Baja California Sur is an entity in Mexico that stands out for its wide range of culinary dishes from the sea. Although there is no specific fishery, there are species such as the parakeet fish that are appreciated for the flavor of their meat. The high demand is a reality that today opens up a debate among academics, researchers, authorities and traders about whether a ban or preventive measures are necessary to protect parrotfish.
Between the fine sand, movie sunsets and a turquoise sea, fishermen from La Paz carry out their activities to earn their daily livelihood. They are the main witnesses of the conditions of the populations of species with the highest demand in restaurants, fishmongers and other businesses.
Antonio Gómez, a fisherman for three decades by family tradition, says that parrotfish meat is a product that pays very well, which is why it becomes an attractive niche for exploitation.
The price may vary, but it is a fact that it is increasing, share. It is sold from 150 pesos per kilo to companies and in restaurants its value can reach up to 200 pesos per kilo.
Although this is a great economic opportunity for those who live from the exploitation of seafood, he believes that there is a risk for the species. The fisherman testifies that the parakeet fish is no longer seen as before in the waters of La Paz Bay.
“Everything has come down, the whole species has fallen a lot... it has to be that way because we are already a lot of fishermen,” he said.
“Do restaurants order it a lot?” , the fisherman is asked, to which he replies: “They ask for it a lot, the demand is high. It's first-class meat, it's like goat.”
Although restaurateurs, chefs and fishermen have been promoting avoiding the consumption of parrotfish for some years, the truth is that there are ways to circumvent these citizen initiatives.
There is no strict review, nor regulation by the appropriate authorities. In this scenario, there are fishermen who report parakeet meat as shrimp to avoid moral debate about its consumption, since there is no law or regulation that prohibits the sale and exploitation of the species.
Although they recognize that this is a highly appreciated product, restaurateurs and chefs deny that parrotfish meat is requested to meet the demand of tourists; however, testimonies from fishermen report that it is sought, fished and sold in steak because the tourism sector asks for it.
In this part of the country there are four species of parakeet fish: scarus compressus, scarus ghobban, scarus perrico and scarus rubroviolaceus, according to the research Regulation of Herbivorous Fishes Associated with Coral Reefs in the Gulf of California, carried out by researchers Daniel Camilo Thompson Poo, Jenny Carolina Rodríguez-Villalobos, Arturo Ayala-Bocos and Héctor Reyes-Bonilla.
They analyze a possible ban
The head of the Secretariat of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Agricultural Development (Sepada) of Baja California Sur, José Alfredo Bermúdez Beltrán, said that although the species is not endangered, the population indices “attract attention”.
In this scenario, he confirmed that the National Fisheries Commission (Conapesca) is carrying out a thorough study to analyze the situation of the parrotfish and thus determine if it is necessary to establish a ban for their protection.
He recalled that bans are installed to ensure reproduction and ensure that the volume of the population does not decrease, and that it is not a decision that can be taken lightly. To determine protection of this type, the intervention of academics and specialist institutions will also be necessary.
From his perspective as a public servant, he pointed out that he has encountered a change in thinking in the way in which cooperatives and independent fishermen act. He states that they are now committed to sustainability and the care of species to “not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs”, so he has no doubt that, if a ban is applied, there will be collaboration on the part of producers and merchants.
This is an awareness-raising effort that, according to restaurateurs and chefs, has already started in businesses in the city of La Paz.
The president of the National Chamber of the Restaurant and Spiced Food Industry (Canirac), Lorena Hinojosa Olivas, stressed that they have internal campaigns to prevent the purchase of fish that are temporarily and permanently closed.
He reiterated that today, consumers are very critical of restaurants that sell dishes based on animals that are classified as endangered or their population is at risk.
For his part, chef Donaldo Martínez specified that he began this internal campaign against the consumption of parrotfish two years ago.
Chefs, as well as restaurant owners in the coastal area of La Paz, avoid buying and asking fishermen, he said. “We don't handle it, we're against consumption for protection, but there's no law that prohibits it.”
According to his experience, the purchase and sale of this product occurs in a clandestine way in other areas, in seafood restaurants known as palaperas or at disembarkation points when fishermen arrive at the end of their daily days.
In 2020, members of the Federation of Fishing Cooperatives (Fedecoop) spoke out in favor of conserving parrotfish, avoiding the extraction of the species for commercial sale.
However, when requesting interviews with Fedecoop leaders in Baja California Sur to confirm whether support for protection work is still in place, there was no response.
Capture data
The policy report Regulation of Herbivorous Fishes Associated with Coral Reefs in the Gulf of California details that Mexico began with a regulation including 10 species of parrotfish in the NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010 of species at risk in 2019.
As a result, the species is subject to Special Protection and there is a ban on fishing for the Scaridae family in the Mexican Caribbean Biosphere Reserve. However, there is no specific regulation in the Gulf of California due to lack of characterization of the species, the report highlights.
Jenny Carolina Rodríguez Villalobos, PhD in Marine Ecology and professor of the subject at the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur (UABCS), specified that, although the four species of parakeet fish that inhabit the Gulf of California did not meet the standard, this was the watershed to investigate the situation in this region of the country.
In an effort to include parakeet fish species in the Caribbean, the doctor has spent the last three years analyzing herbivorous fish populations in the so-called “aquarium of the world”.
The researcher reports that as a result of the studies, it has been detected that there is a decrease in both the density and the biomass of the four species that inhabit the southern area of the Gulf of California, which ranges from the municipalities of La Paz and Los Cabos.
He noted that the analysis of the standard coincides with Conapesca data from the last 15 years, which show that there is a decrease in the total catch of parrotfish.
