Mexican lawmakers weigh in on fishing bans in Sea of Cortez
SAN LUIS RIO COLORADO, Son. — Mexican lawmakers whose districts include this border city, and nearby Rock Point, are getting in the middle of the debate between commercial fishermen and environmentalists over fishing bans in the Sea of Cortez.
The federal and Sonora state legislators have scheduled a public forum in Puerto Penasco, as Rocky Point is known, for Jan. 12 to study the economic effects of bans imposed by the Mexican government beginning in 2015.
The bans are aimed at protecting such species as the vaquita, a type of porpoise found only in the Sea of Cortez, also known as the Gulf of California. The vaquita’s population has plummeted dramatically, and environmentalists maintain fishing has brought the species to the brink of extinction.
Among the lawmakers organizing the forum is Manuel Lopez, who represents northwest Sonora in Mexico’s federal Chamber of Deputies.
“The purpose is to collect proposals for solutions to the situation affecting El Golfo de Santa Clara and the other communities on the upper gulf,” he said. “The problem is delicate. The (fishing) ban has the fishermen in crisis.”
Commercial fishing is the traditional industry in El Golfo, which nonetheless has sought to diversify its economy by promoting its beaches to tourists from Yuma County, from Arizona and the region.
Among others taking part in the forum will be Manuel Baldenebro, a federal lawmaker and former mayor of San Luis Rio Colorado, and two state lawmakers from the same border city, Lazaro Espinoza and Jesus Alonso Montes. The forum also is expected to bring together representatives of fishing organizations, researchers, envi-
ronmentalists and others to discuss effects of the ban on the communities as well as the environmental impacts of fishing.
“We want to look at all the proposals and alternatives for solutions to take the action that needs to be done in the legislative field,” Lopez said. “We see that there are two positions that are clashing, environmentalism and social need, and we are going to see if they can be brought into harmony.”
The federal government has been giving in lieu payments to El Golfo fisherman to compensate them for lost wages resulting from the fishing restrictions. Still, the fisherman say they want to go back to pursuing their traditional livelihoods, and last month they sent a letter to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador asking him to step in to resolve the situation.
“Not much time will pass before we also will be declared at risk of extinction,” they said in the letter.
The forum is open to the public. Anyone unable to attend, but wanting to offer comments for discussion, can submit them by email. Emails should be sent to Lopez, lutor64ml@gmail. com, or to Manuel Cuen, m_cuen@hotmail.com.