Area 77 (Pacific, Eastern Central)

In Mexico, one of the most important fisheries for the small-scale fleet is swimming crab. The fishery started during the 1980s and was fully developed by the early 1990s. By 2013, the swimming crab fishery was the 8th highest in production in the Mexican Pacific with ~17,000 t and was the 12th most important in terms of value. 

Baja California Sur is the third largest producer, after Sonora and Sinaloa, with an average of 400 t per year. Crab fishing mainly occurs the coastal lagoons of the western coast of the state. The Magdalena-Almejas lagoon complex is the most important fishing region, contributing to ~76% of the state's production, followed by Ojo de Liebre lagoon (14%) and San Ignacio lagoon (10%) 

The federal regulations for the fishery are listed on the Swimming Crab of the Pacific, the National Fisheries Charter and the Official Mexican Standard for the crab fishery NOM-039-PESC-2003. The standard establishes traps as the only fishing gear allowed in Baja California Sur. Traps specifications, as well as minimum crab size limits, are contained within the regulations. Finally, managers state that the fishery may reach its maximum level and recommends to keep the current level of fishing effort in place. 

Reason for inactivity: The inactivity of the fishery has been marked by the lack of catches, the small size of the organisms, the increase in the depth the resource are, etc., caused mainly by the El Niño event, this makes it difficult to continue implementing the improvements. The FIP is put on pause until the reactivation of the catches.

The national states that participate in the squid fishery are Baja California, Baja California Sur (BCS), Sinaloa and Sonora (200 fishing permits for larger vessels and 1800 fishing permits for smaller vessels). A large percentage of the fishing happens in the localities of Santa Rosalía, in BCS, and in Guaymas, Sonora, which are historically important places in the squid fishery.

The Gulf of California squid fishery was evaluated in 2014 by the Monterey Bay Aquarium - Seafood Watch Program, which is an independent international body that evaluates marine and aquaculture resources. The fishery received a "Good Alternative" rating for this fishery.

This was the principal reason for the operating producers (represented by the Giant Squid National Product System Committee) of the squid fishery to commit to implementing a Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) in March 2017 ; in order to bring awareness to the sustainable practices of this fishery as well as to continue improving fishing practices, as the fishery has great potential to be managed with new fisheries reforms.

This resource can be managed using good fishing practices that allow it to be recognized nationally and internationally as a sustainable fishery, therefore allowing it access to better markets. In addition to promoting the sustainable management of the species, the best management policies for the resources and the transparency of the processes can be highlighted.

This FIP is going to comprehensive (2020-2022).

The Cooperative Ensenada is located on the west coast of the state of Baja California (BC) and has been active since 1940. Currently, this cooperative has 84 members and 159 people employed in the processing plant (129 men and 30 women) and has two concessions: abalone and red lobster. This cooperative serves the local and global market, under social responsibility (with the members of the Cooperative, their families and the rural community of El Rosario) and a deep commitment to the species they sell, respecting the closures and quotas. Likewise, the members of this cooperative are leaders in the repopulation and conservation programs of banks of particular species, operating with an adequate combination of performance and value. The cooperative Ensenada has 3 main fishing fields: Punta Baja, La Lobera and Faro de San Jose.

The Productores Nacionales de Abulón Cooperative has been active since 1936. This fishing cooperative captures fishing resources from clean and rich waters that surround Cedros Island and the San Benito Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean, off the Baja California Peninsula.

The cooperative California de San Ignacio was established on April 6, 1939, with an initial register of 45 members. It is located in Bahia Asuncion, Baja California Sur, where they capture and process several marine species among the ocean whitefish captured with handlines. They will participate in the FIP only with this species. Its mission is fundamentally based on teamwork, the best quality in seafood, development and effort by its members and the community, care for the environment; the strengthening of our social organization, activities, and attitudes that are always present in our cooperative society.

