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.