PROSPECTIVE Mexico Baja California & Baja California Sur pen shell – hookah

Since 2011, the fishers of El Manglito, La Paz Bay, have been working to restore the callo de hacha (pen shell) population of three species: Atrina maura, Pinna rugosa, and Atrina tuberculosa, which has been depleted for nearly ten years, to reactivate the fishery sustainably. Although the fishing method (Diver-Harvest) is selective and not very intrusive, the recovery of the stock to the desired levels has not been observed. Since 2017, 109 fishing cooperatives have received their fishing concession, consolidating efforts and objectives into one organization. Members of the Organización de Pescadores Rescatando la Ensenada (OPRE) implemented a non-extractive methodology to evaluate the resource's abundance, suspending extraction between 2011 and 2017. Key actions included strengthening governance, conducting surveillance operations to prevent poaching, and performing annual population monitoring.

The annual stock assessment has been essential in requesting the fishing quota from the Comisión Nacional de Acuacultura y Pesca (CONAPESCA). These assessments allow for observing changes in the resource's population dynamics and size structure. This year, the evaluation was conducted in April in eight fishing banks, with the active participation of the fishers, support from NOS Noroeste Sustentable, and supervision by the Instituto Mexicano de Investigación en Pesca y Acuacultura Sostenible (IMIPAS).

This social-ecological system is well-positioned to develop activities reinforcing fishery management, developing new control rules, and evaluating management strategies. Additionally, in this fishery, it is essential to identify any impact the fishery may have on the benthic organism community in the area. However, in terms of fishery improvements, an urgent issue that needs to be addressed is defining the objectives of the fishery, governance, roles, and responsibilities to establish effective management.