Mexico Sinaloa artisanal blue shrimp – drift/cast nets

The Sinaloa artisanal shrimp FIP began in 2009 under the coordination of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP). The coordination and leadership of the FIP was transferred to the industry in February 2015. All activities, improvements and achievements of that period are reported below. 

The Pacific Ocean is Mexico's most productive fishing area, providing approximately 75 percent of the seafood catch by volume and accounting for most of the country's seafood exports by value. Shrimp on Mexico's northwest Pacific coast, including the Gulf of California, is Mexico's most important fishery. It has the highest economic value of landings, averaging $260 million. It is also the highest ranked fishery in terms of number of vessels (750 bottom trawlers and about 18,000 small-scale vessels) and number of direct jobs (37,000 direct jobs and 75,000 indirect jobs). It ranks third in terms of volume with annual catches of approximately 50,000 tons during the fishing season, which begins in September and runs through March.

Sinaloa's artisanal shrimp fishery contributes 25% of the Northwest's production with the participation of 12,000 boats and a labor force of 24,000 fishermen. The vessels are equipped with outboard motors (used mainly for transportation purposes, since the equipment operates on wind/tidal currents).

The fishery is regulated by the Norma Oficial Mexicana and, according to the Instituto Nacional de Pesca, stocks are exploited at maximum sustainable levels with seasonal variations in catches related to environmental variations.

In October 2017, the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Shellfish Monitoring Program published a new report and recommendations on Mexican wild shrimp, awarding the fishery a Good Alternative recommendation.

Since January 2018, Del Pacifico launched its own sustainability department, which will coordinate project guidelines and organize further engagements to improve fishing practices, assessment and fishing communities. In addition, in 2019, Del Pacifico decided to switch to a comprehensive FIP to address all areas in need of improvement.