Mexico Guaymas finfish - handline

Primary tabs

Overview

The marine finfish fishery is important in the northwest of Mexico, particularly within the Gulf of California, in zones such as Guaymas, Sonora. Artisanal fishery uses different fishing gear such as handline, purse seine, and gillnets. In Guaymas, Sonora, the fishery was initially developed using traditional artisanal methods such as handline (hook and line) since it was the favorite gear for the capture of the species. This gear is one of their principal strengths of the finfish fishery in Guaymas since the handline has been demonstrated to be one of the most selective fishing gears, with a high survival success following release.

The main catches of the region corresponding to sardines, with industrial fishing, and shrimp, with industrial and artisanal fishing. Artisanal fishers in this region do not have a single target species, but alternate between different species based on their possibilities and market demand (Yurkievich and Sánchez, 2016). The main species caught by fishers who use the handline as fishing gear in Guaymas are Yellowtail (Seriola lalandi), red snapper (Lutjanus peru), Goldspotted sand bass (Paralabrax auroguttatus), ocean whitefish (Calolatilus princeps), and Rooster hind (Hyporthodus acanthistius). Commercial harvest for these group of fishes is conducted in small vessels using different fishing gears, from hook and lines with live bait (sardine and mackerel), drift gillnets, trawling and encircling gillnets 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.
It is for the above that, in Guaymas, Sonora, finfish fishermen who use handline for the extraction of these species were interested in developing their practices under the characteristics of sustainable fishing. For this, they approached Comunidad y Biodiversidad, A. C. (COBI) to achieve international fisheries sustainability standards.

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

FIP Description 

The marine finfish fishery is important in the northwest of Mexico, particularly within the Gulf of California, in zones such as Guaymas, Sonora. Artisanal fishery uses different fishing gear such as handline, purse seine, and gillnets.

FIP Objective(s) 

General objective:

Generate biological and population information of Yellowtail (Seriola lalandi), red snapper (Lutjanus peru), Goldspotted sand bass (Paralabrax auroguttatus), ocean whitefish (Caulolatilus princeps) and Rooster hind (Hyporthodus acanthistius) to propose management strategies to transform the management of artisanal handline fishery in Guaymas, Sonora, through the implementation of all 28 indicators of the sustainable fishing standard MSC, and achieve certification of this fishery by 2024.

Specific FIP objectives:

• Generate basic information of the fishery through the monitoring of fishing logbooks (January-December, 2020-2024).

• Generate information on the population of the five species of the FIP (stock assessment, ECOPAT analysis, mobility) (January 2020-December 2021).

• Define reference points for the yellowtail, red snapper, ocean whitefish,golden sand bass and roster hind fishery.

• Assess the ecosystem’s fishery’s impacts.

• Promote the development of regulations of specific harvest strategies in the species of the finfish fishery (January 2020- December 2024).

• Design and promote a monitor compliance system in the fishing cooperative (October 2022-December 2024)

FIP Type 
Comprehensive
FIP Stage 
Stage 5: Improvements on the Water
Start and Projected End Dates
January 2017
December 2024
Last Progress Report Reviewed 
Friday, May 31, 2024
Next Progress Report Due 
Saturday, November 30, 2024
Species 
Common Name 
Yellowtail Amberjack
Scientific Name
Seriola lalandi
Common Name 
Goldspotted Sand Bass
Scientific Name
Paralabrax auroguttatus
Common Name 
Ocean Whitefish
Scientific Name
Caulolatilus princeps
Common Name 
Gulf Grouper
Scientific Name
Hyporthodus acanthistius
Gear Type 
Handline
Location
FAO Major Fishing Area
Area 77 (Pacific, Eastern Central)
Exclusive Economic Zones
Country 
Mexico
Geographic Scope 
Gulf of California
Landings
Estimated Total FIP Landings 
63 metric tons
Estimated Total Fishery Landings 
125 metric tons
Landings Date 
March 2021
PrintPDF

FIP at a Glance

View current status
January 01, 2017
46% 29% 25%
Progress Rating (A) Advanced Progress

Reserved for comprehensive FIPs that have achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within the past 12 months.

(B) Good Progress

A basic FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within 12 months.

(C) Some Recent Progress
  • A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months that has never achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result but has reported a Stage 3 activity within the first 12 months.
(D) Some Past Progress
  • A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months BUT has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old AND a Stage 3 activity has been reported within six months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
(E) Negligible Progress
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old, with no Stage 3 activity reported in the last six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months with no Stage 3 activity reported within 12 months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.

The ratings are currently derived by SFP from publicly available data on FIP websites, including FisheryProgress.org, and are determined using the following methodology: View PDF
A Advanced Progress
Actions Complete

This pie chart represents completed environmental actions. Non-completed environmental actions may contain completed sub-tasks that are not illustrated here. For more information on environmental action progress visit the Actions Progress tab.
  • Complete
  • Incomplete
Next Update Due FisheryProgress requires a FIP to provide update reports every six months, and two missed reports will render the FIP inactive. If a report is overdue, this date will appear red.
Nov 2024
Target End Date
Dec 2024
Additional Impacts:
TraceabilityEcosystem

FIP Leads

Organization Name 
Comunidad y Biodiversidad, A.C.
Organization Type 
NGO
Primary Contact 
Alesa Flores
Email 
aflores@cobi.org.mx
Phone 
6222224990
Website Name 
COBI
FIP Identification Number The FIP Identification Number is automatically generated by FisheryProgress when a FIP profile is created. While the number itself is not meaningful, they are used by NGOs, academia, and industry to refer to FIPs in a consistent way.
4316