• Represents a formal space for decision making about the management of fisheries, with participation from the fishing sector, and preceded by CONAPESCA.
• Is part of the implementation of the Ecosystem Fisheries Management Plan of the Lagoon System, together with a temporary ban on chocolate clam fishing.

On December 10th, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, through the National Commission of Fisheries and Aquaculture (CONAPESCA), established the Fisheries Management and Zoning Advisory Committee in Altata-Ensenada del Pabellón, Sinaloa. The creation of this committee guarantees a formal space to listen to the needs of fisherwomen and fishermen, with the aim of making the most appropriate decisions for sustainable management of fisheries for the benefit of their communities. 

“The participation of the fishing sector in management decisions is essential to achieving sustainable fishing and, with it, a better way of life in the communities. For this reason, the Government of Mexico, through CONAPESCA, promotes this type of action,” said the Director General of Fisheries and Aquaculture Management, César Julio Saucedo Barrón.

Fisheries Management and Zoning Advisory Committees are spaces for decision making recognized by the General Law on Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture. They are preceded by CONAPESCA; represented by the General Directorates of Fisheries and Aquaculture Management and Inspection and Surveillance; and are comprised by the Secretary of the Navy (SEMAR), the National Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture (INAPESCA), state governments, and the fishing sector, in addition to other stakeholders, such as research institutions and civil society organizations.

The establishment of the Fisheries Management and Zoning Advisory Committee in Altata-Ensenada del Pabellón, together with the establishment of a two-year ban on chocolate clam fishing this past 30th of April, are central achievements in the implementation of the Ecosystem Fisheries Management Plan of the Altata-Ensenada del Pabellón Lagoon System, located in the municipalities of Navolato and Culiacán, in the State of Sinaloa, published on September 24, 2019. These three instruments reflect the commitment of the authorities at all levels and of the fishing sector in the region, which also participates with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) of Mexico and Pronatura Noroeste in the Chocolate Clam Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP), with the aim of achieving a sustainable fishery and obtaining market benefits for fishermen and fisherwomen.

The process was led by Saucedo Barrón, and included the participation of the Deputy Director General for Fisheries Research in the Pacific of INAPESCA, Pedro Sierra Rodríguez; as well as representatives of the Federation of Fishing Cooperative Societies: Bahía de Altata-Ensenada del Pabellón, Reencuentro Pesquero, and Primera Generación; the Clam Fishing Cooperatives of Santa Cruz and Lobas del Manglar; the Sinaloan Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture (ISAPESCA); EDF de México; and Pronatura Noroeste.