Restoring Mexico's Gulf of California

Nourished by nutrient-rich currents, the unique Gulf of California is home to a stunning array of marine mammals and fish. The gulf supplies more than half of Mexico's seafood and three-fourths of its shrimp.

But the gulf's fisheries are not what they once were. Like many of the world's most productive fishing grounds, the gulf has too many boats chasing too few fish. Though fishing harder, fishermen are catching less and revenues are diminishing.

That is why Environmental Defense Fund is working to transform Gulf of California fisheries. In collaboration with Mexican officials, fishing leaders and other stakeholders, we seek to implement an innovative approach for managing fisheries, called catch shares, for selected fisheries.

Cradle for sea life and an economic engine

Wedged between Baja California and mainland Mexico, this 932-mile-long body of water supports one of the most diverse marine ecosystems on Earth. Its shallow estuaries and coastal lagoons, mangrove forests and deep ocean trenches harbor six whale species and five of the world's eight sea turtle species. The critically endangered Vaquita porpoise, the world smallest cetacean, is found nowhere else.

The gulf is also Mexico's most important fishing grounds. With 900 known species of fish, gulf fisheries are a crucial source of food and jobs for local communities and are woven into coastal cultural traditions. Half the country's seafood, from sardines and herring to shrimp and snapper, comes from the gulf.

Fishermen fish harder but still reel in smaller catches

But starting in the 1970s, fishing effort dramatically increased. The number of large industrial fishing boats surged as well as the number of traditional small skiffs (known as pangas) used by artisanal fishermen.

Fishing without a permit or with an illegally obtained permit is problematic, and resources are limited for monitoring and enforcement. Hundreds of sea turtles and vaquitas end up entangled in gillnets or scooped up by trawl nets.

Today, most of the large finfish sought for their delicious meat, such as the near-extinct totoaba and swordfish, have been seriously overfished. Fishermen now seek out sea cucumbers, crabs and clams — even jellyfish — to supply an ever-increasing global demand. This threatens the gulf's intricate web of life.

Though fishing harder, many can barely get enough to feed their families. One crab fisherman said that even though he travels twice as far, he needs 150 traps where once he needed 30 to catch the same number of crabs. Fishermen have few other options to earn a living, as the arid land around the gulf is ill suited for farming.

Innovative system offers hope for fishermen

The door opened in 2009 to transform Gulf of California fisheries. Both the Mexican government and fishermen wanted to resolve conflicts and end wasteful, destructive fishing practices. Catch shares, which have renewed ailing fisheries in other parts of the world, offers hope for restoring Mexico's fisheries.

I hope that one day what is a dream for us, what we see here, will become our reality.

Comment from a Mexican fishing leader on Canada's successful catch share programs

Catch shares give fishermen a financial stake in the fishery and an incentive to become better stewards of this vital resource. Key decision makers from Mexico's national fishing commission to leaders of local fishing cooperatives have indicated their willingness try new solutions to make fisheries healthy and profitable again.

Building ground-breaking partnerships

Building on our decade-long work to promote and design catch share programs, EDF has forged ground-breaking partnerships with:

• World Wildlife Fund (WWF),
• Noroeste Sustentable (NOS)
• Comunidad y Biodiversidad (COBI)
• Sociedad de Historia Natural Niparajá
• Intercultural Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans (CEDO)
• Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (CMBC)
• Mexico's National Commission for Fishing and Aquaculture (Conapesca — the fisheries management agency)
• Mexico's National Fisheries Research Institute (Inapesca)

Laying the foundation for transformation

Over the past four years, EDF and our partners laid the groundwork for developing catch share programs:

• Our team began working with fishermen's groups, local conservation groups and industry leaders, whose participation is critical to long-term success.
• EDF brought government officials, fishing leaders and fishermen to British Columbia to meet with Canadian fishermen and regulators and learn about successful catch share programs there.
• Our experts carried out on-the-ground research, determining the need for expanded monitoring and enforcement, and for more comprehensive data in some fisheries. Also, we learned of the extensive scientific and research capacity that exists in the area.
• Our analysis of available fishery data from the gulf showed that a well-designed catch share program can significantly boost fisheries economically, providing hope for a recovery in gulf fisheries.
• EDF has helped improve the decision-making bodies governing fisheries. These innovative committees of relevant stakeholders can work throughout the Gulf of California as we continue on the road to catch shares.