Cuban People Go Hungry While Their Elites Enjoy Fishing

Fidel Castro was a reputed he-man, who enjoyed pastimes such as fishing and underwater sports, which he prohibited to his countrymen, even when they went hungry.

For decades, Cubans have been prohibited, either de facto or administratively, from freely fishing and trading their catch. They cannot fish without a state licence. They cannot freely sell what they catch. They cannot transport fish without authorisation.

• They cannot process or preserve it for private sale.
• They cannot export or freely associate to do so.
• For decades, even fishing for personal consumption was prosecuted if it was considered "excessive" or "diversion".
• Licences are very limited, revocable, and discretionary.
• Fishing areas are restricted.
• Tunes for fishing are extremely regulated.
• The size of catches are capped.
• There are no independent buyers. The state is the sole buyer.
• Fuel is rationed and conditioned.
• Refrigeration is under state control.
• Prices are set by the government, not the market.
• Fishermen work like slaves, but they have no say.
• Everything is subject to permits, inspectors and changing regulations.
• Mandatory stockpiling at ridiculous prices is imposed.
• Goods are confiscated for alleged "irregularities".
• Licences are cancelled without due process.
• Equipment is confiscated and cumulative fines are imposed. 

The system does not seek to regulate fishing, but to subordinate it to the state, according to the Fisheries Law (No. 129, 2019, published in 2020). This law regulates all fishing activity in Cuban waters and establishes both what is required to fish legally and what constitutes a punishable violation. Fishermen have been fined and their catch confiscated when they lack a licence. Fines of up to 5,000 pesos can be imposed (approximately $200: an exorbitant amount), in addition to a total ban on fishing with a licence for several years for fishing without authorisation. Without a license, even the possession of the fish is illegal. According to the law, a fisherman could be found to have "received" the fish even if the it even if he had caught it himself.

The result: confiscation, fines, imprisonment, depending on the 'dangerousness' and the discretion of the investigating officer.

Fish became as sacred as meat. Cubans forgot what good fish was. And don't even mention shellfish, which for most Cubans seems like something from another planet.