Historical review of the billfish management in the Mexican Pacific

Abstract

Off the Mexican Pacific coast, high catch rates are found for striped marlin, sailfish and swordfish, and to a lesser extent for blue marlin and black marlin, making this area an important fishing ground for commercial and sport-fishing fisheries. This paper focuses on the development of the billfish fisheries and their management in the Pacific waters of Mexico. Three periods are described: (1) 1900–1959, (2) 1960–1989 and (3) 1990 to the present. During the period of 1900 to 1959, sport fishing began to develop, resulting in important tourist resorts. A system of fishing permits for this incipient fishery went into forte. Also during this period, Mexico established a territorial sea jurisdiction of 9 nautical miles. From 1960 to 1989, commercial fishing for billfish began in Mexico, with the arrival of the Japanese tuna longline fishery, where billfishes were taken as by-calch. Then, with the establishment of the 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Mexico developed its own longline fishery at the beginning of 1980. Because of the fishing interactions between the sport and commercial fisheries, efforts to manage both fisheries were undertaken. At the beginning of the third period (1990 to the present), the commercial fishing for marlin and sailfish in Mexico was prohibited and only commercial fishing for swordfish is allowed today. Recently, a plan for the development of the sport fishery was published, and regulations on bag limits and fishing gear were established. Although billfish are highly migratory species, Mexico asserted its right to manage this species unilaterally in its EEZ. The sport-fishing industry represents a high value input to its economy, but only operates within the fírst 50 nautical miles of its EEZ. The lack of patrol, enforcement and presence of commercial fishermen offshore has resulted in some illegal fishing activities by foreign fishing vessels.