- The project seeks to transform the sustainable management of fishing and aquaculture systems to improve livelihoods in coastal fishing communities and to reduce their vulnerability to climate change.
- There are five pilot projects in Yucatán, Tabasco, Baja California Sur, Sonora and Oaxaca.
- The project will be coordinated by the Agriculture Ministry with financial support from the French Development Agency.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with financial support from the French Development Agency, and accompanied by the Foreign Ministry, has launched a five-year project for the sustainable management of Mexico's seas to ensure the food self-sufficiency, resilience and well-being of communities in Mexico.
The project's aim is to contribute to national policy for the transformation and sustainable management of fishing and aquaculture systems to contribute to the food self-sufficiency and improve the well-being of coastal fishermen, while reducing their vulnerability to climate change.
To achieve this goal, the project will advance the design of a National System of Fish Refuge Zones; update the legal framework for the comprehensive management of the country's seas and oceans in the short-, medium- and long-term; create financial mechanisms to ensure the sustainability of the zones, and improve the ability of our institutions to establish, operate and renew the Fish Refuge Zones, among other activities.
The project gives Mexico the opportunity to meet its international commitments, such as the one with the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Oceanic Economy on sustainably managing 100% of the waters under national jurisdiction. Mexico and France are currently active members of the Panel. This coordinated action between both government agencies strengthens bilateral cooperation on the issue.
Pilot projects will be launched in Chixculub, Yucatán; Balancan, Tabasco; Loreto Corridor – La Paz, Baja California Sur; Upper Gulf – Peñasco Corridor – Puerto Lobos, Sonora, and Huatulco, Oaxaca. The project in these areas will involve coastal fishermen living in poverty in towns vulnerable to climate change, and will serve as a starting point and general framework for the strategy.
This plan will complement other national efforts undertaken by the Mexican government, such as the Implementation Strategy for a Sustainable Ocean Economy in Mexico 2021-2024, which establishes and manages marine protected areas and other conservation measures for biodiversity; and proposals for new government programs and initiatives to contribute to coastal and marine socioenvironmental regeneration for food self-sufficiency and the well-being of coastal communities by consolidating and expanding fish refuge zones and other forms of sustainable use.
