House commission presses Agriculture on ownership, condition and funding for Arroyo fishing village

The House of Representatives' Southern Commission held a public hearing on the long‑running dispute over the Casa del Pescador (the new "villa pesquera") in Arroyo and pressed Department of Agriculture officials for documents and a path to resolve ownership, repairs and use.

The commission convened the hearing under Resolution 103 to examine why the new fishing‑village building built around 2014 remains closed and why fishermen have not been able to use the ramp, pier and facilities the municipality and other agencies paid to build. Licenciado Edison Negrón Ocasio appeared representing the Department of Agriculture; Ricardo Rivera Amíl, who identified himself as an "ayudante especial del secretario de agricultura" and the department official handling fisheries matters, also testified.

The department told the commission the dispute traces to a 2013–2014 permuta (land‑swap) between the Municipality of Arroyo and the Department of Agriculture after the dissolution of the old CODREMAR corporation, and to subsequent construction and legal claims. Edison Negrón summarized the administrative and judicial history, including a 2016 civil proceeding (case cited in testimony as GPE‑2016‑0066) in which the Association of Pescadores Coral Marín Inc. and the municipality brought competing claims over possession and use.

Ricardo Rivera said the new facility was completed around 2014 and that the department did not contribute cash for construction but transferred the…