As the first rays of sunlight come out on the beach, the fishermen begin to maneuver in their 4×4 carts that tow their well-equipped pangas for two days submerged in the sea. November to February is low season for anglers in Agua Verde, a remote community in the north of Baja California Sur: Today the wind stopped and they couldn't waste the day to go fishing.
Illegal fishing in the area with its prohibited fishing gear stresses the fish and they do not return to those places, which means that the fishermen of Agua Verde increasingly have to invest more time going further to be able to fish, says Jesús Humberto Castro or Beto, as his colleagues from the Playas del Puertito Cooperative tell him.
Agua Verde, together with San Evaristo, is the largest community within the San Cosme - Punta Coyote Corridor, made up of 12 communities with 579 people, whose main livelihood is fishing and which by 2020 had nine cooperative fish production societies, 225 fishermen and 112 boats.
There are only two roads to access the corridor, one through San Evaristo and the other through San Cosme that connects to Agua Verde, the rest can only be reached by sea. Source Daniela Reyes.
In 2012, these communities agreed to establish the first Network of Fishing Refuge Zones (ZRP) in Mexico, a special type of reserved and protected marine areas where the extraction of fishery resources is totally or partially prohibited to protect the habitat of commercial species regulated by law.
The San Cosme-Punta Coyote network of fishing refuge areas currently includes 12 polygons of 71 km2 in total area that represent 21.6% of the total fishing area in the corridor, whose main important species are huachinango, cabrilla, snapper, horse mackerel, leg and cochito.
Take care of what is ours, so that others can catch it
Agua Verde Fishermen. Photo: Daniela Reyes.
Since the first request to establish the shelter network in 2010, it was notable that the biggest challenge for establishing the shelter zone network would be surveillance. The 107 fishermen who signed the agreement at that time pointed to the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Commission (Conapesca):
“For these areas to work, more comprehensive fisheries management is necessary, including a fisheries management plan and inspection and surveillance strategies, in which we are willing to collaborate.”
In order to care for the species that sustain their days in this arid region, in 2012 the members of the two fishing cooperatives in Agua Verde donated a boat and, with the support of the civil organization Niparajá Natural History Society, they launched community surveillance in the La Brecha, San Marcial, San Mateo and Tembabiche fishing refuge areas.
Although surveillance has been intermittent, for four years Enrique León raised his hand to relieve the former community guard of the Islote de Agua Verde Cooperative and, together with Rodrigo Rodríguez of the Playas del Puertito Cooperative, he goes out eight times a month to go on tours.
When they come out at night it is easier to identify if there is illegal fishing because in the complete darkness of the sea, the light of the boats is notorious and it takes them about three hours to cover the entire area. Instead of days, tours can be extended from three to six hours.
“There's illegal fishing all year round, they don't stop working,” Betito says, sharing his experience as a community watchman a few years ago, when at least once a week he received reports of illegal fishing, which usually happened at night by fishermen from Ensenada Blanca, a community 40 minutes away by sea.
For this work, cooperatives financially support the vigilantes with 3,000 pesos a month each, and although Enrique says he does it to take care of the community, he recognizes that he stops fishing and doing other activities that generate income to dedicate himself to surveillance.
Community vigilantes Enrique and Rodrigo go out to sea with no other support than radios, a camera and their log, thus using their bodies to defend their resources.
The only protocol to follow is to approach boats that are fishing in restricted areas to try to talk, at the risk that they may react aggressively.
Before, they have been threatened by poaching with their harpoons and guns, useful for fishing, but also lethal weapons. Last year, Enrique recalls that in an operation with the Secretariat of the Navy (Semar) and Conapesca, he secured diving equipment and nets, and was threatened by poachers.
But when the authorities are not present, the community guards have neither the equipment nor the authority to do more than report, they take photographs and the data of the boat to file a complaint with Conapesca. It takes up to 3 days to treat it, since the only inspector is in Loreto, two and a half hours from the community.
In addition, among the members of the cooperatives there is a perception that there is corruption between the authorities and illegal fishermen, since even if there are complaints, they hardly proceed or poachers are not present when there are tours of Semar and Conapesca, León points out.
Support for the Fishing Refuge Zones project decreases
Staff from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sader) applying forms to fishermen for the fisheries management program in Agua Verde. Photo: Daniela Reyes.
In a dozen interviews conducted by Causa Natura Media with fishermen in Agua Verde, the predominant feeling is that of impotence.
The initial willingness to support the project and surveillance has begun to decline, mainly due to the lack of presence of the authorities of Semar and Conapesca, says Salvador Rodríguez Van Dyck, coordinator of the sustainable fishing program in Niparajá and who has had to see the entire process of the network of fishing shelters in the corridor.
The Fishing Refuge Zones in the corridor have been temporarily established for five years so that during that period the results can be evaluated.
Initially, the project was signed by 64% of the fishermen, since the rest could not sign or rejected it because they believed that they would never be able to fish again in those areas, despite the fact that the shelters are temporary. They are usually valid for five years and if not renewed it becomes invalid; and when renewed, the protected area can be expanded or decreased.
90% of fishermen signed in favor of the renovation in 2017 because of the positive ecological results, but 64% signed again for the 2022 renovation. According to Rodríguez Van Dyck, the community realizes that in the absence of the State, what they take care of all year round, poachers take it away overnight and without any consequences.
The culture of conservation clashes with that of exploitation that had historically dominated the area; and the temptation to remove shelters and fish as before is always latent in the face of the frustration of seeing other poachers who do.
But this would erase what it has cost communities like Agua Verde more than 12 years to organize their fisheries by regularizing their permits, registering vessels, developing a Fisheries Management Plan and establishing refuge areas.
