Area 77 (Pacific, Eastern Central)

The blue swimming crab (Callinectes bellicosus) fishery from the Puerto Peñasco – Puerto Lobos coastal corridor (Sonora, Mexico; 399 boats and 207 official fishing permits) produces on average 1.2 thousand tons/year, with metallic mesh Chesapeake traps (typically 90 traps/boat).

In its present condition and according to the Marine Stewardship Council Standard, 48 percent of the performance indicators for the fishery are “GREEN” (stock rebuilding capacity; information and monitoring for management; stock assessment; ETP species; habitat information and management; ecosystem information and outcome; legal framework; and consultation, roles and responsibilities). 36 percent of its indicators are “YELLOW” because: i) stock assessment should yet recognize extractions from illegal fishing effort (as big as the legal effort at the present) and mortality induced by industrial shrimp trawling; ii) fisheries ordination opportunities and fisheries refuges must be operative for reducing present mortality levels by 10 percent; iii) the management plan must recognize stock reference points; iv) responsible fishing operations and low bycatch rates must be endorsed by onboard observers; vi) impacts of biomass removals of snail, sand bass and triggerfish as bycatch of the swimming crab fishery must be dimensioned; vii) ghost fishing related to lost and abandoned crab traps must be assessed and eliminated. 16 percent of the fishery indicators are “RED” because: i) the fishery management plan lacks management objectives, population reference points, action plan, as well as agreed evaluation mechanisms and decision-making processes; ii) surveillance programs deterring poaching are missing.

During the first year, CEDO will implement a technical work plan for improving the commercial fishing operations of S.C.P.P. Ejidal Bahía San Jorge. CEDO and the Rillito Park Heirloom Farmers Market will collaborate prospecting and addressing additional funding for the FIP development. The core group will communicate and promote improvements to the official management plan among INAPESCA, CONAPESCA, and other local and regional organized fishers.

The technical work plan consists of: i) the operation of a season-round (2019-2020) and community-based fishery monitoring program; ii) the operation of onboard and land-based swimming crab fishery bycatch monitoring programs; iii) the undertaking of catch efficiency and selectivity trials with different baits; iv) the mitigation of ghost fishing by derelict swimming crab traps; v) the undertaking of cost-benefit assessments for the use of degradable clips in the construction of swimming crab traps; vi) the design and implementation of a wastes management and re-use plan for the swimming crab fishery; vii) the undertaking of biologic monitoring and detailed physical characterization of potential fishery refuges and viii) the continuous promotion of the FIP among INAPESCA, CONAPESCA and other local and regional organized fishers. Catch traceability options for the fishery will be additionally prospected. This work plan aims for the improvement of all 13 fishery performance indicators scored as yellow and red and implies the direct investment of USD $44,571 during the first year.

Shrimp in the northwest Pacific coast of Mexico, including the Gulf of California, is the most important fishery in México. It has the highest economic value of landings, averaging $340 million. It is also the highest ranked fishery in terms of number of vessels (750 bottom trawlers and about 16,000 small-scale vessels) and number of direct jobs (37,000 direct jobs and 75,000 indirect ones). It places third in terms of volume with annual landings of approximately 42,000 tons during a season that begins in September and runs through March. The small-scale shrimp fishery in the Gulf of California contributes to these figures with annual landings of 16,000 tons, of which, 10,600 are produced in the Sonora-Sinaloa corridor.

Sustainability  Challenges:

According to the National Fisheries Institute, the fishery is at the maximum sustainable yield, therefore, the management strategies are designed to maintain the reproductive biomass, protect the offspring, and avoid an increase the fishing effort. However, the absence of an updated, robust and publicly available stock assessment impedes confirming whether or not the harvest strategy and control rules in place are effective.

Regarding the environmental performance of the fishing gear, there is publicly available information on the chinchorro de linea and Suripera environmental impacts. There is no publicly available information for the bottom trawl used by the small-scale producers.

Other concerns related to the management system include the operation of non-authorized vessels and the use of fishing gears with a different configuration to that required by the regulatory framework.

Mexico is the world's leading producer of Ocean whitefish (Caulolatilus princeps) with 94% of national landings coming from the state of Baja California Sur. However, there are no species-specific management measures for this fishery. The only current management tool is finfish fishing permits that specify the number of boats and gear that can be used per permit holder.

The Buzos y Pescadores de la Baja California SCL fishing cooperative located on Isla Natividad, Baja California Sur has demonstrated its commitment to sustainability through the establishment of marine reserves in collaboration with Comunidad y Biodiversidad, A. C. (COBI), MSC certification of its fishery for lobster, and a restoration program for abalone in collaboration with state government and academia. In recent years, they have shown increased interest in developing fisheries for more sustainable fish, such as ocean whitefish.

A relatively new fishery, the ocean whitefish target fishery began in 2011 as an economical alternative to high-value benthic fisheries that have declined in recent years. The cooperatives' initial production of 3.7 T in 2011 increased to 13.4 T in 2016 and is expected to increase further as demand grows. As a result, the cooperative approached SmartFish in 2017 and expressed interest in undertaking a fishery improvement project. The FIP is exclusive to vessels belonging to the Buzos y Pescadores cooperative that fish with hand lines and traps.

En el invierno de 2017, Pronatura Noreste realizó una evaluación previa del Marine Stewardship Council de la pesquería de pescado blanco oceánico de Isla Natividad. Las principales preocupaciones identificadas por la evaluación preliminar fueron la falta de una evaluación formal del stock y una estrategia de gestión de la captura incidental. El estado del hábitat y los impactos en el ecosistema se identificaron como preocupaciones menores; sin embargo, es necesario evaluar el impacto potencial de las artes de pesca.

Además, SmartFish AC está trabajando para mejorar el acceso a mercados que valoran la sostenibilidad e implementan la trazabilidad digital.

A barred sand bass FIP is being implemented in the Mexican North Pacific with the main objective of achieving a sustainable fishery. This fishery covers around 150 km of western coastline on the central Baja California peninsula and a portion of the fishing zone is inside of the Reserva de la Biósfera El Vizcaíno Natural Protected Area. The barred sand bass fishery is the third most important fishery in Baja California Sur State and in 2016, the total catch was worth approximately USD $1.2 million.

The main needs of this fishery involve the development of an adequate harvest strategy and the design of harvest control tools that respond to the state of the resource, in addition to formalizing the decision-making processes; the stakeholders of this FIP are actively working towards the fulfillment of these objectives, so in 2023 this FIP changed from basic to comprehensive.