-PE-2513, IMO number 8812186, call sign YYPP.
• Total length of 78.33 meters, convention length of 68.89 meters, beam of 13.68 meters, and depth of 8.06 meters.
• Tonnage: NRT 644.82 and GRT 1,737; hold volume of 1,383 cubic meters.
• CATERPILLAR main engine of 4,624.66 HP; naval steel hull, built in the United States in 1990, with a mechanical preservation system.

Article 3 imposes ten conditions, including maintaining the validity of the bareboat charter contract between BLUE GROUP CORP. C.A., as lessee, and the Panamanian PROODOS INTERNATIONAL S.A., as lessor; signing the Cooperation and Technical Assistance Agreement (CONCATEC) with the Public Institute for Aquaculture and Fisheries Research; operating the satellite monitoring device; being listed in the Regional Vessel Register of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC); respecting closed seasons and not engaging in illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing. Non-compliance may lead to temporary or permanent suspension, in accordance with Article 215 of the LODAP. The company has three days to request clarification or rectification, according to Article 133 of the Organic Administrative Code.

Impact for the tuna sector

The publication formalizes, for five years, the access of a foreign-flagged vessel to the industrial capture of tuna using purse seine nets in Ecuadorian waters, in a segment where the national fleet and exporting processing plants compete. The text conditions operational validity upon the fishing permit, registration with the IATTC, and satellite monitoring; therefore, the permit enables the activity but does not replace it: each link remains subject to verification by the Undersecretariat of Fisheries Resources.

Source: Official Registry, No. 393 of October 20, 2026, Section I, p. 8 (official reference: Ministerial Agreement MDEP-SRP-2026-0012-A).