MONTERREY, Mexico (25 Oct 2002) -- Government officials reached an agreement with fishermen Wednesday in a dispute that has spilled over into Mexico's tourism industry and threatened to become a headache for President Vicente Fox as he hosts world leaders. But environmentalists criticized the compromise - which will allow shrimping vessels to continue fishing in a national protected marine reserve - as a blow to last-ditch efforts to save what Jacques Cousteau once called "the world's aquarium." The agreement came after protests by fishermen stranded hundreds of U.S. tourists over the weekend and just as leaders from Pacific Rim nations gathered further south in the resort of Cabo San Lucas. After Fox sent in the Mexican navy to oust shrimp vessels from the northernmost section of the Gulf of California, fishermen formed human chains across a highway connecting the sleepy Mexican port of Puerto Penasco to the U.S. border. The port, known as Rocky Point in the United States, is a popular weekend getaway for Arizona residents. Fishermen met with Arizona officials Wednesday to assure them they would not interfere with tourism. Declared a national park and U.N. biosphere nearly a decade ago, the million-acre reserve cuts a glistening blue swath through one of North America's driest deserts, separating Baja California from mainland Mexico. The waters are a key breeding ground for the Gulf of California, also known as the sea of Cortez. The area is also home of the vaquita, the world's smallest porpoise, which is on the brink of extinction. With less than 600 of the four-foot vaquitas remaining, Mexico's Environment Secretary, Victor Lichtinger had called the crackdown "our last chance to save this species." Environmentalists say the boats use huge trawler nets that scrape the bottom of the Gulf clean of marine life, dredging up dozens of species on which vaquitas depend. The fisherman keep a few commercially valuable species and throw the rest away to die, environmental groups allege. Gill nets used by about 1,000 small-scale fishermen - who are still allowed in the reserve - also have killed between 30 to 80 vaquitas a year, environmentalists say. "Trawling the ocean floor has just completely destroyed this ecosystem," said Peggy Turk, director of the Intercultural Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans in Puerto Penasco, which sits just outside the reserve. | | But Lichtinger's spokesman, Rodolfo Lacy, acknowledged Wednesday that local fishermen - who have been working in the area long before the reserve was formed in 1993 - also have a right to "exploit its resources." Lacy said there are ways they can do that while protecting the reserve. Under the seven-point compromise, 130 local boats will be allowed to use a limited zone that avoids the main vaquita areas. Some 400 boats from Gulf ports outside the area that once fished the reserve will be banned. Fishermen now must use specially inspected low-impact nets to curtail damage to the ocean floor and prevent the capture of young fish and turtles. They also cannot fish closer than three miles from the coast and will be required to submit an environmental impact study this week. Boats are expected back in the reserve by Saturday. Shrimp season runs from October to December. "Before boats would come and go as they please," Lacy said. "But the federal government now is ensuring that all protected areas are actually being protected. This is no exception." Salvador Cabrales, president of the Fishing Industry Association, said the fishermen plan on "using better technologies and better materials to give the environment a better opportunity." Environmentalists, however, said there still would be harm. "Our opinion is that they should respect all of the reserve, which will benefit fishermen in the future," said Olegario Morales of the Intercultural Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans. "Definitely, there will be an impact," he added. "As much as they want to diminish the activity, the impact is going to be real. SCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