The finfish fisheries are multi-specific and use multiple gears the most used are handlines and traps. Two of the most selective fishing gears that have a minimal impact on the habitats where it is used, however, this fishery can target a wide variety of fish, with very different life-history characteristics. The fishers from both cooperatives are aware of the high pressure being exerted to the main species captured Ocean whitefish (C. princeps), California sheephead (Semicossyphus pulcher), barred sand bass (P. nebulifer), starry rockfish (Sebastes constellatus) and vermilion rockfish (S. miniatus), in the BC peninsula in the last years and they are interested in developing a sustainable fishery to set an example in the region. Commercial harvest for these groups of fishes is conducted in small vessels using different fishing gears, hook and lines with live bait (sardine and mackerel) and traps in open seas and areas near the coast.

Unfortunately, there is a lack of biological and fishery information for this fishery in Mexico. In the National Fishery Chart (INAPESCA, 2010) the above-mentioned species are classified as coastal finfish. This group is composed of a large diversity of species, with different life cycles, including those that inhabit the coast and lagoons up to the border of the external continental shelf which can reach near 200 meters depth. This group is managed without short and long-term species-specific objectives. For this reason, the cooperative Ensenada approached Comunidad y Biodiversidad, A. C. (COBI) to ask for guidance on how to reach international fishery standards, in order to continue with the good practices applied and the sustainable use of the marine resources.

This FIP is going to a Comprehensive (2020-2024).

In 2020, this FIP was aimed at a multi-species fishery, which included five species: whitefish (Caulolatilus princeps), greenfish (Paralabrax nebulifer), sea bass (Semicossyphus pulcher), starfish (Sebastes constellatus) and red rockfish (S. miniatus). However, from November 2024, the FIP will be aimed only at the Ocean whitefish (C. princeps) fishery.

The Gulf of California swimming crab FIP started in 2009 under the coordination of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP). The FIP coordination and leadership was transferred to the industry in January 2015. All of the activities, improvements, and achievements during that period were reported on SFP’s website and a summary can be downloaded here.

Mexico is the main Latin American country exporting swimming crab products to international markets. Between 2006 and 2013, Mexico exported an annual average of 2.6 thousand metric tons of swimming crab products, with an average value of 22.1 million dollars. During that same period of time, Mexico exported an annual average of 1.1 thousand tons of crabmeat with an average value of 19 million dollars to the US market.

Mexico has an annual average production of 23 thousand metric tons with a beach value of US 17 million dollars and during the past ten years, the fishery has presented an annual growth rate of 3.8%. This ranks the fishery tenth on landings and twelfth on economic value.

The Pacific coast of Mexico produces 63% of the national landings - of that percentage the Gulf of California landings makeup 60%. Sinoloa and Sonora states stand out as the main producers in the country

The swimming crab fishery in the Gulf of California is of great importance to small-scale fishers in the months before and after the shrimp fishery’s peak (September to November). An estimated total of 2,193 small-scale fishing boats, including 4,400 fishers and 139 fishing permits, are active in the Gulf of California.

The fishery is regulated by the Mexican Official Standard NOM-039-PESC-2003, which includes minimum legal size requirements and restrictions on fishing gear (type and number/vessel), egg bearing females, and type of bait. The Standard also controls the total amount of fishing gear in the main production states (70,800 in Sinaloa, 43,600 in Sonora, and 8,000 in Baja California Sur). For the rest of the states (Baja California, Nayarit, and Jalisco) the restriction on fishing gear depends on the technical opinion of the National Fisheries Institute (INAPESCA).

Since 2013, there has also been a Fishery Closure which runs from May 1 to July 10 every year to protect reproduction and recruitment. Finally, in 2014 the fisheries authority published the Fishery Management Plan. INAPESCA states the fishery is as at maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and recommends against any increase in fishing effort in Sinaloa, Sonora and Baja California Sur. There are possibilities of incremental fishing effort for the rest of the Pacific coast states.