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How Mexico’s Fishing Refuges Are Fighting Back Against Poaching
Following inaction from the government, fishing communities and conservationists are taking it upon themselves to set up and monitor no-catch zones to combat species depletion caused by overfishing.
Andrea Saénz, a marine biologist and environmental economist at the Colegio de la Frontera Sur, calls this phenomenon “the race for fish,” in which “whoever gets there fastest gets the treasure.” In her view, this extractivist approach to the sea occurs because there is open access, which leads to thinking: “If I don’t take it out, someone else is going to do it.” The monitoring group is made up of people involved in the fishing chain with the support of organizations such as COBI, agencies such as IMIPAS, the Secretariat of Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture of Yucatán, and the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas. On land, they seek to empower fishermen, reduce the gender gap in the local economy, diversify voices in decision making (in Celestún there is a committee of women and another of young people), and strengthen community pride and the defense of the territory.
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