It seems that Mexico’s long time struggle with drug wars and police corruption does not end on the streets.  Unfortunately the Mexican government’s extensive political strife also inflicts a great amount of strain on the well being of one of the World’s most important ecosystems, The Sea of Cortez.

The Sea of Cortez is located between the  Baja Peninsula and the Mexican mainland, it is approximately 600 miles long and 80 miles wide.  This stretch of sea is of enormous importance to hundreds of ocean species that rely on its waters.  In fact one third of the Planets marine mammals live here due to its biodiversity.  This region is not only vital to marine and aquatic life but also to the survival of Mexico’s commercial and sport-tourism industries.

Unfortunately over years of non-existent management of this precious ecosystem, the Sea of Cortez has been decimated by over fishing, pollution, insufficient fresh water flows and unregulated tourism.  A once thriving sea praised for being the best place in the World for Hammerhead Shark diving is now not even listed as being in the top 100 sites!

The commercial and tourism fishing industry of Mexico are vital industries to the Mexican economy and the Governments ignorance over the protection of this Sea will certainly be an enormous social disaster  in the near future if proper regulation is not implemented immediately.  So what is the hold up????

I discovered an organization dedicated to protecting the Sea of Cortez called Sea Watch (www.seawatch.org) located in La Paz Mexico.  It was founded in 1993 by, “a small group of Americans and Mexicans disgusted with the destruction of fisheries in the Sea of Cortes.”  According to their website, their greatest challenge seems to be with the National Commission of Aquaculture and Fishing (CONAPESCA), an organization set up by the Federal Government of Mexico to help protect and promote, “the conservation of marine species, also to benefit all commercial and sport-reacreative fishermen and reduce the conflicts among them.”  (www.conapesca.sagarpa.gob.mx) However it would seem that more effort is being made to protect the success of the commercial fishing industry through the use of loop holes in laws intended to protect the well being of endangered and at risk marine populations.

The law in question is the NOM-029-PESCA-2006.  With good intentions this law was devised to help stop the over-exploitation of sharks and Rays in the Sea of Cortez making it illegal to catch and fin sharks.  The law states that commercial long-lining is illegal within 50 miles of the coast of the Sea of Cortez.  This law helped to protect the sport fishing industry within these boundaries, however the commercial industry soon found loop holes and ways to benefit from this seemingly positive regulation.

A newer regulation that was passed allowed commercial long-liners to fish within the 50 mile perimeter under issued shark fishing permits with new regulations over their fishing practices which included that all by-catch be kept.  Of course all of the by-catch to be kept included all of the sport fish which was initially set out to be protected including dorado, sailfish and marlin!  It became obvious the reality of this “sustainable” law when the price for by-catch far out weighed the price for shark catch…essentially this was really a licence to catch as much protected fish as you want in protected waters!

So going back to my “Is Mahi Mahi sustainable?”  I would have to say no.  At this time Mexico is the sole regulator for one of the World’s most important marine sanctuaries which is really frightening.  It is time for the Government to take a stand to commercial pressures for the sake of the success of their future.  I’m not entirely sure it is possible for this country to pull together however organizations such as Sea Watch are making a difference by including the public voice and demanding change.

For more information about what is being done today to protect the Sea of Cortez and how you might be able to help, visit www.seawatch.org.

My husband and I just got back from a couple of weeks in Sayulita Mexico, our favorite little Mexican village just north of Puerto Vallarta.  We actually spent the winter there last year, and it was there that I became inspired to create this blog and begin my year without seafood.  So this year there was no Dorado (Mahi Mahi) or Camerons (Shrimp) for me but you could be sure to see it on every menu in every restaurant and street vendor in Mexico.

Towards the end of our trip, my husband and I went to dinner at a popular restaurant in Sayulita with family and friends and brought along our friend and surf instructor Javier, a Guadalajara native who has been living and operating his surf business in Sayulita for a few years.  As we took turns ordering our meals I could not help but take interest in the seafood choices made by everyone at the table.  My husband enjoyed taking playful shots at our family members for ordering things like shrimp fajita’s in front of me. “How can you order that in front of Jennie!” he laughs, while our friend Javier orders Ahi Tuna for dinner and then communicates his adoration for this particular fish by saying, “I just can’t resist ordering Ahi when it is on the menu, it is just so good.”  I couldn’t help but think, “Ahi Tuna is endangered…what is it doing on menus?!”

Then someone asks,  “why is there so much Mahi Mahi down here, it seems to be everywhere?”  Javier was quick to answer, after all he was the token local, “Dorado (Mahi Mahi) is a local fish in Sayulita and we have tons of it, so it’s super fresh, incredibly tasty and therefore on menus.”  I was immediately curious about that statement as I was unsure about the sustainability of Dorado, instead I assumed that he was wrong about Mexico’s abundance in this species and rather believed he, like most, mistakenly understand the reality of our troubled ocean inhabitants.  Judging by the way Mexico handles rules and regulations, I would assume those weakened philosophies would also hinder the well being of Mexico’s Fisheries.  But the truth was, I didn’t know for sure…Is Dorado an abundantly sustainable fish??

It turns out that Dorado actually grows and matures very quickly meaning that it can most likely sustain commercial fishing pressures, however they are often caught using long-lining techniques which does contribute to unnecessary bycatch and the potential injury or death of numerous other ocean species as well.

Dorado is an incredibly important fish to the Mexican economy as it is an excellent sport fishing species.  The travel sport fishing industry is a multi-million dollar industry and as they are also preyed on by Sailfish, Marlin, Sharks, some varieties of tuna and more, their presence along the Mexican coast is vital.

My brief research has lead me to believe that at this point it seems that Mexican Dorado is a safe seafood option where sustainablility is concerned but I have more questions now about what is actually happening in Mexican ocean conservation and what challenges they are facing today.