After more than two years of work by the current administration of the federal government, important changes have begun to take place in previous policies relating to fisheries management. These changes tell us about the priorities that are identified for this sector and the type of approach that is given to them by the federal government in practice beyond political discourse, so it is important to review what they are and what they are about.
A first change is in subsidies for fishing. Since 2020, a restructuring of the basket of subsidies began, which has historically represented close to 70% of the total budget of Conapesca. Previously, these subsidies were strongly oriented to fossil fuels and ship modernization, while prioritizing the industrial fleet and beneficiaries located in northwestern Mexico 1. However, since 2020, Conapesca has mainly funded a single subsidy program, Bienesca, which provides direct cash transfers to fishermen. In its distribution, priority has been given to artisanal fishing, in addition to giving more attention to beneficiaries located in central and southeastern Mexico and to workers in the fishing sector.
Bienesca is far from perfect. First, the selection of beneficiaries in 2020 was heavily criticized for having been done in a discretionary and non-transparent process, with few requirements to apply to the program. Second, Bienesca delivers $7,200 Mexican pesos annually to fishermen as an unconditional cash transfer. This has been done in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the 1930s due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is not clear if this direct transfer encourages better fisheries management or if it helps to improve the economic situation of fishermen.
Another important change is fishing permits. In December 2020, Conapesca announced a National Fisheries Regularization Campaign, where authorities called on fishermen to complete an online questionnaire. The general objective of the special program in which the Campaign is uncertain speaks of the granting of fishing permits that allow fishermen to have legal access to the use of fishing resources 2. This is proposed either by giving new permits where there are fishing resources available for exploitation or through the reassignment of existing permits that are in disrepair or that do not comply with fishing regulations. The fishing sector and civil organizations have demanded that this campaign operate with transparency to allow closer public scrutiny, for fear that the issuance and reassignment of permits could generate social conflicts between fishermen and affect the sustainability of fishing.
A third important movement in fisheries policy is the fight against illegal fishing. It seems that the current administration has decided to transfer inspection and surveillance responsibilities from Conapesca to the Secretariat of the Navy (SEMAR). The general argument is that there is a high degree of illegality in fishing activities, even with organized crime involved, so a civil authority such as Conapesca can hardly address this problem. Along with this vision, Conapesca experienced a drastic budget reduction in 2020 to carry out this task, which amounted to a cut of almost 70% from the previous 2019 budget 3. This may reflect the federal government's decision to reduce the role of Conapesca in this responsibility and transfer it to SEMAR.
There is currently an initiative in the Chamber of Deputies by the Morena parliamentary group that will provide the legal basis for this change and a public debate with various arguments for and against this initiative. Considering its current majority in Congress and the fact that the House of Representatives is renewed with the elections in June of this year, it is very likely that this initiative will be sought to approve this initiative for the current legislative period that began in February.
2021 is seen as the year where these three changes are fully implemented and consolidated in fisheries policy by the current administration. These very important processes should not be left out of an evidence-based public debate, which allows better decisions to be achieved through the authority and collaboration of the different groups working in the area of fishing. On our side, Causa Natura will continue its efforts to provide the interested public with access to data and analysis on these issues to promote informed and proactive participation of society.
Note:
1 See Fishing Data, Fishing Subsidies. Available at https://pescandodatos.org/subsidios-pesqueros
2 See Conapesca, National Program for the Regularization of the Legal Situation for the Welfare of Fishermen 2020-2024 of the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Commission. Available at: https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/607611/PROGRAMA_REGULARIZACI_N_PERMISOS.pdf
3 See Eduardo Rolón, “Combating illegal fishing in Mexico. What's going on in 2020?” Available at https://causanatura.org/publicacion.php?id=91595b6b-98b0-46a8-96d4-3c44b6abe5a0
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