Enrique León, who has been present throughout the process, points out that communities must have the character to defend their future. “We're going to run out of product in the blink of an eye,” he says, referring to fishermen who fish illegally or who are fighting to open the refuge area for fishing.
The corridor was the first to establish fishing refuge zones in Mexico, but there are currently at least 14 other fishing shelters in force and in a similar situation.
According to the report Fishing Data from the Natural Cause Data Unit, from 2013 to 2018, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sader) granted subsidies for fisheries management activities (97%) and for inspection and surveillance actions (3%) in fishing refuge areas. After this date, it stopped allocating budget and this responsibility ended up falling on communities and civil organizations.
“There was very concrete support between 2015 and 2018 from Conapesca focused on this area. It had its golden age but it was short-lived. Then attention began to wane. And in order not to leave that gap, the roles of the organization of civil society, in this case Niparajá, has tried to somehow maintain these actions that can complement and are within the fields of action and jurisdiction,” says Salvador Rodríguez.
In 2011, Niparajá conducted a study to evaluate the impact that the establishment of the network of fishing shelters would have, and estimated that a minimum annual budget of 600,000 pesos and a maximum of 960,000 pesos was needed to establish an effective surveillance program.
From 2013 to 2018, the San Cosme-Punta Coyote corridor received 1,600,000 pesos annually through Sader subsidies that were used in inspection and surveillance (27%) and in fisheries management (73%).
However, since these supports were suspended, fishermen have received only Support for the Welfare of Fishermen and Aquaculturists (Bienesca) from Sader, an annual financial support of 7,200 pesos to all fishermen that is in no way enough for anything other than food for fishing families, says Francisco González, president of the Playas del Puertito Cooperative.
Since 2019, the runner has not received support for these activities and maintains its community vigilance based on the will of the cooperatives that financially support the vigilantes and the Niparajá civil organization that provides fuel for the routes.
Agua Verde will start high season without community surveillance
Beto with “El Halcón”, a boat used for security surveillance at the home of a member of the cooperative | Photo: Daniela Reyes.
March marks the start of the high season for Agua Verde fishermen. At least 10 boats per day for each cooperative will go out fishing for up to 25 days of each month until October.
That's when the results of respecting fishing shelter areas come in, where there is an increasing trend of commercial fish according to the Niparajá underwater monitoring, which assures that from 2012 to 2021 abundance increased by 298%, biomass by 630% and sizes by 22%.
These figures are very high, Salvador says, and Niparajá is collating these data and doing a verification. He points out that there are other refuges where severely exploited species tend to show significant increases in marine reserves with increases of up to 1,000% in biomass.
In a day they fish for a whole day or two to catch approximately 200 kilos of fish products with a total cost of 4,400 pesos. Subtracting operating expenses, they are left with a profit of 2,500 to 3,000 pesos, which is usually distributed between two or three fishermen who go on the boat, that is, each one earns between 700 and a thousand pesos per day.
This year they will begin the fishing season without community surveillance because the boat is broken down due to the inactivity it was in during the pandemic.
However, Alejandro Romero, treasurer of the Islote Agua Verde Cooperative, points out that between 100,000 and 150,000 pesos annually receive from members' financial contributions, operating expenses and the discouragement of not seeing surveillance results have kept the shelter without community surveillance for the last four months.
However, Agua Verde is the only community that maintains an organized surveillance system, while in El Pardito there are two fishermen who monitor their fishing refuge area voluntarily and with their own resources, according to one of them, Juan Cuevas.
These two communities monitor seven of the fishing shelter areas, while in the remaining five there is no type of community surveillance.
Projects are emerging for the sustainability of shelters
Ecotourism and adventure tourism activities in Agua Verde and San Cosme. Photo: Daniela Reyes.
Despite the discouragement and struggles surrounding opening the area to fishing, there are those who currently see the fishing refuge area as an opportunity to promote new projects compatible with shelters, which can help them to be maintained and strengthened.
For example, in San Evaristo, El Pardito and San Cosme they have begun to develop ecotourism, adventure tourism and research through sailing or horseback riding, hiking, kayaking and diving, in collaboration with organizations and universities.
In Agua Verde, the community doesn't want tourism to arrive because they believe it would harm their fishing resources, Enrique says, and instead they are betting on sustainable fishing.
The Islote Agua Verde cooperative began a pilot project in 2022 with SmartFish, a marketer of sustainable fish and seafood from artisanal fishing, in which they used Ikejime, a technique that reduces animal suffering and helps maintain the quality of the meat of the fish, with which they managed to double the value of 300 kilos of horse mackerel they caught.
This year they formalized their business relationship with SmartFish and they hope that by fishing less and with better quality, they can receive better income and continue building that relationship of respect for the sea, says Edgar Murillo, president of the Islote Agua Verde cooperative.
Fishing shelters, the solitary effort of fishermen in the San Cosme-Punta Coyote Corridor. Photo: Daniela Reyes.
Enrique León, a community watchman in Agua Verde, proposes that the corridor revisit the surveillance models that are implemented in cooperatives in the north of the state, such as Tortugas Bay or Natividad Island, where all members do surveillance on a rotating basis and without remuneration, and in this way, both costs, responsibility and risk are more bearable for everyone.
10 years after the installation of the first refuge zones in the San Cosme-Punta Coyote Corridor, Edgar Murillo, president of the Islote Agua Verde cooperative, believes that it is an effective tool and that as a community they do their part by monitoring, yet the authorities fail to follow up on their complaints or have a presence in the area to discourage illegal fishing.
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