Mexican Fisheries Planning to "Exploit" Resources in Northern Baja

Look-out Northern Baja, Conapesca and CIBNOR are heading your way and have plans to "exploit" your resources by encouraging the harvest of tonns of fish. This is a follow-up post on the Million Dollar Plan. For background information look-over the three previous posts:

1. Baja Fish - How Would You Spend a Million Dollars?
2. The Million Dollar Plan - Who´s in Charge?
3. Update on the Million Dollar Plan

I contacted CIBNOR months ago via email and received an initial reply from a researcher but when I asked for additional information on how they planned to sustainably "exploit" resources in Northern Baja as was posted on their website in regards to Programa Nacional Rector and their assessment that tonns of 'pelagic' fish species are availble to be harvested in Northern Baja waters my contact ended.

One species of pelagic fish - fish that live in what is called the pelagic zone of coastal and ocean (offshore) waters - are Bluefin Tuna whos numbers are severly depleted and near extinction. Atlantic Bluefin Tuna are being considered by Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora(CITES)for a formal ban on all International Trade due to its endangered status.

This Oct, 2009 article in Scientific American explains the issue in greater detail: "Is the Bluefin Tuna an endangered species".

I wanted to know how they would be harvested as well? Using Drift Gillnets that destroy all ocean creatures in its path, including endangered Baleen whales that annually migrate through Baja waters, that Conapesca vowed to ban in 2008 yet never did?

In addition, the original documents I had reviewed in English are now gone from the website and replaced with false PR statements about the organization claiming: "For the Federal Mexican Government, the CONAPESCA is a strategic tool for taking care of our natural resources and to avoid the overexplotation of marine species."

A carefully orchestrated public 'face' to hide the actions that are going on behind the scenes and that are in the works regarding Programa Rector Nacional and the plans to give the go ahead for commercial fisherman to harvest - they use the word 'exploit' - tonns of fish from Northern Baja waters, including endangered Bluefin Tuna.

They claim not only do these large amounts of fisheries resources exist, but that they can be sustainably taken from Baja waters without negative repercussions. Look-out Northern Baja - CIBNOR and Conapesca are on their way.

Molly, author of Viva La Baja! Relocation & Real Estate Guide