Yellow boat fishermen already decry in these pages that they have to regularly unload in sea lion poop, but no one seems to care. The Port Alliance has a duty to keep the place clean, but it denies what is happening, even with the current outbreak of bird flu affecting mammals.
Senasa is the agency designated to implement control and preventive measures for the bird flu outbreak detected in Argentina some 200 days ago. They are even allowed to pay what is needed to keep people healthy. After the sea lion deaths in Puerto Mar del Plata were confirmed, the discussion table was activated, ordering the closure of the South Breakwater and issuing a series of recommendations.
Coastal ships and yellow ships dock at Pier 10 close to the colony, so these animals can often be seen wandering around the unloading area, and occasionally, they usually stop in the area where the yellow ships are used to unload. long time. Even the fishermen had to fight lest they get on the boat while they were boxing.
In these pages, we published a note titled “Look at how the fishermen let down the fish”, in which the captain recounted having to work in poor sanitary conditions due to sea lions and their droppings. Because of the importance of staying away from virus-affected areas, we consulted with Senasa’s Southern Regional Director to find out what measures are in place.
“We discussed with the people from the consortium over the weekend to implement a series of care: as long as there are wolves, no unloading can be approved, they must first be removed, and all disinfection of the site, roads and vehicles.” Shoulder must be chlorinated water carried. That’s enough, it’s one of the disinfection methods authorized and approved for use in influenza cases”, the director Manuel Baldovino answers us.
However, Senasa said those measures were not being followed. When Gabriel Felicia, director of the Mar del Plata Port Union, was consulted about the protocol being followed, he gave two answers, some that appeared to be true, and others that were based on opinions against him. The situation has been adjusted.
PUERTO MAGAZINE: What measures have been taken by the small shoulders to guarantee emissions?
GABRIEL FELICIA: The measures taken are the usual ones at the port of Mar del Plata, there are no special unloading measures. The animals are not close to the unloading site, and if they were there, they would be removed… That’s what the Argentinian Animal Foundation is in charge of, making sure they don’t leave where they usually are and don’t wander around.
RP: Who is responsible for sanitizing the place?
GF: The league is responsible for cleaning, but not sanitizing. The usual washing is done twice a week. We follow the protocols established by Senasa.
The conflict started when we informed Felicia that we had spoken to the director of Senasa and that we knew what was being recommended: “Now we’re doing it a lot more because of this issue,” she said, about the disinfection and about what was being proposed at Sea Lion. During the removal process, he assured that “someone is working around the clock to get them out so they don’t show up.”
Felicia’s response was contradictory, but some fishermen themselves stated that Senasa’s suggestion was not met: “The sea lions are on the unloading side, which is full of excrement. We went to the other side to repair the fishing net, and it turned out to be cleaner. We ran from the pier. Three or four wolves, more than a dozen wolves on the unloading side, a lot, as always. Since we don’t have much fish, we put empty boxes on the boat and lift it from there, but you can’t walk to where the sea lions are place,” said the captain of a ship that unloaded cargo on the shoulder of the trail yesterday.
This situation has become even more important due to the outbreak of avian influenza and its possible consequences for humans in direct contact with virus-infected animals, but apart from this specific and extreme situation, the sanitary and sanitation conditions at Pier 10 , especially on a certain part of the small shoulders is horrible and unacceptable.
The fisherman briefly described a long-standing public health problem that the directors of the consortium apparently failed to grasp in its entirety: “The problem is that there is a place under the stairs where wolves congregate and defecate, and that has dried up.” , it flies , it’s in the air, we all breathe it. It’s not good for everyone out there, not just the fishermen, but all of us who work there. They shouldn’t allow wolves to use the little shoulders as wolf islands, essentially they’re on breakwaters, on rocks that are constantly being washed by the waves. “
When we told Felicia that this was a problem that fishermen had already condemned a few days ago, she responded with a question: “You say we kill wolves?” Of course, no one can think of anything like that, but a minimum guarantee The sanitation of the place, which was a guarantee for fishermen decades ago
“Thirty years ago there was a night watchman with four dogs, he kept his shoulders clean, no sea lions were seen on his shoulders, now I don’t know what’s going on, they don’t do things right, that’s how shoulders are, you can’t step on them to the wolf’s shit”, synthesized the pattern of the little yellow boat.
boarding agreement
Members of the Captains’ Association met with Senasa authorities yesterday to express their concerns and questions about what should be done in the event that there may be sick animals on board.
In response, Director Senasa said, “Having explained to them all the dos and don’ts to follow, the idea was to make a booklet or a note so they could distribute it among the crew.” Hygiene considerations, such as sanitizing clothes, preventing wolves or birds from being in the net, and personal hygiene.
The agency reported that it will issue a note today with all necessary explanations to reassure workers in the industry.