PRESS RELEASE

May 20, 2020

• The objective is to certify these fisheries on the coast of the Baja California Pacific, according to the international criteria for environmental sustainability.

• In total, fifteen fisheries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America will receive financing from the Ocean Stewardship Fund granted by the United Kingdom’s Marine Stewardship Council.

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification and labeling program encourages the development of best fishing practices by recognizing and rewarding the fisheries that prove to be sustainable over time. Through the leadership of its partners, the MSC has the goal of reducing overfishing and increasing the number of sustainable fisheries worldwide. 

In this spirit, the MSC has selected both proposals in which fishermen, the National Commission for Fisheries and Aquaculture, the National Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture, the Baja California Ministry of Economic Sustainability and Tourism, specialists in the science of fishing, and Pronatura Noroeste participated to form part of this global program, collaborating in the improvement of porcupine fish and lobster fisheries in Baja California. As part of this commitment, Pronatura Noroeste will provide technical support to improve the development of these fisheries, with the goal of achieving their international certification as “sustainable fisheries”.

In reference to these appointments, the MSC Chief Executive, Rupert Howes, noted, “We are living through extraordinary times as the world reacts and responds to the economic and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The necessity for humanity to maintain and improve global food security for all has never been more apparent. The global fishing industry plays a fundamental role in this effort, and we recognize the ongoing commitments made by fishermen and retailers who continue to provide sustainable fishery products to consumers, despite the myriad challenges they currently face.”

Baja California is one of the most important sellers of porcupine fish and lobster in Mexico, which is why Pronatura Noroeste works together with the other members of both fishery improvement projects to evaluate and promote the improvements necessary to secure the maintenance of these fisheries in the long term.

Pronatura Noroeste is a Mexican non-profit civil organization whose mission is to conserve the flora, fauna, and priority ecosystems of Northwest Mexico to promote the development of society in harmony with nature. It was founded in 1991 and operates in Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Nayarit, the coasts of Jalisco and Colima, the western slopes of Chihuahua and Durango, the Gulf of California and its islands, and the exclusive economic area of Mexico that pertains to these states in the Pacific Ocean. The lobster and porcupine fish projects join five other fishery improvement projects in which Pronatura Noroeste collaborates with the fishing sector in four states in the northwest of the country.

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international non-profit organization that seeks for the world’s oceans to be full of life, and fish and seafood supplies to be protected for this and future generations. For this reason, the program recognizes and rewards projects carried out by organizations like Pronatura Noroeste, which have the aim of collaboratively achieving sustainable fishing.

Currently, 395 fisheries in 36 countries are certified according to the MSC Fishing Standard.

For more information, visit:

• www.pronatura-noroeste.org 
• www.msc.org 

or please contact:

• Andrea Talamantes, MSC Communications and Marketing Consultant (andrea.talamantes@gmail.com) 
• Dr. Pablo Álvarez, Fishery Improvement Project Coordinator for Pronatura Noroeste AC (palvarez@pronatura-noroeste.org; Cel. (646) 128-2459)