President Dilma Rousseff has vetoed a draft bill that would give crab fishermen unemployment benefits during the period between crab harvests (“defeso”). The bill was authored by deputy Elcione Barbalho (PMDB-PA) and approved by the Social Affairs Committee of the Senate.
The Ministry of Fishing (“Ministério da Pesca e Aqüicultura”) recommended the veto. In an explanatory note, the veto was justified because of legal problems it could cause with other categories of fishermen.
Payments (“seguro defeso”) of a minimum wage are made monthly to some 500,000 eligible fishermen (“artesanal, individual ou em regime familiar”) during the time of year when fishing is prohibited in order to ensure that fish reproduce.