Thanks to the effective operation of the M2 inspection system and the coordination between different authorities, the environmental and fishery surveillance in the Mexican Pacific has strengthened in the last weeks.

This remote detection technology, installed in Protected Natural Areas (ANP, for their Spanish acronym), allows to inspection in real time, boats with possible illegal fishery activities, which, it also activates the timely intervention of the Secretaría de Marina
(Semar), with the unfolding of boats to make the corresponding verifications to the site.

Thanks to this procedure, in the last three weeks there have been five suspected events of illegal fishery addressed at the Reserva de la Biosfera Islas Marías. In total, 11 boats were directed to port by elements of Semar and the Comisión Nacional de Acuacultura y Pesca (Conapesca), who started the legal procedures to pinpoint responsibilities.

The information continues in the documentation process, but it is considered important to make public these advances, because they reflect a significant upgrade in the response capacity in the face of illegal activities inside the reserve. The fishery surveillance is fundamental to fight the irregular fishery, not declared and
not regulated in México, an activity that puts the sustainability of the marine ecosystems in danger, affects the local economy and weakens the law enforcements.

Without effective surveillance, species in danger, such as the totoava, vaquita, sea
turtles, sharks, etc.… can be exploited without control, which can cause the alteration of the natural cycle of reproduction and the creation of an unfair competition against fishermen who operate within the legal framework.

Strengthening the surveillance mechanisms, such as the remote detection technology and the coordination with governmental organizations, it’s the key to protect marine resources and ensure the future of the fishery sector in Mexico. The ANP located in the Mexican Pacific works as a genuine reservoir of the species in Mexico, that’s why it is important to conserve and fulfil the established targets in its
creation decree.

Translated, reviewed and edited by: Daleth Aguilar.