Fishing has one of the highest impact productive activities worldwide, upon which some 492 million people depend directly or indirectly. According to estimates by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 40% of the world’s fishery products come from small-scale fishing. This activity is carried out in villages and coastal communities and employs some 60 million people, of whom are women.
In Mexico, small-scale fishing should be recognized as a major activity. In Baja California alone, with a coastline of more than 1,500 kilometers, this activity employs more than 5,300 people, most of them in communities of 100 to 800 inhabitants. At Pronatura Noroeste we work closely with local communities and fishermen as part of a strategic action to promote sustainable fishing and economic development compatible with the environment.
Our conservation education team will deliver the workshop “Strengthening fishing identity and culture of sustainability in coastal communities of the Baja California peninsula”, with the support of experts in sustainable fishing and behavior change in the communities. This will take place on April 21 and 22, as well as May 4 and 5, 2023. The workshop is being held in collaboration with the Secretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (SEPESCA) of Baja California.
The workshop is aimed at young people and women from the fishing communities of Villa Jesus Maria, Nuevo Rosarito, San Felipe, Bahia de los Angeles, Santa Rosaliita and Punta Abreojos, so participants must belong to these communities. The activity will be carried out virtually, so it is required to have connectivity service and a device to make video calls.
The workshop is aimed at encouraging social marketing designed and led by local youth and women to promote the identity and vocation for sustainable fishing in their communities. In addition, a manual on responsible fishing will be published on topics such as fishing and environmental legislation, fisheries management, traceability and the value chain. There will also be a virtual training course about responsible fishing, which will soon be available on our platform.
Participants will also receive information on citizen science, fishing logs and behavior change campaigns.
For workshop registration, please contact us at the following email: lgonzalez@pronatura-noroeste.org and rcanoc@baja.gob.mx
