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Officials try to allay fishermen's fears

A new protected environmental area will not mean the loss of fish and jobs, say government authorities.

By Rosa Maria Mendez Fierros/El Universal

MEXICALI, Baja California - August 18, 2005 - The designation of the Sea of Cortes' islands as a World Heritage site by the United Nations will not negatively affect fishing operations in the area, environmental authorities said this week.

In July, the U.N. Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) named as a world natural heritage site the spread of hundreds of islands and ecologically rich waters along the northwest coast of Mexico.

However, fishermen on the coasts of Sonora and Baja California objected to the UNESCO designation. They said that an enlarged protected area would hurt their economic activities, particularly shrimp harvesting, and estimated annual losses up to US40 million.

A proposal to increase the protected area for the vaquita porpoise from 900,000 to 1.2 million hectares in the same region also drew criticism from fishermen.

Ernesto Emkerlin, of the Environment Secretariat (Semarnat), assured that fishing would not be restricted. Instead, he explained, the intention is to create tools for greater sustainability and protection of fishing resources.

The UNESCO designation is simply a form of recognition of the "invaluable natural patrimony of the area," said Emkerlin in an interview.

"We've demonstrated statistically that since 1994, when the Gulf of California became a biological reserve, fishing profits have actually increased, in part due to the protection of species during reproductive season," said Emkerlin.

Despite claims by some fishing groups that environmentalists are more concerned with protecting animals than people, Emkerlin insists that this is false.

"Those fishermen who act responsibly and abide by the rules have nothing to fear. It is false that we are going to take away people's source of income," he said. "The protected areas were created to facilitate better alternatives, and will serve to protect not just marine wildlife, but also the fishermen themselves."

"Our job is to assure that people are able to continue fishing in the long term. If we allow fishing to continue using harmful methods, in about seven years we will exhaust the supply of species to be fished."

The category of protection awarded to the Gulf of California area by UNESCO is the lowest grade of conservation, according to the environmental group Greenpeace. The classification allows "sustainable use of the ecosystem" including fishing activity.

"It is untrue that the vaquita porpoise's protected area blocks fishing," added Juan Carlos Cantú, of Defenders of Wildlife in Mexico. "Certain fishing techniques will be regulated within a very narrow area. With the right regulations, both environmental protection and fishing can coexist without negatively impacting either one."

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El Universal article at: http://www2.eluniversal.com.mx/pls/impreso/noticia_miami.html?id_nota=11620&tabla=miami

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