Can Mexico follow in Peru´s Footsteps & Preserve Their Sportfishing Industry?

For fish farms to be a viable alternative to NOM-029 Mexico must stop much of the commercial fishing that is currently destroying the Sea of Cortez and it´s vast number of inhabitants. Peru dealt with a similar threat to it´s sportfishing industry and ocean environs, and has now taken the necessary steps to sustain the industry and support efforts at ocean conservation.

In conjunction with The Billfish Foundation Peru recently issued a presidential order that decommercializes the harvest and sale of marlins and sailfish. For more infomation read the online article: TBF Assists a Nation's President Set a New Standard for Billfish Conservation.

Can Mexico follow suit? Stop commercial fishing of sought-after sushi plate succulents and provide the supply by sustainable fish farms instead?

Mexico could partner with Japan - the main purchasers of fish from the seas of Baja - and make it illegal for Japanese businesses to buy commercially-caught fish from the Sea of Cortez. Japan could assist in the development of fish farms to meet their demand for supply, in partnership with Mexico. Japan and Mexico are familiar business partners already - with joint-ownership of the Exportadora de Sal (ESSA saltworks) outside of Guerrero Negro by Mitsubishi and Mexican government.

Fish farms are not a problem-free solution, but a viable alternative to meet the demand for fish - demand that is not going to go away but is predicted to increase annually. At least fish farms could target the intended species for sale such as Bluefin Tuna, rather than destructive fishing practices that incidentally kill thousands of forms of sea life in great numbers in pursuit of it.

Peru is setting an example for all of the world, that Mexico and other countries should strive to imitate.

Molly, author of Viva La Baja! Relocation Guide to the Baja California Peninsula

Sustainable Fish Farms in Baja

Mexico could be a world leader in sustainable fish farms, attracting scientists and researchers around the world in collaborative projects. Instead of a `Nautical Highway` currently being promoted by the Baja California State Tourism Secretariat to give wealthy yacht-owners stop-overs on their way up and down the peninsula and create a 80-mile overland road linking ocean (at Santa Rosalillita) to sea (at Bahia de los Angeles) -- how about a Fish Farm Industry that is world-reknown?

A good background article on the proposed Nautical Highway is this one by National Geographic: Can Mexico's Wild Baja California Endure New Marinas?

Creating sustainable fish farms would protect the vast natural wealth of the Peninsula, instead of pandering to the wealthy. Instead of 22 ports, how about 10 ports (or none) and 12 Fish Farms? Spend some of the 222 million starter-funds on a project that will help to preserve the environment of the Baja California Peninsula, not denegrate it.

In 2004, 43% of the global fish supply came from farmed sources, and the percentage increases annually. An opportunity for Mexican commercial and local fisherman, with support from government, to enter a market that will make good profit, supply demand coming from Japan & elsewhere, and keep the fish flowing for future generations of Baja inhabitants, sportfishing enthusiasts and tourists. Without the fish, what will Baja become?

Promote and create Fish Farms before it becomes a necessity -- due to destructive fishing practices decimating fish populations. Create new business opportunities for Mexican entreprenuers while preserving the already world-reknown sportfishing industry that attacts millions of visitors annually. Yachters like to fish too.

From the Marine Conservation Society (UK) website here is an article entitled Principles and Criteria for Sustainable Fish Farming.

A major problem with fish farming - even closed-systems not using wild-caught fish for stock - is the food source they must be given to survive, can cause negative secondary effects for that marine species. Sacrificing a non-edible species, for farmed species raised for human consumption is not a sustainable, non-destructive environmental solution. It also affects other species, such as the wildlife that relys on that food source for survival, birds, etc. Scientists from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) have made inroads to providing a solution - New breakthrough in sustainable fish farming and others are studying the issue as well.

One of many offering consulting services for all phases of fish farming development, management and production is Fisheries Technology Associates, Inc. located in Colorado.

The resources available on the Web are almost endless, and the Peninsula is home to The University of Baja California, College of Marine Science and the Institute for Oceanographic Investigation. Campuses are located in Mexicali (main campus), Ensenada, Tijuana, San Felipe, Tecate, San Quintin and La Paz.

For next weeks blog, I will see if I can complete an interview with a local Baja Oceanographer or marine scientist. Molly, author of Viva La Baja! Relocation Guide to the Baja California Peninsula

Fish Farming in Baja - A Solution to NOM-029?

Provide mouth-watering fresh, fish flesh for sushi lovers abroad and in the U.S., and profit-making ventures for commercial and local Baja business interests, while perserving the sanctity of the Sea of Cortez at the same time? Sounds almost too good to be true!

But it's not. Fish farming is a viable - and maybe the only - alternative to destructive fishing practices that are decimating many species of fish that call the Sea of Cortez home. Tuna farming in Baja does currently exist, but the goal by environmental orgranizations and scientists is to push for sustainable, ecologically-safe fish farms.

According to the 2005 article, Sustainability Assessment of Capture-Based Tuna Aquaculture in Mexico, written by the MSATAM Team (Marine Science Assessment of Tuna Aquaculture in Mexico), "... tuna farming in large nearshore net pens has expanded rapidly along the Baja Pacific coast north and south of the Tijuana-Ensenada Corridor. Mexican tuna are now estimated to comprise 10% of global tuna production (35,000 tons)."

The article also states, "Tuna ranching/farming is one of the fastest growing forms of aquaculture in the world today."

Farmed tuna - that use wild-caught fish (primarily Pacific Bluefin Tuna) that are kept in pens and fed small fish such as sardines - are sought-after for sushi due to the higher oil content of the fish. High-quality seems to fetch a high price. According to the article above, "Farm gate prices for Mexican farmed tuna are currently reported to be $12,000/ton.".

This article, Say Hola to Tuna From Mexico! describes the fish farming process in detail. The fish farms in Mexico should be more accurately called 'ranches' or 'capture-based tuna farming' because wild tuna are used for both stock and feeds. It states, "A true 'farm' would be one in which fish are raised from egg to adult stages in captivity...".

Tuna farms that use wild stock can devastate the habitat they come from. In the U.S., capture fisheries have decimated tuna stock in the Atlantic. Researchers and environmental organizations are trying to help prevent that from happening in the Pacific as well.

(From the article) Barry A. Costa-Pierce, a Professor of Fisheries and Aquaculture at the University of Rhode Island, states, "It is urgent that we develop an internationally credible scientific basis for sustainable tuna farming that could decrease pressure on tuna stocks, while also being environmentally and socially sustainable."

These efforts would also provide a viable solution to NOM-029, by giving commercial (and local) fishermen an alternative to over-fishing the Sea of Cortez. Fish farms could provide a means for profit-making and meet product demand for Baja fish coming from Japan (the majority of exports), the U.S. and elsewhere.

Molly, author of Viva La Baja! Relocation Guide to the Baja California Peninsula