On a somewhat cold morning, with a sea that reflects the overcast sky which covers the coastal area, Sergio Veas moves tirelessly from one place to another, trying to reconcile the various tasks that he must perform daily as president of the Zapallar Artisanal Fishers Union.

In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, we sat for a moment on a bench to talk about the motivations behind the establishment of the TURF-reserve at the Isla Seca area, and also to answer some of the concerns that the local community and some visitors shared with us as part of the socialization and community involvement process carried out within the framework of the implementation of this non-extractive marine zone.

Walking through his memories, Sergio Veas tells us that the first approach he had with this model of conservation and restoration was due to the work that was being carried out in the neighboring Maitencillo TURF-Reserve, and where the changes have been noticeable over time as he himself has been able to witness.

But “Carlitos” also played a key role, one of the youngest members of the Zapallar Artisanal Fishers Union, he urged the rest of his colleagues to voluntarily establish a TURF-Reserve within the Territorial User Rights for Fisheries (TURF or AMERB, as abbreviated in Spanish).

“The TURF-Reserve is important for conservation and for children to see marine life. Today we are realizing that there are fewer species, such as the Darwin’s sheephead (in Chile known as Pejeperro), which is almost nonexistent and used to be abundant in this TURF-Reserve. There are a lot of species that have been lost because we have not taken care of them and because there is indiscriminate spearfishing”, explains Sergio Veas, concerned about a new Supreme Court ruling that Sernapesca must allow the practice of recreational and underwater fishing in TURFs as long as the interested parties have their license.

“We have to try to convince them in an amicable way to stay out of the water. Tell those who are going to dive that this is a place destined for conservation, so that they try to help us and become part of this. The idea is to leave this area for conservation for new generations. It is the legacy that we are going to leave them and they have to look after it”, adds the president of the Zapallar Artisanal Fishers Union.

How can the community become part of this TURF-Reserve?

There is a free municipal workshop on Saturdays. They provide you with a suit and take you diving. It is conducted by the Zapallar Sports Corporation’s Diving School and is open to the community, you can sign up and it is not necessary to know how to dive. The idea is that people start to value this. Children participate, because it is focused on them, who are the main actors of this story.

It is important that the community values ​​and takes ownership of the TURF-Reserve given that, in general, very little marine life remains outside the TURFs.

There is nothing, in fact on the north side they have depredated the kelp forests. But here I am not going to carry out studies to remove the kelps, we are going to continue conserving them. Maitencillo does not have any either. Why do they want to dive here? Because we have never caught the fish, and we have been heavy-handed in taking care of them. And we are going to continue on this path trying to recover this space and I hope that divers apply conscience and do not go in there. It was hard for me to make the members believe in this TURF-Reserve. That was a good place to harvest products like Chilean abalones, limpets and red sea urchins, but I convinced them on the idea, that we had to leave something so that the community would look at us in a different way, so that a real change could occur. Change begins there, because first you give things, and then come the rewards for the work you did.

These days, Sergio Veas is preparing the official inauguration of the Zapallar TURF-Reserve, which is initially scheduled for Saturday, December 4, 2021. He enthusiastically encourages me to follow him to the pier to share some details he has in mind for the event, an instance in which the Diving School of the Zapallar Sports Corporation will play an important role, since Sergio’s idea is to leave by boat towards the TURF-Reserve so that people can get to know it up closely, and even dive. Once back, a presentation of the work that has been undertaken is expected to be presented with videos and images that illustrate the biodiversity of the area. All this will be accompanied with a catered reception.

What do you expect to achieve with this official inauguration of the Zapallar TURF-Reserve?

We want to make known the work we have been doing, and not only us, but also the municipality and Capital Azul, which has been very important for us as a cove, and for me as president, given that for the first time I was able to have a moment in the union to open our hearts and talk about other matters. That is what we achieved with Capital Azul:  bringing the cove closer together, and that was good for our way of thinking, for the change we seek.