CeDePesca: Teaching Latin American Fisheries to Protect Ocean Resources — and Their Livelihood

An interview with Ernesto Godelman, Founder and Director, CeDePesca 

What is CeDePesca’s purpose?

Center for Development and Sustainable Fisheries CeDePesca) is a nonprofit organization that works with fishermen and fishing companies in Latin America and the Caribbean to achieve sustainable fisheries.

What kind of work were you doing before you founded CeDePesca?

I was working in the fishing port Mar del Plata in Argentina as an electrical engineer. When the country entered crisis, I lost everything (twice). I was a taxi driver, a cheese seller, a second hand book seller, a home electrician, and in construction. As fisheries are a crucial economic activity in Mar del Plata, much of my work was directly or indirectly related to the economic health of the fishing industry.

What inspired you to start this organization?

After becoming unemployed for the third time, I decided I needed a different kind of work. Fishing is the biggest industry in Mar del Plata, so I went back to school to study fisheries management. In the middle of another economic crisis in 1997, when 60 European distant water trawlers came to compete with the local fleets, CeDePesca was born, with the first and main goal of dismantling the agreement between Argentina and the EU that allowed such a fleet to destroy our local fishermen. This goal was pretty much achieved by 2000 and the EU fleet operating in Argentine waters was finally reduced by 80%. After that, CeDePesca enhanced its goals and scope, getting involved in several projects supporting small scale fisheries and, building networks in Latin America and finally, for the last 5 years, driving Fisheries Improvement Projects (FIPs) in countries like Chile, Panama, Peru and Brazil, besides of course Argentina.

What are you most proud of accomplishing with CeDePesca so far?

In Chile we have been working with an industry organization for four years. When we started, they told us that the fishery they ran was perfectly managed, and there was nothing important to improve, just details. After an MSC’s assessment, and through the process of working together, they discovered some important weaknesses. After a recent meeting, the manager told me how much they learned about how they could improve their fishery— he said “At the end of the day, we realized that not everything was okay but we still want to do the right thing, so we want to keep working with you.”

Another example is a company in Panama that thought CeDePesca was a kind of radical environmental group trying to put them out of business. I went to talk with them about collaboration four years ago, and two years ago they lost an important market because of the weaknesses of the fishery. They then realized that I was just warning them about what was going to happen if they continued on their path. Now we are “family” and they appreciate our efforts to help them get a management system in place.

Why did you decide to partner with a fiscal sponsor at this point?

Since CeDePesca has been partnering with Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), five years ago, we got a very important impulse to consolidate our profile as an efficient and skilled partner to Latin American fisheries who are willing to become sustainable. On the way, CeDePesca gained worldwide visibility. For example, we got an important recognition from the Seafood Champions Awards, granted by SeaWeb; we are important players at the World Ocean Network, at the new Global Partnership for Oceans encouraged by the World

Bank and we signed an agreement with the United Nations Environmental Program. We think the moment has come to get more direct support from US players at the supply chain and other donors in order to get effective FIPs by their suppliers in Latin America.

What do you love about your job?

When I was young, I was an active idealist. I wanted a fairer world without so much injustice. I wanted a more equitable world. I discovered that, though I like politics, I really don’t want to be a politician. With this job I can positively influence the politics in this particular field, so important for the balance of life on earth. I enjoy getting people from fishing communities and from the industry to work with us. Maybe we´ll have different perspectives, but it is pleasant to see how we can coordinate our efforts toward a single common purpose: sustainable fisheries.