WORLD’S AQUARIUM
NON-PROFIT, NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Executive Summary
Mexico’s last remaining healthy fish species are under serious threat. This despite the fact that in the early 1980’s, Mexico in an attempt to promote tourism via sport fishing, designated several species of fish off limits to the commercial fishing sector. Swordfish, marlin, sailfish, rooster fish, tarpon and dorado all
currently enjoy protection under Article 68 of Mexico’s General Law of Fisheries. Serious issues exist despite positive actions such as the establishment of Article 68. Mexico has grossly mismanaged its commercial fisheries. A prime example is the current illegal shift in commercial fishing effort directed at species protected by Article 68. As depletion and lack of growth of traditional fisheries such as sardine, shrimp and shark continued, the commercial fishing sector began pursuing species that had been designated for Mexico’s tourism sector under Article 68. These species are currently experiencing unsustainable commercial exploitation due to negligence, incompetence and corruption in Mexico’s department of fisheries, Comision Nacional de Pesca (CONAPESCA). The exploitation was heavily promoted by the last two federal administrations (2000-2012) and there appears to be no change in policy under the current administration, (2012-2018). This has caused a decrease in the abundance and sizes of the species destined for Mexico’s tourism and sport fishing industry, especially dorado. CONAPESCA each year allows thousands of tons of marlin, sailfish and dorado to be illegally commercialized in Mexico. CONAPESCA not only openly defies Mexican law by allowing the illegal commercialization of fish domestically but also promotes its illegal exportation to the United States. The exportation of dorado, sailfish or marlin to the United Sates is in direct violation of several laws, especially the Lacy Act as well as newer legislation such as the illegal, unreported and unregulated . It is imperative that advocacy and legislative campaigns be initiated in Mexico and the United States to enforce protection of species which are reserved exclusively for sport fishing as established under Mexican Fisheries Law.
