The artisanal shrimp fishery in northwestern Mexico is working to obtain a certificate from the international organization Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) in 2025.
The organization that owns the sustainable fishing standard recently announced that artisanal shrimp in Mexico is entering the evaluation process to obtain the MSC certificate. Such compliance is evaluated by an independent certifier.
To comment on this process, which would be a milestone in the country, Causa Natura Media interviewed Iván Pérez, founder and general director of the civil organization Sustainable Conservation of Marine and Aquatic Resources (Cosorema), which, together with Del Pacifico SeaFood, is the client that has requested to be evaluated.
The interview with Pérez has been edited for clarity.
— What does it mean to have an MSC certificate?
It is very important to specify that it would be the fourth certified fishery in Mexico, if we were successful in doing so. But it would be the third because tuna lost certification a couple of years ago. And it would be the second certified artisanal fishery. So what it implies, in a commercial way, is very important today, because it is the globally recognized standard. It is the standard that the markets acclaim, it is a new opportunity for new markets in the face of the different demands of the actors in the purchase of products. Well, an increasingly precise, increasingly meticulous standard is being required, and MSC meets those characteristics.
So we are doing it out of a need to open up new markets, but also to demonstrate that fishing is being well managed and that they are obtaining the product with the best possible practices that are friendly to the ecosystem.
— What standards does the certificate evaluate?
Certification is a standard that merely audits the environmental aspect, there are 28 indicators divided into three principles.
Principle 1 relates to the state of the populations you are trying to certify, in this case shrimp. Principle 2 is the impact of the fishery on the ecosystem, that is, how the fishing gear you are using or how the fishing activity impacts the other species that adjoin or that have the same habitat, so to speak, with the shrimp and the seabed. And principle 3, which is related to fisheries management, that is, they merely call it governance, where it is stated that it is also being regulated by the government, the fishery, what are the rules.
— How did they start the certification process?
Yes, see the MSC certification process begins with the signing of a contract. After that there is a pre-evaluation. Once you have the results, you as a client make the decision, whether I move forward or not, but before that happens you are still working internally only. From there, it's where we are today (September 2) when it was published. We are making the official announcement that with this pre-evaluation we are moving to the full evaluation and will appear on the MSC portal.
Well, right now we are in public opinion to receive comments from that pre-evaluation. So we're right then, practically, it's day zero for MSC because starting today (September 2) we have around 18 months to get certified.
— When do you expect to achieve it?
I am estimating that, if all goes well, we will achieve certification by summer 2025. Right now what follows is that we will receive the on-site audit in October. This is a key process because that is where we are going to improve the score we obtained (in the pre-evaluation) and where we will almost know where we are going to go towards certification.
— What is an on-site audit?
In the on-site audit it is a “show me the evidence that will make me change to improve that score or we continue to move forward like this”. So after that on-site audit, you have about 30 or 60 days to integrate the most evidence that was collected. And now a final document is being prepared to determine if the certification is positive or negative.
— What is the particular challenge associated with the certification of inshore fishing as opposed to industrial fishing?
I think the main challenge is that if we compare the industrial one, for example you say: “Five ships are going for certification”, in this case I tell them “925 pangas are seeking certification”. So imagine each panga has two fishermen and you have to work with each one to do things right, to monitor, to collect data, it's an abysmal difference, in volume dimensions it's 10 against 1. And the other is that, usually, an owner owns three ships, but in the cooperative, all the members are integrated and everyone takes a voice and vote. Making decisions to guide projects is also a challenge in the sector, but it's a pleasant challenge, the truth is it's a very nice job to be working with cooperatives, that social aspect I think has a lot of value.
— What type of art do the coastal fishermen you work with use?
It is very important to mention that we are seeking certification of surf fishing gear, it is the art that has proven to be the friendliest and with the least impact on the ecosystem. As it is a fishing gear that practically floats on the water bed, there is a drag, but very little, some small sinkers, but nothing significant. In addition, it is worked with the force of wind and currents, so there is no pollution from the engines. The expense is low. So that's very important to mention this difference from the industrial (art) that is a 100% trawl fishery as they call it “El Chango” industrial.
— What does Sustainable Conservation of Marine and Aquatic Resources A.C. (Cosorema) do?
I founded the organization with the intention of supporting the productive sector, in this case the fisherman and the aquaculturist. Provide them with better living conditions through sustainable financing models. Projects have always been a very good tool that we have identified to bring greater incentives and also because that has given the sector a chance to have greater empowerment. The role, practically, that Cosorema is playing is like a cog between the productive sector and the industry.
— What sites do you work on now?
We are working in the northwestern region of Mexico. What is Sinaloa, Sonora and everything that is the mouth of the Gulf of California. We also have some interference over there in the Yucatan Peninsula with octopus, but the essential part is here in Sinaloa.
— Where are the artisanal fishermen they work with for this certificate?
The fisheries that are being certified right now are artisanal (14 cooperatives) that correspond specifically to the coast of Sinaloa. It is the fishing field of La Reforma, Costa Azul, in Angostura, Sinaloa; Altata and Dautillos, in Navolato, Sinaloa; Las Arenitas corresponding to Eldorado in Sinaloa and Las Aguamitas another fishing field in the municipality of Navolato, in Sinaloa.
— Are you the holders of the certificate? , how did they form this alliance with fishing cooperatives?
Yes, that was the idea for Cosorema and Del Pacício SeaFood they are going to be the holders of the certificate, so the idea that an NGO is in as a certificate holder, because it gives a lot of benefit to cooperatives, because it gives the possibility of an opening in which they will join this project more tomorrow.
Del Pacifico Seafood, the partner in this project, is the one that has been promoting the sustainability of the fishery, and has been supporting them (coastal fishermen) for more than six years. The company Del Pacico Seafood acts as a marketer for them and has been supporting improvements; investing in certifications such as Fairtrade; FIPs, which are fishing improvement projects, among others; and here Cosorema joined last year, when I founded it, to form this alliance with the technical operational part with Del Pacício Seafood.
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