He pointed out that within Protected Natural Areas (ANP) and fishing shelters found in the Gulf, the situation is different, since in terms of biomass or density, species are stable or increasing.
According to data from the Conapesca arrival notices, the total weight of the landed parakeet fish, the one that keeps the product when it was declared, in Baja California Sur in 2020 amounted to 72,494 kilograms. This is an increase of 12.2% compared to that registered in 2015.
In that same period, the value of landed parakeet fish went from 791,653 pesos in 2015 to 3 million 291 thousand pesos in 2020, the latter amount being equivalent to 2 million 598 thousand pesos in 2015 in real terms.
In the research Regulation of Herbivorous Fishes Associated with Coral Reefs in the Gulf of California, they indicate that in the Cabo Pulmo area, a decrease in specimen size and population has been reported, while in the vicinity of Cerralvo Island, a decrease in abundance has been detected.
The study highlights that La Paz is becoming an important research area since academics recognize that the capital of Baja California Sur is the one with the largest fishery of the Scaridae family in Mexico.
Ecological importance
The relevance of parakeet fish is not only its commercial value, but it also plays an important role in the conservation of coral reefs, ecosystems that are key players in the fight against the global climate crisis, explains Dr. Jenny Carolina Rodríguez Villalobos.
The study emphasizes that corals are part of the marine ecosystem most at risk of disappearing due to the climate crisis.
They anticipate that, including systems found in the Gulf of California, they will experience severe annual bleaching that could have drastic consequences, such as diminishing the resources that reefs provide to humans.
The academic explains that parrotfish species have the ecological function of controlling the growth of macroalgae, which are direct competitors of corals.
“Keeping algae under control allows corals to grow and establish themselves in ecosystems. The ecosystem requires an ecological balance to be able to provide the functions and services they provide to us humans,” he added.
For his part, Miguel Ángel Ojeda Ruiz, a research professor at the UABCS, pointed out that with global warming, efforts have been focused on protecting productive ecosystems, those that generate energy, that capture nitrogen or carbon; among them, corals stand out.
The parakeet fish, he reiterated, allows reefs to have an efficient level of operation without excess algae, keeping them in good condition. In addition, what they produce in their excretions is the type of white sand that is known on the beaches of Baja California Sur.
If the parakeet fish disappeared, there would be a significant ecological impact, the professor points out. However, he believes that the fishing authority must carry out a very serious analysis before enacting a measure and recognize that the most important effect of fishing is not so much because of the activity, but because of consumption.
Information is missing
Although there is an intention to establish the real situation of the parakeet fish species that inhabit the Gulf of California, academics agree that there is no 100% reliable information from the institutions responsible for analyzing and monitoring the catch.
The fishing data are not complete enough to make a fine analysis of the state of the stocks, says Dr. Rodríguez Villalobos.
Illegal fishing has been proven to exist. Unfortunately, it has not had a follow-up that provides full information on the problem.
“We believe that reducing illegal fishing and also characterizing this incidental fishing, that we know exactly where and how much parakeet fish are coming out incidentally, would be an appropriate way of management so far,” he emphasizes.
In the policy report Regulation of Herbivorous Fishes Associated with Coral Reefs in the Gulf of California, it is emphasized that it is necessary to improve the declaration of notifications of arrivals, these are reports made by fishermen on the day's catch and, with this, there will be better fishing monitoring and product traceability.
As a result of research that examined five states in the Gulf of California, it was established that Baja California Sur generated 76% of the catch of herbivorous fish and 79% of its total value in the region.
Here the researchers describe an error in the data since the fishing authority points out that there are only three species of parakeet fish that are commercial: scarus perrico, Nicholsina usta and scarus guacamaia; however, the latter is not distributed in the Pacific Ocean, only in the Caribbean.
“Without a doubt, it is a natural resource that could improve its regulation, be properly declared and have due control over its catches and traceability,” they emphasize in the study.
In addition, research professor Miguel Ángel Ojeda Ruiz agrees that there is not much information published regarding parrotfish fisheries. It is known that it has a high commercial value and that it has a lot of market pressure, especially due to the tourist influence in the cities of La Paz and Los Cabos.
He insists that this context affects decision-making about parakeet species, since the only way to know how a fishery is found in Mexico is through the arrival notices of the fishermen themselves.
“It would take a lot of money to do oceanographic and population studies, which only apply to resources of high commercial value such as lobster or tuna. When bycatch is taken, what they have observed is that fishermen do not report it or that less is reported than is caught,” he observes.
Towards possible solutions
Ojeda Ruiz states that it is necessary to manage mixed policies to establish whether a protection of space or time is appropriate, or a ban; a protection of size or a mixture of several schemes, including market control measures.
He recalled that there is a history of how to give added value to products and restrict others from entering markets, through billing, mobilization and purchasing processes, but, above all, it has to do with an issue of consumer culture.
“I think it's part of changing culture a bit, I think the parakeet is a very charismatic, very beautiful, very attractive species. We could think of this scheme where, through education, culture and market control, we could avoid what motivates their fishing: the high payment for the product,” he said.
In this regard, Dr. Jenny Carolina Rodríguez Villalobos is convinced that the management of parakeets should be considered within the framework of good governance and should include all sectors.
It is necessary to create campaigns to explain to fishermen the importance of reporting each time they take out animals and to make the size and weight transparent, as well as to sport fishing cooperatives.
He stressed that the fisherman cannot be identified as the bad guy in the film because he is finally doing an activity that he needs to survive, but more information is needed to know with certainty what the condition of the populations is.
* This work was supported by the Sea Journalism Network (Repemar), promoted by Causa Natura with the help of the Earth Journalism Network of Internews.
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