Villa Pesquera is a sea-front fishing village in barrio

Playa Playa (plural playas) may refer to: Landforms * Endorheic basin, also known as a sink, alkali flat or sabkha, a desert basin with no outlet which periodically fills with water to form a temporary lake * Dry lake, often called a ''playa'' in the so ...

, in the municipality of

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

. The site is one of the tourist attractions in the municipality of Ponce.

Location

Formerly an ad hoc group of fishermen, Villa Pesquera was re-organized and inaugurated in 1992 under the administration of Ponce Mayor

Rafael Cordero Santiago Rafael Cordero Santiago (24 October 1942 – 17 January 2004), better known as "Churumba", was the Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 1989 to 2004. Many considered him as a synonym of Ponce, being baptized as "El León Mayor ...

. The village is located on the southern Puerto Rico's

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

shores, on Avenida Padre Noel in

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...

Playa in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The village includes a restaurant by the same name - Restaurante Villa Pesquera.

Management

The cooperative-style village is staffed by "veteran fishermen" and presided by Miguel Ortiz Maldonado. The village experiences double its activity during the weeks in February and March associated with the religious festivities of

lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

. Their cooperative is named "Asociación de Pescadores de la Playa de Ponce (APPP)."

Activity

In 2013, there were 54 active fishermen at the village. The most sought after fish is the ''Sierra''. The village is frequented by both private individuals as well as businesses seeking to fill their restaurant-related needs. Some fishermen will only fish ''Sierra'' due to its high demand. This is followed by ''chillo'', ''carrucho'', and

lobster Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs ...

Today

The Villa Pesquera facilities are owned by the Municipality of Ponce, but operated by the fishermen themselves. The 2013 speaker of the group is José Montero Rosado. In July 2013 it was made public that the Ponce Municipal Government was interested in passing control of the village to a private commercial operator.

Dredging and boardwalk

The Villa Pesquera waters have been a victim of problems associated with too much

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...

. To control the problem a dredging project was started in 2013. The city spent some $185,000 in the project but, by mid-2013, still much more work was needed to complete the project. The sediment problem has been acknowledged by the Villa Pesquera

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in charge of the Maritime Unit of the village security force, José Santiago Santiago, who is also in charge of the tree vessels patrolling the area. The security force is unable to use the Villa Pesquera dock because of the sediment problem. As a result, security vessels dock and undock in the Puerto Viejo sector of barrio Playa. The village also has a

boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of bridge ...

as part of its docking facilities. The Villa Pesquera boardwalk was reconstructed in 2013 at a cost of over $60,000.

Controversy

In July 2013, the APPP accused the Ponce Municipal Government, headed by Mayor

María Meléndez Altieri Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

of the

New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico The New Progressive Party ( es, Partido Nuevo Progresista, PNP) is a political party in Puerto Rico that advocates statehood. The PNP is one of the two major parties in Puerto Rico with significant political strength and currently holds both ...

, of attempting to negotiate a new operations contract with a different operator on political grounds. The APPP identified the principals of the proposed new operational cooperative as members of the same political New Progressive Party as the municipal government's administration. Meanwhile, the municipal government did not provide an official reply to the fishermen's demands for information.''Suena operador para Villa Pesquera Ponce.''
Jason Rodríguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 31. Issue 1548. Page 10. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.

References

External links

''1910s postcard depiction of Villa Pesquera.''
(ACB Set 3 # 12014 - PONCE - Rio Portugues Playa, Ponce, Porto Rico. - Divided back unused c. 1910s.)
Photo of the marina
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villa Pesquera Buildings and structures in Ponce, Puerto Rico Tourist attractions in Ponce, Puerto Rico Marinas in the United States Ports and harbors of Puerto Rico 1992 establishments in Puerto Rico Fishing communities Organizations based in Ponce, Puerto Rico 1941 establishments in Puerto Rico