The Gulf of California is located in northwestern Mexico, between the Baja California peninsula and mainland Mexico. Considered one of the richest marine ecosystems in the world, the Gulf of California is Mexico’s most productive fishing region.
Globally, Mexico is a significant shrimp producer, and the shrimp fishery is one of the most important economic activities in the Mexican Pacific, ranking first in economic benefits that result from high shrimp prices in the international marketplace and high levels of employment (i.e., 30,000-40,000 people, directly and indirectly).
Increasing shrimp fishing activities in the Gulf of California have driven some stocks beyond optimal exploitation levels, and low selectivity of shrimp fishing gears and the physical damage they cause to the sea floor are negatively impacting the ecosystem.
The Gulf of California shrimp fisheries EBM project aims to create the first ecosystem-based management scenarios for industrial and artisanal shrimp fisheries in the Gulf of California, pilot test and assess their outcomes in two of the main regional fishing areas. It is also aimed that, based on added values of alternative management schemes, strategies at ecoregional scale would be designed, recommended and accepted for implementation by the Mexican government.
So far, the project has focused on negotiating the effective data access and sharing between project members and governmental agencies, required for developing the desired alternative management scenarios.
As of today, the governmental fisheries management agency has not explicitly, nor implicitly, implemented EBM-related strategies. Although added values of EBM approaches are argued by conservationists and academics, the pilot implementation and empiric demonstration of positive outcomes is mandatory if the Mexican governmental management agency is to embrace them.
Mission
The Gulf of California shrimp fisheries EBM initiative is a regional collaboration focused on using the best available science and stakeholder engagement to understand ecosystem dynamics that influence and are influenced by shrimp fisheries in the gulf to create management policies that promote sustainable harvesting practices.
The overarching goals of this collaborative effort are:
Objectives
In order to achieve this, the partners have identified three primary objectives:
Lead Organizations
The project is led by:
Key Parties
The Gulf of California shrimp fisheries EBM initiative also involves several partner organizations, including:
Recognized academic institutions will develop a suite of modeling approaches (dynamic single-cohort models, ecological (trophic) models, and spatially-explicit models) to ascertain and design ecosystem-based management scenarios. Once ready, INAPESCA will pilot implement management scenarios during a fishing season at representative sites of the regional shrimp fishery (the Upper Gulf of California and the Altata-Ensenada El Pabellón coastal lagoon (Sinaloa). Simultaneously, a strategic collection of stakeholders (fishers’ representatives, academia, politicians, NGOs) grouped in a Steering Committee will interpret results of the pilot implementation, and aided with socioeconomic diagnoses and policy analyses will identify implementation opportunities and challenges, will adaptatively adjust implementation strategies and will recommend steps necessary for future implementation at ecoregional scale. The Steering Committee will be supported by professional conflict solvers and negotiators.
Shrimp fisheries in the Gulf of California were chosen as the project’s focus because they are biologically and socio-economically important: they have significant impacts on species and habitats of conservation interest in the gulf and they provide important social economic benefits to coastal communities and the nation as a whole.
The move towards ecosystem-based management schemes are also justified because of failures in current shrimp fisheries management. Management regimes now used by the Mexican government to regulate the shrimp fisheries (spatial-temporal fishing closures, regulation of industrial fishing effort and gears, and stock assessments) are seen to have exploited some stocks at their maximum capacities and others have shown steep deterioration.
The Ecosystem
The Gulf of California is 1,130 kilometers long and 80,209 kilometers wide, covering an area approximately 230,000 square kilometers. It encompasses a variety of coastal and marine habitats, which range from tropical mangrove forests and coral reefs to hydrothermal vents, and spans temperate to tropical climates. The gulf’s pelagic waters are renowned for supporting abundant marine life, including 665 species of marine flora and more than 5,969 named faunal species and subspecies.
The Gulf of California region comprises approximately a quarter of the Mexican territory and over 8 percent of the total population.
Nine percent of Mexico’s gross domestic product is attributed to the gulf region primarily due to fisheries, tourism and port activity. The shrimp fishery is the most important fishery nationally in terms of income and employment, representing nearly 40 percent of total national fish production value and generating over 30,000 to 40,000 jobs directly or indirectly.
Threats
Despite its high economic value, this fishery is controversial and problematic in the country. It is represents the primary source of income for many of the gulf’s coastal communities, but is considered overcapitalized and ecologically damaging. In particular, destructive fishing operations, bycatch, excessive fishing effort, and lack of economic incentives for sustainable fishing, have been identified as direct threats to a number of habitats and species in the gulf, and to fishers themselves.
Indirect ecosystem threats include:
Furthermore, population growth; run-off from industries, aquaculture and agriculture; habitat alteration or destruction; and the introduction of exotic species (whether intentional or not) are also recognized as areas of concern in the region.
To reach its goal of positioning the shrimp fishery “toward sustainability and competitiveness within international markets,” the EBM initiative employed a number of strategies, which include:
Two pilot project sites that project partners believe embody the diversity of shrimp fishery conditions in the gulf were chosen to test and evaluate ecosystem-based management scenarios.
The Gulf of California shrimp fisheries EBM initiative has been successful in developing collaboration agreements, but many goals related to affecting the state of the ecosystem or fisheries policies themselves have not been realized.
Accomplishments include:
The Gulf of California shrimp fisheries EBM initiative has been facilitated by factors that include:
The Gulf of California shrimp fisheries EBM initiative has encountered the following challenges:
Access to Information. Access to government fisheries data by national non-governmental entities is limited.
Sectoral View. In Mexico, as in most parts of the world, fisheries are managed by on a species-specific basis and economic activities that use the same space do not communicate or work with one another despite their reciprocal influences and impacts.
People involved in the Gulf of California shrimp fisheries EBM initiative have learned the following:
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - Mexico Website: http://www.wwf.org.mx/wwfmex/
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - Gulf of California Program: http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/gulfofca/
The Mexican National Fisheries Institute (INAPECSA) Website: http://www.inapesca.gob.mx/
The Mexican National Commission of Aquaculture and Fishing (CONAPESCA) Website: http://www.conapesca.sagarpa.gob.mx/wb/
The Mexican Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA) Website: http://www.profepa.gob.mx/innovaportal/v/376/1/mx/english_.html
The Mexican National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) Website: http://www.conanp.gob.mx/
The Mexican Secretariat of the Navy (SEMAR) Website: http://www.semar.gob.mx/sitio/
Centro de Colaboración Cívica (CCC) Website: http://www.partnersglobal.org/network/mexico