Blanca Clarisa Pacheco has spent more than 40 years in artisanal fishing in Río Gallegos, a trade inherited from her mother and now followed by her children and grandchildren. She sells her fish directly on the coast and denounces blocked permits and access as the main obstacles.
Blanca Clarisa Pacheco barely hears the question and sends back another, much shorter one: «Can women fish?». «And why not?», she answers. Then comes an explanation of everything a fisherwoman can do: row, pull the nets, haul in the catch, clean the fish and sell it. That initial answer already puts in its place one of the prejudices that this artisanal fisher from Río Gallegos helps to dismantle.
The other is imagining that on those southern coasts fishing is only a matter for large vessels. Blanca tells a story of small boats, family work and neighbors who come down to the beach to buy fresh fish. An activity she has known since she was a girl and has practiced for more than four decades. «It's a source of pride and the truth is I have it in my blood. I love what I do because I like it», she says.
Blanca describes herself as the fourth generation of a family dedicated to artisanal fishing and seaweed harvesting. Her mother also fished. She is the eldest of four siblings — three women and one man — and has kept the trade going, which she now shares with her husband and children. She also has two grandchildren who are beginning to take an interest in that life. One of her three children bought a boat to go out and work. «It's a source of pride because I know that at some point someone will carry on the legacy and will be a fifth, sixth generation of artisanal fishing», says Blanca, who took part in the Congress of Rural Women in Mar del Plata.
The working day is organized around the tide. There is no fixed time to head out and no routine that can be imposed on the water. Sometimes they have to start early; other times they wait. Her account includes days with eight or ten hours of work in the water and outings that begin at six or seven in the morning and end at night.
To explain how she fishes, Blanca describes a team of four people, a rowing boat and a 120-meter net. They make the cast, gather the catch and try again as long as conditions allow. Then there is still cleaning and selling to do. On some days they have brought in between 300 and 500 kilos of fish, although she notes that fishing has not been very good lately. Among the catches she names the róbalo as the dominant species.
Part of the sale happens right there on the coast. The customers are neighbors who have gone out for a walk, to drink mate or to spend some time by the water and find the chance to take home fish straight out of the sea. That closeness allows them to work without depending on a middleman. «We set our own value», Blanca sums up. For her, direct sales bring two advantages: deciding how much to charge for her work and offering fresh fish at a price that is affordable for the population.
Behind that simple scene there is also paperwork. She lists the fishing license, the food handling certificate, the health card and the permits related to transport and street vending. These, she explains, are the requirements they must meet to carry out the activity with their papers in order.
There are obstacles that cannot be solved by carrying a full folder of documents. One of the main ones is reaching certain stretches of the coast. Blanca criticizes in no uncertain terms the estancia owners who make it difficult to use the access routes fishers need and which, she says, they find closed. Sometimes the fisheries authority steps in to arrange entry; other times they end up crowded into the same places. «We have been fighting this battle for years», she says. The difficulty becomes especially important when they want to take advantage of the seasonal appearance of certain species, such as king crab and palometa: knowing where they are is of little use if they cannot reach the place to work.
The sea, moreover, has its own restrictions. Before heading out, she says, you have to do so with respect, ask permission and think about coming back. «Many times you go out and you don't know if you'll return». So on those days they look for another activity: they gather shellfish or seaweed, including luche, which is used to make a traditional soup.
The need to diversify work becomes more marked during the winter. According to her, they have about six months of strong fishing and another period in which the weather and lower fish availability greatly reduce activity. Blanca uses that time to work the land. On the outskirts of Río Gallegos she has a vegetable garden and a greenhouse, grows potatoes and gathers wild aromatic plants. She also chairs an association of producers and shares that space with small farmers who supply food to the local population. Her description includes leafy vegetables, peas, eggs, jams and pickles. «You can produce, and when you want to, you can», she says.
Her greatest satisfaction has a concrete image: returning to the coast and finding the neighbors waiting for the fish she brings. After so many years, there is still something about that scene that excites her. «I keep going because I love what I do and I like to teach so that young people learn the trade», she says in farewell.
